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

After a storm a Selden 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 Selden

Selden is inland on the flat sandy plain in the middle of Brookhaven, between Middle Country Road and the Long Island Expressway, with no tidal water, so a storm is what the wind and the pitch pine do. The housing is 1960s and 70s ranches, splits and high ranches on quarter and half-acre lots, and the pines and oaks left standing when the tracts were cut are now over the roofs and the attached garages. A day of rain loosens the pine root plates in the sand and a northeast gust brings them over whole. The flat commercial roofs along Middle Country Road and around Suffolk Community College take the wind. Basements are common and a long rain fills the ones without power to the sump.

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.

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 Selden

Selden files with the Town of Brookhaven at Independence Hill in Farmingville, a few minutes south. 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 Selden. 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

Why do the pines in Selden come down so easily in a storm?

Pitch pine has a shallow root plate and a tall thin trunk, and the sandy ground here saturates and loosens after a day of rain. Once the ground lets go, a full crown in a gust levers the whole tree over, roots and all. A pine is lighter than an oak when it lands on a roof, but it usually comes down across an attached garage or a one-storey wing and often a second one follows the first.

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.

Related Guides

Also Serving Selden

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.