Fallen tree on a Long Island cape with the roof being tarped after a storm

After a storm a Bay Shore property is covered in three kinds of debris and they go three different places: the tree, which the town may eventually take from the curb; the pieces of the house, which nobody takes; and the wet material from inside, which has a clock on it. Alec's Construction cuts, hauls and clears all three as part of the repair rather than leaving you to find a dumpster in the week every dumpster on Long Island is spoken for, working out of the yard on Barton Avenue in East Patchogue.

What a Storm Does in Bay Shore

Bay Shore has one of the longest bay frontages in the Town of Islip, with Penataquit Creek, Awixa Creek and the canal streets running up into the residential blocks south of Montauk Highway. In a surge the creeks and canals are the way in: the water rises in every canal at once and comes over the bulkheads into the yards and crawl spaces and slab-on-grade rooms of the ranches and capes along them. Bay Shore also has a lot of two-storey waterfront houses that were elevated or rebuilt after 2012, and those do well in the water but take the wind on a tall, exposed face — siding, windows and the roof edge on the bay side. North of Montauk Highway, the older village-style blocks are on higher ground and the damage is trees and roofs.

Debris on the Canal Grids

The canal streets fill with what the water floated — boats off lifts, dock boards, propane tanks, sheds — and it settles across the grid when the water goes down. Under it is the wind damage: siding panels, fence sections, gutters. The wet material from every crawl space and den on the block comes out the same week.

Trees and Limbs

A tree on the ground is a chainsaw job and a matter of time. A tree on a structure is a different job with an order to it, and it comes off before anything else on the property is touched. We cut and haul what the town will not take, and we tell you what your town is doing that week for curbside brush.

Roofing, Siding and Building Debris

Shingles, vinyl siding, aluminum gutters, fence sections, broken glass, the pieces of whatever the wind took apart. It is sharp, it has nails in it and it hides under wet leaves. Photographed where it lies before it is moved, because it is evidence of what the wind did to the house.

Wet Material From Inside

This is the debris with a clock on it: wet carpet and pad, wet insulation, sheetrock that has lost its strength, soaked furniture. Mould can begin on any of it within a day or two. It comes out, it is photographed as it comes out, and it is kept where the adjuster can see it.

Emergency tarp over a damaged roof section on a Long Island house

Hazards We Work Around

Downed lines and anything touching them — the utility first, always. Gas. Trees under tension. Nails and glass under mud. Wet floors over electrical. Cleanup is what gets the crew to the house; the scope and the rebuild are the job that follows.

Building Department in Bay Shore

Bay Shore files with the Town of Islip. Emergency work to make the house safe and dry does not wait for a permit; the permanent repair is filed once the scope is agreed.

Free walkthrough in Bay Shore. Call or text (631) 312-7441. Tell us whether the roof is open, whether a tree is on the structure and whether there is water inside, and we bring the right equipment on the first trip.

Frequently Asked Questions

My Bay Shore house was elevated after Sandy. What does a hurricane do to it now?

Mostly wind. Once the living floor is above the flood elevation the surge goes under the house rather than through it, and the damage moves to the parts that stand up in the wind — the siding and trim on the bay side, the windows, the roof edge and ridge, and the open space below the house where wind and water take the enclosure, the stairs and anything stored. Those are homeowners-policy items, not flood items, and we scope them that way.

Will the town pick up storm debris?

After a major storm most Suffolk towns and villages run curbside brush and storm-debris collection for a period, with rules about how it is cut, bundled and placed. They take what is at the curb; they do not take a tree off a roof or building material out of the house. We tell you what your town is doing that week and take what they will not.

Do you haul the debris or do I need a dumpster?

We bring the hauling as part of the job. After a storm every dumpster on Long Island is committed for weeks, and leaving homeowners to find a container is how cleanup stalls.

Can I throw out the wet carpet and drywall before the adjuster comes?

Yes, and you should. Leaving it in place grows mould and makes the claim worse, and emergency mitigation is expected under the policy. Photograph it in place first, photograph it as it comes out, and keep it where the adjuster can see it if there is room.

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Work With Alec's Construction

This guide is written by the crew that does the work. See Alec's Hurricane & Storm Damage Repair service — fallen trees, flooding, roof and siding damage, cleanup and the rebuild. Licensed and insured on Long Island, one crew start to finish, free walkthrough and a written estimate inside 48 hours.

Booking the cold months now: we also handle Roofing and Storm Damage & Insurance Restoration.

Get a Free Estimate from Alec's Construction

Licensed and insured, working across Nassau and Suffolk County since 2018. We come out, look at the actual job, and put a written number in your hand — no pressure, no obligation.

Or call (631) 312-7441

No cost, no obligation. We reply the same day.