Suffolk County · colonial

Home inspector in Farmingville, NY

In 2020, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Farmingville — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a colonial.

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

What the Farmingville report found

The report, as Lou wrote it up.

2020, a colonial, new construction: 6 items flagged: 3 exterior; 2 roof, chimney and attic; 1 kitchen. As recorded: gable and hip roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked, framed with 2 x 8 rafters; attic: pull down stairs, r-19 insulation, ridge vents, soffit vents and passive ventilation; clapboard vinyl siding; poured concrete foundation, 2 x 10 and 2 x 12 x 2 ea lam beam floor framing, steel lally columns; forced air heat on natural gas, tankless gas (quick recovery) water heater (basement and utility room); 200-amp circuit breakers (Square D), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; double-hung, thermal/insulated and sliders windows, hardwood t&g floors, plastic cabinets, granite counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Right front valley shingle are not weaved tight”; “Down-spout and leader pipe needed right rear, near green drain pipe”; “Left front garage gutter pipe filled with leaves and elbow needed so water won't splash over”; “Left front upper gutter filled with leaves”; “Right front upper gutter filled with leaves”; “Floor protectors needed on bottom of pull down step stringers”; “Basement entrance door very hard to close”; “Front stoop third step has large space with riser”; “Rear wooden steps, posts need caps to prevent checking”; “Rear basement steps, platform needs to be kept free of debris or drain will clog and basement will flood”; “Front asphalt and paver walkway needs to be completed to front steps”; “Left side of driveway is undermining near garage”; “Watch for cracks in asphalt and pavers”; “Water runoff is running down right side of house into basement entrance”; “Soil is eroding from right right front and washing down walkway into basement entrance”; “Unit not secured to cabinet or counter”; “Front window left side, top sash won't stay up”. Also noted: “Drywell cover plate and clean out, left front of property”; “New, be sure to install batteries”; “Three zones with hot water on demand”; “Unit must be serviced every year to prevent acid condensate damage”. On the day: 71°F, clear, dry ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces east. Not present in this house: clothes dryer; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; instant hot water; insulation under floor system; range hood; solid fuel heating devices; trash compactor; vapor retarders; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls; windows.

“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 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.
Kitchen plumbing, GFCI protection and the built-in appliances, run through their normal cycles.
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.
Radon — a separate, optional test arranged alongside the inspection.

Photographs from Farmingville reports

Roof valley on a new asphalt shingle roof with a red arrow at the valley centre. — Right front valley shingles are not weaved tight on this new construction Farmingville Colonial, while the left front valley is done correctly.

Concrete basement floor between two plastic-wrapped units with red lines tracing a crack and two red arrows. — Basement floor is cracked at the entrance to the boiler room, recorded under floors (structural) in the report for this new construction home.

Both photographs are from Lou's own Farmingville inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.

Buying in Farmingville: the questions with sourced answers

Each answer is built from Farmingville’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 Farmingville?

Median year built in zip 11738: 1972 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 5,888 units, the 1970s built the most, 31%; 9% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1960s at 22% and the 1950s at 11%. 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. (ACS)

How are homes in Farmingville heated? Is an oil tank likely?

66% fuel oil or kerosene, 24% utility gas; fuel oil 66% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 240 petroleum spills at private homes in Farmingville since 1986, 82 since 2015. 14 were logged in 2012, the year of Hurricane Sandy. 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 Farmingville mostly houses or apartments, owned or rented?

86% detached houses, 4% buildings of 5 to 9 units; 79% 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 Farmingville?

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)

Has Farmingville flooded? Is the house in a flood zone?

24 flood-insurance claims from zip 11738 since 1978, most in 1979 (9): 142nd 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 Farmingville?

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.

How does Farmingville compare with the towns around it?

By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: Farmingville (zip 11738) 1972, 66%, 79%; Medford (zip 11763): built 1976, oil 62%, 90% owner-occupied; South Setauket (zip 11720): built 1969, oil 37%, 86% owner-occupied; Holbrook (zip 11741): built 1975, oil 54%, 77% owner-occupied. (ACS)

Which code, water and sewer rules apply in Farmingville?

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 Farmingville 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: Medford · South Setauket · Holbrook · Lake Grove · Nesconset · Patchogue · all 250 towns.

Buying in Farmingville?

His Farmingville file goes back to 2020. 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.