An older house is not a worse house. It is a house whose systems were installed under different rules, replaced piecemeal, and are now of wildly different ages behind the same set of walls.
Knob-and-tube wiring, cloth-sheathed cable, fuse boxes and services too small for how anyone lives now all turn up in houses of this age.
New York requires an inspector to observe the conductors after removing readily accessible panel covers. On an older service that is precisely where the story is.
Cast iron waste, galvanized supply and whatever was fitted during the last kitchen job frequently coexist. Each has a different remaining life.
The service line from the street matters too, and its material is worth knowing rather than assuming.
Slate and tile can run a century, but the flashing, the fixings and the deck underneath rarely do — and a repair done in asphalt over slate tells you something.
New York requires the report to describe how the roof was observed, so you will know whether it was walked, laddered or viewed from the ground.
Older houses can also contain asbestos and lead paint. Neither is part of a standard home inspection — both are separate specialist tests, and Lou will tell you plainly when something is worth one.
Thirty years of building before he started inspecting. Lou has seen how these were put together.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.
Real photographs from Lou's own inspections, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Lou's report archive holds seven inspections in Rockville Centre, six in Garden City and seven next door in Lynbrook. Both villages are old by Long Island standards — Rockville Centre incorporated in 1893, and Garden City was laid out as a planned community from 1869 — so a buyer here is more likely than most to be looking at a house that has been rewired, replumbed and re-roofed in stages by different owners.
Two local details are worth knowing before the inspection. Rockville Centre runs its own municipal electric utility, so if the inspection shows an undersized or outdated service, the upgrade is arranged with the village rather than with PSEG Long Island. And in both villages the building permits and certificate of occupancy are kept by the village building department. The inspection does not search those records; Lou points out the work that usually needs a permit — a finished basement, a converted attic, a rear addition, a relocated panel — so your attorney knows exactly what to check against the file.
On the day: call or text 516-330-3870, come along, and Lou walks the house with you. A thermal scan is part of the standard inspection, which on an older house helps find moisture behind plaster and overheating connections in the panel. The report, with photographs and organised by system, arrives the same day as a rule. For the electrical side in depth, see knob-and-tube and old panels; nearby, Floral Park, Valley Stream, Oceanside and the Nassau County overview.
Yes. Rockville Centre, Garden City and the neighbouring villages are a short drive from Lou’s base in Wantagh, and his archive already holds inspections in all three of Rockville Centre, Garden City and Lynbrook.
Not on its own. Old wiring is a question of condition, capacity and what has been added to it since. The report says what era of wiring is present, where it is, and whether a licensed electrician should evaluate it before you close.
No. Both are separate specialist tests and are not part of a standard home inspection in New York. Lou will tell you plainly when something he sees is worth one.
No. Those records are kept by the village building department and checking them is a records search, usually handled through your attorney. The inspection flags work that typically needs a permit so you know what to ask about.
Every photograph in a report exists to make a finding checkable — the point is not the picture, it is that you and your attorney can see exactly what the inspector saw. Read a complete sample report.
Subterranean termites travel in mud tubes they build themselves — the tubes are the visible evidence, and finding them during an inspection instead of a renovation is worth the entire fee. Termite inspection is part of the conversation when you book.
Subterranean termites travel in mud tubes they build themselves — the tubes are the visible evidence, and finding them during an inspection instead of a renovation is worth the entire fee. Termite inspection is part of the conversation when you book.
An inspector removes the readily accessible panel covers because New York requires it — most of what matters in a panel is invisible with the cover on. Double-tapped breakers, mixed wire eras and scorched connections are all findings that only appear with the cover off. Why the covers come off.
Siding, trim, masonry and parged walls are the building's raincoat, and cracks or failed mortar can give water a way in. The report documents their location and pattern so the right contractor or specialist can evaluate them when warranted. Where water gets in, explained.
All photographs are from Lou's own inspection reports for jobs in this area, screened so nothing identifies a property or an owner.