A tree through the roof, a limb through the garage, a car into the corner of the house, a porch roof that came down under the snow. We make it safe first — temporary shoring under what's holding the weight, a real tarp over the hole — then coordinate the tree crew and the structural engineer, pull the permits, and rebuild the framing, roof, siding and rooms with the same crew. Price approved before each step.
Call or text us a photo · often within the hour in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex and Morris
Licensed & insured · 2,000+ NJ projects · 7 years · a real person answers 24/7
A tree through the roof, a limb through the garage, a car into the corner of the house, a porch roof that came down under the snow. Typical price: $1.5K – $5K. Licensed & insured, written itemized price before work starts, no deposit, one dedicated crew. Serving all 21 New Jersey counties from Paramus. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free estimate.
Leave the rooms below the damage and close the doors behind you. Don't go into the attic to look. If the tree is on a power line, or the wire that feeds your house was pulled off the wall, stay well back and call the utility and 911 — it's live until they say otherwise. If you smell gas — a falling tree can shear the meter or a line — everyone outside, and call the gas utility from the driveway.
Move cars out from under the rest of the tree. If it's safe, pull valuables from the rooms below the hole and cover what's left with plastic. Don't cut, push or pull on the tree; it's holding weight you can't see, and it shifts when it's cut. Photograph everything from the ground — the tree, the roof, the inside.
Text a photo. A real person answers, tells you whether the house is safe to stay in tonight, and sends the crew with shoring, plywood and tarps. We call the tree service and, when it's needed, the engineer.
First we figure out what's holding the weight. A tree on a roof is sitting on rafters or trusses, a ridge, maybe a bearing wall or a header over a window. If those are cracked, the load has to go somewhere before anyone works under it. We set adjustable steel posts and temporary beams under the damaged framing from inside, brace what's leaning, and put plywood over holes in the walls. That's the make-safe, and it's the part you can't skip.
Then the tree comes off — by a licensed, insured tree service with a crane, not a guy with a chainsaw standing on the roof. We coordinate it, we're there when they lift, and the moment the roof is clear we tarp the opening properly: over the ridge, down past the damage, screwed down with battens. Broken sheathing gets covered with plywood first so the tarp isn't spanning a hole.
Then you get our photos, an itemized invoice for the emergency work, and a straight answer on the next step: whether the town will want an engineer's letter before the permit, how long the rebuild takes, and a written price for it as soon as we can see everything.
Broken trusses, a cracked ridge, a bearing wall knocked out of plumb, a foundation cracked by a car, a chimney shifted off its base — those aren't things a contractor should guess at. A structural engineer inspects, writes a repair design, and your town's construction office will usually require that letter before it issues the permit. We coordinate the engineer, build exactly to the letter, and schedule the inspections. Trusses in particular: you cannot sister a broken truss with a 2x4 and call it fixed. It needs an engineered repair, and we won't do it any other way.
For a single cracked rafter or a hole in the sheathing, no engineer is needed and we'll say so. We don't sell you a $1,200 letter for a $2,000 repair.
The same crew and the same steps handle a car through the garage wall, a porch or deck roof that dropped under snow and ice, a carport folded by wind, a sagging ridge on an old roof, a floor that's bouncing over a rotted beam, or a bearing wall somebody removed for an "open concept" without a header. Shore it, size the fix — with an engineer when it matters — and rebuild it. Priced in writing before each step.
A tree that hits the house is a covered loss on almost every homeowner's policy, and that includes the emergency shoring, the tarp, removing the tree from the structure — usually up to a limit — and the rebuild. A tree that fell in the yard and missed the house usually isn't covered. Your neighbor's tree on your house is generally your policy's problem, not theirs, unless it was dead and they knew it. We photograph everything, keep the emergency and the rebuild on separate itemized invoices the way adjusters like, and we'll meet the adjuster at the house. Don't sign anything on the doorstep from a roofer you didn't call.
Based in Paramus, serving all 21 New Jersey counties — 219+ towns. Often within the hour in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex and Morris; same-day dispatch with an honest arrival window everywhere else. Shoring, plywood and tarps on the truck, and the framers, roofers, electricians and plumbers for the rebuild all on one crew.
typical fixed-price range — your exact number goes in writing after a free visit
for the emergency make-safe
Shoring under a damaged roof section, a battened tarp over the opening, plywood over any wall holes and the interior protected sits in this bracket. Lifting the tree off the house is done by a licensed tree service with a crane — usually $800 – $3K, paid to them — and we coordinate it. A structural engineer's inspection and repair letter, when the town requires one, runs $500 – $1.5K, also paid to them. The rebuild — framing, sheathing, roofing, siding, interior — gets its own itemized written price once we can see everything; typical New Jersey tree-strike rebuilds run $8K – $40K+.
How we beat the big chains: The storm-restoration franchises take an assignment of benefits on your doorstep, then rent every trade from the framer to the painter. No franchise fees, no commissioned salesmen, no rented subcontractors — that's typically 15–30% under national-brand quotes for the same or better spec. Bring us any written quote and we'll match the scope line by line.
“The tree guy cut it off the roof and left. The roof sagged another six inches by morning and nobody had put anything under it.”
“The contractor "fixed" two broken trusses with plywood scraps. The town failed the inspection and I paid for the engineer anyway — twice.”
“Five contractors for one tree: shoring, roofer, sider, electrician for the mast, and a painter for the bedroom. Four months.”
You found a crew that is actually near you. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus, in Bergen County, and our own licensed techs handle fallen tree & structural in all 21 New Jersey counties — no call center, no subcontractor sent from two states away. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies go to the nearest crew, 24/7.
Closest to us: Bergen CountyPassaic CountyHudson CountyEssex CountyMorris CountyUnion CountyAll 21 counties & 219+ towns →
Call (201) 676-3099, text us a photo, or book a free in-home estimate — you get a written price before any work starts.
It depends on what's holding the weight and whether power and gas are intact. Send us a photo and we'll give you an honest first read on the phone; when we arrive we'll tell you straight. Once the damaged section is shored and tarped, most families stay in the rest of the house.
We coordinate a licensed, insured tree service with a crane to lift it off, and we're there when they do. Our job is the house — shoring it before the lift, tarping and sheathing the moment it's clear, and the rebuild. You get one number to call, and the tree service's invoice goes straight to your claim.
Broken trusses, a cracked ridge or bearing wall, foundation damage, or a shifted chimney — your town will want an engineer's repair letter before the permit. A cracked rafter or a hole in the sheathing doesn't. We tell you which on the first visit, and we coordinate the engineer when it's needed.
The make-safe is the first visit. The engineer and the permit usually take one to three weeks. The rebuild itself runs from a few days for a roof section to a few weeks for a corner of the house with framing, roofing, siding and interior. You get the timeline in writing with the price.
A tree on the house is covered on nearly every policy — emergency work, tree removal from the structure, and the rebuild. A tree in the yard that missed the house usually isn't. We document everything and keep the invoices itemized the way adjusters need, and we'll meet them at the house.
If you're anywhere in New Jersey, yes. First Call Contracting is based in Paramus and handles fallen tree & structural across all 21 counties with our own licensed crew. Most of Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Essex is 15 to 30 minutes from our shop, and emergencies are dispatched to the nearest crew 24/7. Call (201) 676-3099 or book a free in-home estimate.
24/7 shoring and tarping · engineer and tree crew coordinated · permits and rebuild by us
Or call Alex direct: (201) 676-3099