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

After a storm a Copiague 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 Copiague

Copiague's south side is one of the biggest canal grids in the Town of Babylon — the streets off Oak Neck Lane and the Great Neck Road area run down to the Great South Bay on filled marsh, lined with 1950s and 60s capes, ranches and high ranches built at grade. A surge fills every canal and every crawl space and garage on the grid at once, and Copiague took some of the worst of it in 2012. A lot of those houses were raised afterwards; the ones that were not are the ones that flood again. North of the highway toward the train station the hamlet is dry and older, with big trees over smaller lots.

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 Copiague

Copiague files with the Town of Babylon at Town Hall in Lindenhurst. Everything south of Montauk Highway along the canals and the Great South Bay is in the mapped flood zone. 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 Copiague. 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

Copiague is in the Town of Babylon. Where does the storm repair get filed?

With the Town of Babylon's building division at Town Hall in Lindenhurst. The emergency work — tarping, boarding, pumping, drying — does not wait for a permit. The permanent repair does, and for a house in the mapped flood zone south of Montauk Highway the town's floodplain rules can shape the scope, including whether the house has to be brought into compliance if the damage is large enough.

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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Also Serving Copiague

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

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