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

After a storm a Smithtown 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 Smithtown

Smithtown is a North Shore town of hills, hollows and very big trees. The Nissequogue River runs up through the middle of it to Smithtown Bay on Long Island Sound, and a hurricane from the northeast pushes Sound water up the river and its marshes, but the residential damage in Smithtown is overwhelmingly trees: the town's 1960s–70s colonials and splits sit under mature oaks and tulip trees that come down whole in saturated ground when the wind turns after the eye passes. The hilly streets around the river and along the ridge north of Route 25 take the wind hardest, and the long service drops through the trees mean Smithtown is dark for days after a storm that barely touches the South Shore. Roofs here take limbs and whole crowns, not just lifted shingles.

Oak Crowns Across the Property

A mature oak crown fills a yard and a driveway and often a neighbour's yard too, and it is heavier than it looks. Under it is the fence it took, the gutters it stripped and the shingles it lifted. Cut into rounds and hauled, the property is a repair site instead of a forest floor.

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 Smithtown

Smithtown files with the Town of Smithtown. 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 Smithtown. 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

A whole oak came down across our Smithtown house. What happens first?

First, nobody goes in until we have looked at what the tree is resting on. A large oak on a roof can be holding the roof up as much as crushing it, and cutting the wrong section first drops the load. We assess the structure, tarp what we can reach safely, and coordinate the tree removal so the roof is supported as the weight comes off. Then the structural repair — rafters, ridge, sometimes the wall — is documented and scoped for the claim before the rebuild.

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 Smithtown

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.