NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
The biggest mistake homeowners make after a storm isn’t waiting too long to call it’s calling someone who only handles part of the problem. Water gets into wall cavities. Wind-driven moisture works its way behind siding. And in Bohemia, where the median home was built around 1970, there’s a real chance that disturbed insulation or damaged walls involve materials that need more than a standard contractor to touch legally.
When we handle the full scope extraction, drying, structural assessment, and proper abatement if needed you’re not just patching visible damage. You’re stopping the chain reaction before it becomes a mold problem, a failed inspection, or a restoration job that costs three times more than it should have.
Bohemia’s proximity to the Connetquot River watershed also means that heavy rain events don’t just damage roofs they push water up from the ground and through foundation walls in lower-lying areas near the state park. That kind of water intrusion is slow, hidden, and easy to miss if the crew doing the work isn’t using thermal imaging to find moisture behind finished surfaces. Getting it right the first time means your home is actually dry not just dry-looking.
We’ve been doing this work across Long Island for over 12 years, with more than 5,000 completed projects behind us. Our office is at 45 Knickerbocker Avenue in Bohemia not a franchise hub in another county, not a call center routing jobs from out of state. We’re here, and we know this area.
What sets us apart isn’t just the experience. It’s the licensing stack. We hold a Suffolk County General Contractor license, NYS DOL Mold and Asbestos licenses, USEPA Lead and RRP certifications, and IICRC certification for water damage restoration. That matters in Bohemia specifically, where a large portion of homes were built before 1978 and storm damage can uncover materials that require licensed abatement not just drywall replacement.
CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres are involved in every project. Customers have mentioned them by name in reviews, which isn’t something that happens with a franchise. You’re working with people who are accountable for the outcome, not a rotating crew dispatched from a territory map.
When you call after a storm, the first thing that happens is emergency securing tarping, board-up, and anything needed to stop additional damage from getting in. In Bohemia, where mature trees line most residential streets, that often means dealing with fallen limbs on roofs before anything else can be assessed. We move quickly because every hour of open exposure matters.
Once the property is secured, we do a full damage assessment using thermal imaging cameras to locate moisture that isn’t visible on the surface. This step is not optional it’s how we find the water that’s already migrating into wall cavities and subfloor systems before it creates a secondary mold problem. We document everything thoroughly at this stage, because that documentation is what your insurance adjuster needs to process the claim correctly.
From there, the work moves through water extraction and structural drying, mold prevention treatment, any required abatement for older materials, structural repair, and full cosmetic restoration. All of it is handled under one roof no hand-offs to subcontractors, no gaps in accountability. Work in Bohemia falls under the Town of Islip’s Building Department jurisdiction, and we pull the required permits and meet all Suffolk County code requirements as part of the job, not as an afterthought.
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Storm damage restoration in Bohemia isn’t a single-trade job, and most companies serving this area aren’t equipped to handle the full scope. We cover emergency securing and debris removal, roof storm damage repair, wind damage repair with impact-resistant materials and hurricane straps, water extraction and structural drying, thermal imaging for hidden moisture, mold remediation, asbestos and lead abatement, structural repair, and full cosmetic restoration.
The abatement piece is worth understanding specifically. Bohemia’s housing stock skews heavily toward the 1960s and 1970s and homes built before 1978 can contain lead paint, while homes from that same era often have asbestos in insulation, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, or roofing materials. When storm damage requires opening walls or replacing roofing components, New York State law requires a licensed contractor to assess and handle those materials. We hold the NYS DOL Asbestos license, the NYS DOL Mold license, and the USEPA Lead and RRP certifications that make that legal. Most competitors you’ll find online serving the Bohemia area do not.
We also handle the insurance process directly. We document damage in the format adjusters need, communicate with your carrier, and bill insurance directly where coverage applies. For homeowners with properties valued near or above $600,000 which describes most of Bohemia getting the claim handled correctly is just as important as getting the restoration done right.
