Between 2013 and 2019, Lou Rubino inspected two homes in Castle Hill — two jobs, each with a written report, and the photographs below come from them. The reports describe a colonial and a town home, about 99 years old.
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Lou’s two summaries flagged 6 items Repair or Replace, most for the exterior (4), garage (1) and roof, chimney and attic (1). Each report, newest first, as Lou wrote it up.
2019, a town home, about 99 years old, a two-family house: 5 items flagged: 4 exterior; 1 roof, chimney and attic. As recorded: flat roof, asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked; attic: no storage, passive ventilation; clapboard vinyl siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, steel lally columns; hydronic heat on natural gas, (2) 40 gallon gas (quick recovery) water heater (basement and utility room); 60-amp and (2) 100-amp service panel circuit breakers (Eaton), BX wiring, copper supply pipes, public water; double-hung, thermal/insulated and sliders windows, hardwood t&g and ceramic tile floors, not installed cabinets, not installed counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Roof vents have been covered over”; “Left rear wall hole for boiler fresh air vent needs rust proof grill cover”; “Siding left rear has roofing tar stain”; “Second floor entrance, dead bolt does not line up with striker plate very difficult to open”; “Second floor balcony right rear corner, railing baluster is loose at bottom”; “Hole in concrete platform at front basement entrance”; “Floor needs a second coat of polyurethane”; “Piping needs rust proof register on right side exterior soffit”; “Cover missing from exhaust fan ceiling”. Also noted: “Roof paint will reflect heat during summer and roofing will last longer”; “Exterior, left side of front stoop”; “Basement front entrance light not installed”; “Main panels in basement cabinet left front corner”; “First floor main panel, wooden cabinet door frame hits panel door, unable to remove cover”. On the day: 29°F, clear, windy, frozen ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces north. Not inspected that day: ceilings; floors; fuel storage and distribution systems; insulation in attic; insulation under floor system; vapor retarders; visible electric wiring in attic; walls. Not present in this house: cooling and air handler equipment; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; normal operating controls; presence of installed cooling source in each room; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls; windows.
2013, a colonial, over 50 years old, a two-family house: 1 item flagged: 1 garage. As recorded: poured concrete foundation, poured concrete floor framing, masonry block. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Conduit for basement light hanging down”. Also noted: “Dug out 1/3 of garage basement”; “Reinforced concrete ceiling”; “Dial Indicator mounted to bottom of W 6 x 12 Beam”; “Bottom flange depleted from rust on east side from 1/4" to 1/8" but not enough to effect any deflection in floor or steel I beam”. On the day: 45°F, clear, damp ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces west. Not present in this house: garage ceilings.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: All towns · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
Both photographs are from Lou's own Castle Hill inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10462: 1944 (Bronx: 1954). Of 31,828 units, 41% predates 1940; 6% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1940s at 24% and the 1950s at 13%. An older house is not a worse house, but its wiring, plumbing and roof were installed under different rules and replaced piecemeal, which is what the inspection looks for. Lou’s reports here: 99 years old. (ACS)
53% utility gas, 29% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 29% against 24% county-wide. NYSDEC logs Bronx home oil spills under the borough, not Castle Hill. Ask about a tank, and for closure papers. A tank can be buried in the yard or sit in the basement, and a removed one should come with paperwork. Buried tanks are outside the standards New York sets for a home inspection, so the seller’s answer matters. (ACS, NYSDEC)
37% buildings of 50 or more units, 25% buildings of 20 to 49 units, 10% two-unit buildings; 23% owner-occupied (Bronx: 20%). With 62% of units in buildings of 20 or more, many purchases here are apartments: the inspection covers the unit, and the roof, plant and risers belong to the board. Lou’s jobs here included a two-family house. (ACS)
Bronx (reported by borough): 101 basement tests, average 1.73 pCi/L, 8 at 4 or above (8%). First-floor tests there: 43, average 1.13. The highest basement reading was 20.9 pCi/L. EPA’s action level is 4 pCi/L, and it advises testing every home whatever the area’s results. Radon testing is optional. (NYSDOH)
19 flood-insurance claims from zip 10462 since 1979, most in 2012 (4): 147th of the 189 zips on these pages. A claim count describes the zip, not the house; 2012 was the year of Hurricane Sandy. Flood zones follow the address. Check the address on FEMA’s map. (OpenFEMA)
The NYC Department of Buildings. Look the address up on BIS or DOB NOW. Your attorney usually runs the search. The inspection reports the condition of what is there and flags work that typically needs a permit, such as a finished basement, a dormer or a moved panel, so you know what to ask about.
The New York City Construction Codes, the NYC Department of Buildings records and NYC water and sewer: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Bronx, so they are set out there with their sources instead of on each page.
Lou quotes the actual property, not a flat rate — what drives the price is size, age and what is included. The written report arrives the same day as a rule; a large or complex house can run to the next morning. Call or text 516-330-3870.
Lou covers Long Island, the five boroughs and Westchester from his base in Wantagh, and the archive behind these pages shows where that work has actually concentrated.
Nearby towns Lou has inspected: Crotona Park · Morris Park · Pelham Bay · Schuylerville · Harding Park · Clason Point · all 250 towns.
His Castle Hill file goes back to 2013. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.