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

After a storm a St. James 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 St. James

St. James is the old estate country of the Town of Smithtown — big trees, big lots, old houses — and a nor'easter here is what the oaks and tulip trees do to roofs. The hamlet centre along Lake Avenue and the streets off Moriches Road are 1900s to 1930s houses with the trees planted alongside them now a century old, and 1960s and 70s colonials on the streets south toward Route 25 under oaks that were saved when the lots were cut. The ground is high and drains, so water in a house is rain through the roof the wind or a tree opened. The harbour flooding at Stony Brook and the Nissequogue stops short of the hamlet; the villages on its north edge take that.

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 St. James

St. James files with the Town of Smithtown at Town Hall on Main Street in Smithtown; the Village of Head of the Harbor on its north side and the Village of Nissequogue run their own building departments. 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 St. James. 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 hundred-year-old tree came down on my St. James house. Is it covered?

A tree that falls on a covered structure is the classic covered peril under a standard homeowners policy, whatever its age, and most policies pay something toward removing it, up to a limit that varies. What matters is that it is photographed where it lies before anyone cuts it, and that it comes off in an order that does not drop the roof. Big old trees on old houses are a shoring job before they are a cutting job.

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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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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