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

After a storm a Holbrook 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 Holbrook

Holbrook is inland, split between the Town of Islip and the Town of Brookhaven, and a hurricane here is a wind and tree event on a big scale because the hamlet is one of the most heavily treed of the 1960s–70s developments in central Suffolk. Mature oaks and pines planted or left when the ranches and splits went in are now sixty years taller and standing over the roofs. The oaks shed heavy limbs; the pines come over whole. The houses themselves are one-storey or low-profile splits with a lot of roof and not much height, so the roof takes the tree and the roof takes the wind — ridge caps, the first courses at the eave, and the flashing at the low-slope garage roof are what we find lifted after a storm.

Pine Crowns and Root Balls

After a storm here the debris is pitch pine — whole trees with the root ball still attached, crowns across driveways and fences, limbs through sheds — on top of the shingles and siding the wind took. The town takes brush from the curb eventually; the root balls and the building debris it does not.

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.

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

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 Holbrook

Holbrook straddles the Brookhaven and Islip town line and both are possible, so the department is confirmed by address before anything is filed. 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 Holbrook. 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

Holbrook is in two towns — which building department handles my storm repair?

It depends on the address. Part of Holbrook files with the Town of Islip and part with the Town of Brookhaven, and the two do not have the same process or the same forms. Emergency repairs to make the house safe do not wait for either. For the permanent rebuild we identify the town from the tax map before we file, because a permit filed with the wrong town costs a week or two of the schedule.

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.

Is storm cleanup covered by insurance?

Debris removal from a covered loss is generally covered under a standard homeowners policy up to a limit, and removal of a tree that hit a covered structure usually is too. A tree that fell in the yard and hit nothing is usually not. We separate the covered cleanup from the rest on the scope so the claim is clean.

Related Guides

Also Serving Holbrook

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.