In 2016, Lou Rubino inspected one home in East Moriches — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a farm ranch, about 94 years old.
Rated 4.9 on Google as of November 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870
The report, as Lou wrote it up.
2016, a farm ranch, about 94 years old: 26 items flagged: 7 exterior; 6 roof, chimney and attic; 5 structure. As recorded: gable roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 6 x 24" o/c rafters; attic: attic access and no storage, fiberglass and r-19 insulation, gable vents and soffit vents ventilation; cedar shingle cedar siding, chimney: brick; brick foundation, 2 x 8 x 24" o/c and 6" x 6" main beam x 3 floor framing, locust post wood piers in soil, crawlspace: crawled; hydronic heat on oil, tankless propane (quick recovery) and oil water heater (basement); 200-amp circuit breakers (Westinghouse and Cole-Hammer), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; double-hung windows, pine t & g and hardwood t&g floors, wood cabinets, wood counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Roofing is very wavy. Installed over cedar shakes”; “Shingle missing from ridge. right side front”; “Two layers of roofing one asphalt and one cedar”; “Hole in right side chimney flashing and wood piece not flashed below cricket”; “Cement chimney cap cracked down into brickwork”; “Left rear leader pipe does not have splash block”; “Insulation placed between roof rafters”; “This will cause cupping of the roofing material from overheating and shorten life of roofing”; “Front cedar shingle are damaged and have holes from wood boring bees”; “Front wooden screen door does close properly and out of square, bottom panel is loose”; “Left side screen door needs paint and does not close properly”; “Steel Bilco basement door still has original primer paint rusting at bottom and overgrown with vegetation”; “Rear mud room door knob is loose”; “Some storm sashes missing”; “Rear deck teak wood is weathered”; “Shrubs overgrown onto front sidewalk”; “Front stone walkway joints are eroded”; “Many areas are peeling and in need of paint”; “Front chain fence is not connected to pier right front”; “Door hinge and latch broke, operates with door open”. Also noted: “Roll up doors have been removed and replaced with plywood barn doors”; “Raw Wooden counter should be sealed especially around sink area”; “Propane in driveway left rear”; “Main panel, in basement to left of entrance”; “Sub panel, in guest house”; “Pipe below zone pump closest to boiler is very rusted appears to be leaking”; “Insulation is falling off metal duct in basement near fuel tank”; “Duct work in crawl space was installed wrong. Should not be laying in soil”; “Not insulated on repaired section and older section is rusted out on bottom for entire length”; “Fireplace flue closed off”; “Ground wire not connected to pump grounding lug”; “Pump outlet is not GFCI protected”; “Gates and fence are not proper for a pool in yard”; “Outlet next to water heater cover is missing”; “Second floor cover missing from outlet, near to steps”; “Roll up door has been removed and replaced with a barn door”. On the day: 95°F, clear, hot and humid, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces south. Not inspected that day: does pool have any rescue equipment; electric lights secure; pool liner condition; roof structure and attic; surface walls and floor of pool; whole house trap. Not present in this house: bathroom exhaust fans and/or heaters; clothes dryer vent piping; cooling equipment; dryer vents; ducts and vents; fireplace/chimney; food waste disposer; gas meter; heating equipment; pool heaters; range hood; ranges/ovens/cooktops; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; trash compactor.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: The Suffolk County page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
The photograph is from Lou's own East Moriches inspection report, chosen because it shows a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 11940: 1979 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 2,212 units, the 1970s built the most, 20%; 21% is from 2000 on. Next come the 2000s at 16% and the 1990s at 16%. 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: 94 years old. (ACS)
56% fuel oil or kerosene, 29% utility gas; fuel oil 56% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 44 petroleum spills at private homes in East Moriches since 1988, 18 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)
74% detached houses, 12% buildings of 10 to 19 units, 5% buildings of 5 to 9 units; 68% owner-occupied (Suffolk County: 82%). Detached houses dominate, so most inspections here run from the roof to the foundation of one building. (ACS)
Town of Brookhaven: 153 basement tests, average 1.79 pCi/L, 8 at 4 or above (5%). Suffolk County: 8% of 576. First-floor tests there: 85, average 0.79. On the share at 4 or above, it ranks 6th of the county’s 10 towns and cities. The highest basement reading was 15.6 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)
174 flood-insurance claims from zip 11940 since 1978, most in 2012 (64): 57th 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 Town of Brookhaven Building 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.
By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: East Moriches (zip 11940) 1979, 56%, 68%; Remsenburg (zip 11960): built 1983, oil 69%, 100% owner-occupied; Speonk (zip 11972): built 1977, oil 100%, 61% owner-occupied; Manorville (zip 11949): built 1993, oil 36%, 87% owner-occupied. (ACS)
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.
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: Remsenburg · Speonk · Manorville · Westhampton Beach · Shirley · Ridge · all 250 towns.
His East Moriches file goes back to 2016. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.