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

After a storm a Oakdale 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 Oakdale

Oakdale wraps the mouth of the Connetquot River where it opens into the Great South Bay, and the canal grids on both sides of the river — Idle Hour on the west, the Shore Drive streets on the east — are 1950s and 60s capes, ranches and splits built at grade on filled marsh a few feet above the water. A surge comes up the river and fills every canal and every crawl space at once. Idle Hour was laid out on the old Vanderbilt estate and still has the estate's big trees over small houses. The neighbourhood was one of the hardest hit in 2012 and a lot of it was rebuilt quickly; a second wetting finds the walls that were closed wet. Up by Montauk Highway and the college the ground rises and the damage is wind and trees.

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.

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 Oakdale

Oakdale files with the Town of Islip on Main Street in Islip hamlet. The canal streets along the Connetquot River and the bay are 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 Oakdale. 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 Oakdale house is on a canal. What should I do before the water comes up?

Move what you can off the first floor and out of the crawl space, shut the power off at the panel if water is going to reach it, photograph the house as it stands, and leave if the street is going under. After the water goes down, photograph the water line before anything is cleaned, and call. Salt water below and wind-driven rain above are two claims, and the canal side of Oakdale usually has both.

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.

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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.