The most important thing you can do in the first hour is stop additional water or weather from getting in. If there’s roof damage, a tarp needs to go up before the next rain event even a light one. If there’s standing water in a basement or crawl space, don’t wait to see if it drains on its own, because water sitting against a foundation wall or wood framing begins causing structural damage and mold-favorable conditions within 24 to 48 hours.
Call a licensed restoration contractor as early as possible and take photos of everything before any cleanup begins. That documentation matters for your insurance claim. In Bohemia specifically, if your home was built before 1978, avoid disturbing any damaged wall materials, insulation, or roofing components yourself those materials may require licensed assessment before they can be safely handled or removed.
In most cases, yes standard homeowner’s insurance policies in New York cover sudden and accidental storm damage, including wind damage, roof damage, and water intrusion caused by a storm event. What they typically don’t cover is flooding from ground-level water, which is a separate flood insurance policy. That distinction matters in Bohemia, where properties near the Connetquot River watershed can see water intrusion from both directions storm-driven rain coming through the roof and rising groundwater coming up from below.
The part most homeowners don’t realize is that how the damage gets documented directly affects what the insurance company pays. Adjusters work from the documentation they receive, and a contractor who knows how to present damage correctly with moisture readings, thermal imaging results, and itemized scope will consistently produce better claim outcomes than one who doesn’t. We bill insurance directly and handle that documentation process as part of the job.
The honest answer is that you often can’t tell without equipment. Water that enters through a compromised roof, damaged siding, or a cracked foundation wall doesn’t stay where it lands it moves through the path of least resistance into wall cavities, under flooring, and into structural framing. By the time you see a stain on the ceiling or smell something off in a room, the moisture has usually been sitting there long enough to create real problems.
Thermal imaging cameras detect temperature differentials in walls and ceilings that indicate hidden moisture and that’s the tool that makes the difference between finding the problem on day one versus discovering mold three months later. In Bohemia’s older homes, where original insulation and wood framing are common, moisture migrates faster and holds longer than it would in newer construction with modern materials. A proper post-storm assessment should always include thermal imaging, not just a visual walkthrough.
It depends on the scope of the work. Emergency securing tarping, board-up, temporary measures generally doesn’t require a permit. But structural repairs, roof replacements, and significant interior restoration work do require building permits from the Town of Islip’s Building Department, which has jurisdiction over all of Bohemia. New York State’s Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code applies to all permitted work in the hamlet.
This is one of the reasons working with a licensed Suffolk County General Contractor matters. Unpermitted structural work can create serious problems when you go to sell the home or file a future insurance claim and in some cases, it can require the work to be redone at your expense. We pull all required permits as part of the restoration process, so you’re not left with a liability after the job is done.
It varies significantly depending on what the storm actually did to the home. Emergency securing and water extraction can happen within the first 24 to 48 hours. Structural drying typically takes three to five days with professional equipment running continuously. Mold prevention treatment, structural repair, and cosmetic restoration add time on top of that a moderate storm damage job on a Bohemia single-family home might run two to four weeks total from first response to final walkthrough.
Where jobs get longer is when hidden damage is discovered mid-project water that migrated further than the initial assessment showed, or older materials that require abatement before the restoration work can proceed. In Bohemia’s pre-1978 housing stock, that second scenario comes up more often than homeowners expect. The upside is that finding it during restoration is far better than finding it during a home inspection or a future renovation, when the scope and cost are much harder to control.
The practical difference comes down to licensing, accountability, and familiarity with local conditions. National franchise networks operating in Bohemia are often staffed by rotating crews dispatched from regional hubs they may know water damage restoration in general, but they’re not necessarily familiar with the Town of Islip’s permitting process, the specific flooding risk profile near the Connetquot River watershed, or the fact that a large portion of Bohemia’s homes require licensed abatement work before standard restoration can legally proceed.
Our office is on Knickerbocker Avenue. When something comes up mid-project and on a complex storm damage job, something usually does you’re not waiting for a regional manager to make a decision. You’re talking to Jessica or Leo directly. That kind of accountability is hard to replicate through a franchise model, and for a home worth $600,000 or more, it’s not a small thing.
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