Suffolk County · colonial

Home inspector in Cold Spring Harbor, NY

In 2019, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Cold Spring Harbor — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a colonial, about 26 years old.

Rated 4.9 on Google as of November 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870

What the Cold Spring Harbor report found

The report, as Lou wrote it up.

2019, a colonial, about 26 years old: 6 items flagged: 2 roof, chimney and attic; 2 exterior; 1 garage. As recorded: gable roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked, framed with 2 x 8 rafters; attic: attic hatch in bedroom closet, r-19 or better insulation, ridge vents, soffit vents and passive ventilation; clapboard wood siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, 2 x 10 and 4"x 8" x 2 steel i beams floor framing, steel lally columns; hydronic heat on natural gas, hot water off the boiler; 200-amp circuit breakers (General Electric and Murray), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; double-hung, thermal/insulated and casement windows, hardwood t&g, carpet and tile floors, wood cabinets, granite counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Recessed lighting fixtures in attic are a source of drafts”; “Clapboard was not trimmed to soffit fascia board, leaving voids under fascia at peaks on three sides of house”; “Void under trim left front”; “Rear glass sliding door lock, needs an adjustment, will not lock”; “Front stoop pavers need "OO" sand to fill in the joints”; “Front stoop left front has open joint”; “Left rear wooden stoop hand rail is loose, end post is rotted”; “Left rear wooden stoop, side fascia board is dry-rotted”; “Rear center wooden stoop end posts are dry rotted at bottom”; “Safety Item with pool in yard: Right side gate latch needs to be adjusted to lock”; “Safety Item: Door is steel but hollow, not fire rated”; “Both oven doors are full of cooking grease”. Also noted: “Brick chimney and cement cap is in good condition”; “Asphalt driveway has spider cracks and a hole from a container”; “Jacuzzi bath is GFCI protected to outlet at bottom behind entrance”; “Jacuzzi access panel is located in attic through master closet access”; “Fixture outside shower, bulb will not unscrew”; “Left side exterior wall near gas meter”; “No paper towels, wipes or long hair allowed in pump or pump will clog”; “Gem box to right of main panel, cover is missing”; “Fireplace converted to gas burning”; “GFCI outlet on side of pool panel does not trip”; “Inside of pool panel is rusted because door latch is broken”. On the day: 87°F, hot and humid, damp ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces west. Not present in this house: chemicals for pool capable of being stored with a lock; does pool have any rescue equipment; pool heaters; range hood; solid fuel heating devices; trash compactor; vapor retarders; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls.

“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.

What the inspection can examine here

The heating plant and any central air — operated in normal mode, dated from the data plate, with the flue and clearances looked at where accessible.
The panel, with the readily accessible covers off — New York requires it — and the visible wiring, outlets and grounding.
The roof, chimney and attic — how the roof was observed is stated in the report, as New York requires, and the attic is entered wherever a hatch allows.
Radon — a separate, optional test arranged alongside the inspection.

Photographs from Cold Spring Harbor reports

Two clay chimney flues with metal mesh caps; a red arrow points to the stainless liner inside one flue. — Boiler chimney is stainless steel lined, as recorded in the chimneys, flues and vents section of this Cold Spring Harbor Colonial report.

The photograph is from Lou's own Cold Spring Harbor inspection report, chosen because it shows a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.

Buying in Cold Spring Harbor: the questions with sourced answers

Each answer is built from Cold Spring Harbor’s own rows in public data — the Census, NYSDOH, NYSDEC, FEMA, the office that holds the permits — or from Lou’s reports, and cites its source. Data retrieved 1 November 2026.

How old are the houses in Cold Spring Harbor?

Median year built in zip 11724: 1961 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 1,059 units, 25% predates 1940; 4% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 22% and the 1970s at 15%. 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: 26 years old. (ACS)

How are homes in Cold Spring Harbor heated? Is an oil tank likely?

57% fuel oil or kerosene, 38% utility gas; fuel oil 57% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 43 petroleum spills at private homes in Cold Spring Harbor since 1990, 6 since 2015. 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)

Is Cold Spring Harbor mostly houses or apartments, owned or rented?

94% detached houses, 6% attached single-family houses; 95% owner-occupied (Suffolk County: 82%). Detached houses dominate, so most inspections here run from the roof to the foundation of one building. (ACS)

Is radon a concern in Cold Spring Harbor?

Town of Huntington: 161 basement tests, average 2.17 pCi/L, 20 at 4 or above (12%). Suffolk County: 8% of 576. First-floor tests there: 52, average 1.35. On the share at 4 or above, it ranks 2nd of the county’s 10 towns and cities. The highest basement reading was 22.2 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)

Has Cold Spring Harbor flooded? Is the house in a flood zone?

18 flood-insurance claims from zip 11724 since 1979, most in 2021 (4): 154th of the 189 zips on these pages. A claim count describes the zip, not the house. Flood zones follow the address. Check the address on FEMA’s map. (OpenFEMA)

Who holds the permits and certificate of occupancy in Cold Spring Harbor?

The Town of Huntington Building & Housing Division. 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.

How does Cold Spring Harbor compare with the towns around it?

By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: Cold Spring Harbor (zip 11724) 1961, 57%, 95%; Huntington (zip 11743): built 1958, oil 42%, 89% owner-occupied; Woodbury (zip 11797): built 1980, oil 30%, 87% owner-occupied; Syosset (zip 11791): built 1959, oil 41%, 93% owner-occupied. (ACS)

Which code, water and sewer rules apply in Cold Spring Harbor?

The New York State Uniform Code, the Suffolk County Water Authority and private wells, and the Sanitary Code rules on cesspools (no in-kind replacement since 2017) and I/A septic systems: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Suffolk County, so they are set out there with their sources instead of on each page.

How much does a home inspection in Cold Spring Harbor cost, and how fast is the report?

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.

Suffolk County, town by town

Every Suffolk County place with a page here, each with the real count from Lou's records. The Suffolk County page covers the county as a whole.

Where this sits in Lou's territory

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: Huntington · Woodbury · Syosset · Oyster Bay · Upper Brookville · East Norwich · all 250 towns.

Buying in Cold Spring Harbor?

His Cold Spring Harbor file goes back to 2019. Yours would not be the first.

Schedule an inspection Call 516-330-3870

Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.