NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
Living on the South Shore means you already know what a bad storm looks like. What most Shirley homeowners don’t realize until it’s too late is how much damage stays hidden after the water recedes. Storm water infiltrates wall cavities, soaks into subfloors, and settles behind insulation and surfaces look dry while moisture levels behind them are already at mold-growth thresholds. When that gets missed, you’re not dealing with storm damage anymore. You’re dealing with a mold problem six months later.
Shirley’s housing stock makes this especially important. A significant portion of homes here were originally built as summer bungalows lightweight seasonal structures that were converted to year-round residences over the decades. That construction style means older roofing systems, less insulation, and more entry points for water than a home built under modern codes. Getting the restoration right means accounting for how these homes are actually built, not just patching what’s visible.
When the job is done correctly, you get your home back not a version of it held together by hope and drywall compound. Structural integrity restored. No hidden moisture. No mold risk. And a clear paper trail your insurance company can’t argue with.
We’re headquartered in Bohemia, NY about 15 miles west of Shirley on Sunrise Highway. That’s not a detail we throw in to sound local. It means we’ve worked on the same South Shore housing stock you’re living in throughout Shirley and surrounding areas, we know the Town of Brookhaven permit process inside out, and we’ve been doing this work in Suffolk County for over 12 years across more than 5,000 completed projects.
What separates us from most restoration companies is the licensing stack. We hold the Suffolk County General Contractor license, NYS DOL Mold and Asbestos licenses, and USEPA Lead and RRP certifications. In a home built before 1978 and a large share of Shirley homes qualify storm damage can disturb asbestos in roofing or siding materials and lead paint in walls. Most contractors can’t legally handle that. We can, and we do, under one roof.
CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres are named by real customers in real reviews. You’re not calling a franchise dispatch line you’re reaching a company with people accountable for the outcome.
When you call after a storm, the first priority is stopping the damage from getting worse. That means emergency board-up, roof tarping, and property securing whatever it takes to protect your home from additional water intrusion while the full assessment gets underway. In Shirley, where a nor’easter or coastal surge event can leave a home exposed for hours before conditions allow safe access, that first response step matters more than most people realize.
Once the structure is secured, we do a full damage assessment using thermal imaging cameras. This is how we find the water that’s hiding inside your walls and under your floors the moisture that a visual inspection misses entirely. That documentation also becomes the foundation of your insurance claim. We photograph, report, and communicate directly with your adjuster so you’re not stuck translating damage reports on your own.
From there, the work moves through water extraction, structural drying, mold prevention treatment, and then structural and cosmetic repair all the way back to pre-storm condition. If the work requires a building permit from the Town of Brookhaven Building Department, we handle that too. And if your home’s age means we encounter asbestos or lead paint during the repair phase, we’re already licensed to address it without stopping the job to bring in a separate contractor.
Ready to get started?
Storm damage restoration isn’t one service it’s a sequence of them, and what that sequence looks like depends heavily on where you live and what your home is made of. In Shirley, that means accounting for bay water contamination in flood events near Bellport Bay, freshwater overflow from the Carmans River corridor in the western part of the hamlet, and the specific vulnerabilities of a housing stock that includes a large share of pre-1978 bungalow-era construction.
Our storm damage restoration services include emergency property securing, debris and fallen tree removal, water extraction and structural drying, thermal imaging for hidden moisture detection, mold prevention treatment, structural repair, and full interior restoration. For homes along the South Shore that face repeated storm exposure, we also install impact-resistant shingles, hurricane straps, and reinforced siding so the next nor’easter doesn’t send you back to square one.
For older Shirley homes where storm damage disturbs existing materials, we bring in our licensed asbestos and lead abatement capabilities as part of the same project. No handoffs, no gaps in accountability. Everything is documented for your insurance claim, and in most cases, we bill your insurance company directly so you’re not fronting the cost and waiting for reimbursement.
This is one of the most common questions we hear from Shirley homeowners, and the honest answer is: it depends on what type of water caused the damage. Standard homeowners insurance typically covers storm damage from rain, wind, and water that enters through a damaged roof or broken window. What it generally does not cover is flooding defined as water that rises from the ground, including storm surge from Bellport Bay pushing water onto your property.
If you live in a low-lying area near the bay or along the Carmans River corridor, flood damage coverage usually requires a separate flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). That said, many storm events produce a combination of both wind-driven rain damage that is covered, and ground-level flooding that may not be. We document damage thoroughly and work directly with your adjuster to make sure every covered category is properly claimed. Getting that documentation right from the start makes a significant difference in what your insurance actually pays out.
Mold can begin developing within 24 to 48 hours of water intrusion and that timeline doesn’t pause because you’re waiting on an insurance adjuster or trying to find a contractor. In Shirley’s older housing stock, where wall cavities and subfloors are often less sealed than in newer construction, moisture spreads quickly and stays hidden. What looks dry on the surface can be holding significant moisture behind it.
The risk is compounded in coastal storm events where the water source isn’t clean rainwater. Bay water carries sediment and biological contaminants, and in low-lying areas near Mastic Beach, storm flooding has been documented to carry cesspool overflow which escalates the cleanup requirements considerably. This is why speed of response matters so much. The faster water extraction and structural drying begin, the smaller the zone of damage and the lower the mold risk. Waiting even a day or two can turn a manageable restoration into a much larger remediation project.
Yes, and this is a real concern that most restoration companies aren’t equipped to handle. A significant portion of Shirley’s housing stock was built between the 1940s and 1970s a period when asbestos was commonly used in roofing shingles, siding, insulation, and floor tiles, and when lead-based paint was standard. When storm damage cracks siding, tears roofing, or disturbs interior walls, those materials can be exposed and become a hazard.
Federal law requires USEPA Lead (RRP) certification for contractors disturbing painted surfaces in pre-1978 homes above a certain threshold. Asbestos abatement in New York State requires a separate NYS DOL Asbestos license. We hold both, along with our NYS DOL Mold license and Suffolk County General Contractor license. That means if storm damage in your Shirley home uncovers asbestos in the roof decking or lead paint in the walls, we don’t have to stop the job and bring in a separate contractor we handle it as part of the same project, under the same accountability.
For minor repairs like patching a small section of damaged siding or replacing a few broken shingles, a permit may not be required. But for anything involving structural repairs, a full roof replacement, or significant interior work which is common after a major storm event you will typically need a building permit from the Town of Brookhaven Building Department, which has jurisdiction over Shirley.
Skipping the permit process creates real problems down the line. Unpermitted work can complicate future home sales, create issues with your homeowners insurance policy, and leave you with repairs that weren’t inspected for code compliance. We handle the permit process as part of our restoration work so you don’t have to navigate Brookhaven Town’s building department on your own while also dealing with a damaged home. It’s one less thing you need to manage during an already stressful situation.
After major storms on Long Island Sandy in 2012, the August 2024 flooding that hit Brookhaven Town hard enough for the Town Supervisor to call it an environmental and economic disaster unlicensed contractors show up quickly, offer cheap repairs, and in documented cases, collect deposits and disappear. It’s a real pattern, and Shirley homeowners are right to be skeptical of unfamiliar companies appearing right after a storm.
The credentials you should verify before hiring anyone: a Suffolk County General Contractor license, an NYS DOL Mold Remediation license if mold is involved, NYS DOL Asbestos licensure if the home predates 1980, and IICRC certification for water damage and restoration technicians. These are government-issued and verifiable you can check them through the relevant agencies. We hold all of the above, plus USEPA Lead and RRP certifications. License numbers are available on request. A legitimate contractor won’t hesitate to provide them.
Storm damage cleanup typically refers to the immediate response phase removing debris, extracting standing water, tarping a damaged roof, boarding up broken windows. It’s essential, but it’s only the beginning. Full storm damage restoration picks up where cleanup ends: structural drying, thermal imaging to find hidden moisture, mold prevention treatment, structural repair, and returning the home to its pre-storm condition cosmetically and structurally.
For Shirley homeowners, the distinction matters because the South Shore storm environment produces damage that goes deeper than what’s visible. Bay water intrusion, contaminated floodwater, and moisture trapped inside bungalow-era wall cavities don’t resolve themselves after the surface is cleaned up. A company that only offers cleanup and basic patching leaves you with a home that looks fine but is holding problems that will surface later. Full restoration means the job is actually finished not just the part that’s easy to see.
Local Resources
Useful Links
