In 2024, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Garden City South — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a cape, about 76 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.
2024, a cape, about 76 years old: 8 items flagged: 2 roof, chimney and attic; 2 kitchen; 2 rooms. As recorded: gable roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: ground and binoculars, framed with 2 x 6 rafters; attic: no light in attic, no storage and attic hatch in hallway, fiberglass, below and r-19 insulation, gable vents and soffit vents ventilation; brick and clapboard vinyl and full brick siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, 2 x 8 and 3 1/2" x 6" steel i beam floor framing, steel lally columns; insulated and non-insulated ducts, 40 gallon (1-2 people) gas (quick recovery) water heater (basement and utility room); 100-amp circuit breakers (Eaton Main Panel), romex and BX wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; casement, double-hung and thermal/insulated windows, hardwood t&g and ceramic tile floors, plastic cabinets, quartz counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Cement chimney cap is cracked at edge”; “Hole in brick joints of chimney top course”; “Front storm door lock and handle are loose”; “Safety item: No Safety Cables on garage door springs”; “Right side refrigerator handle loose”; “Filter for refrigerator in basement needs to be supported”; “Microwave over stove is not vented”; “One halogen bulb out under microwave”; “Junction box on ceiling in living room over front doorway”; “Access panel needs to be installed to cover box”; “Kitchen window screens missing”; “Living room front window no screens and left side sash is fogged”. Also noted: “Covered with a lot of storage”; “Foundation is cracked to front of left side basement window”; “Whole house trap located in basement floor near front wall to left of center”; “Air separator at top of boiler, air bleeder was leaking water at time of inspection”; “Safety Item: 2nd floor left side and master bedrooms baseboard radiator, sharp edge of cover is exposed”; “Chimney is stainless steel lined as seen with binoculars”; “Evap in attic does have and emergency shut off switch in drip pan”. On the day: 72°F, cloudy, damp ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces east. Not inspected that day: ceilings; clothes washer; garage floor; garage walls; roof structure and attic; visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: attic; attic pulldown steps; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; occupant door from garage to inside home; range hood; solid fuel heating devices; trash compactor; vapor retarders.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: The Nassau County page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
The photograph is from Lou's own Garden City South inspection report, chosen because it shows a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 11530: 1950 (Nassau County: 1955). Of 10,178 units, 36% predates 1940; 5% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 34% and the 1940s at 12%. 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: 76 years old. (ACS)
78% utility gas, 14% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 14% against 28% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 6 petroleum spills at private homes in Garden City South since 1987, 0 since 2015. A gas conversion can leave a tank behind. An abandoned tank is most likely in a house that was converted from oil. Buried tanks are outside the standards New York sets for a home inspection, so the seller’s answer matters. (ACS, NYSDEC)
79% detached houses, 7% buildings of 50 or more units, 5% buildings of 20 to 49 units; 89% owner-occupied (Nassau County: 82%). Detached houses dominate, so most inspections here run from the roof to the foundation of one building. (ACS)
Town of Hempstead: 401 basement tests, average 1.22 pCi/L, 11 at 4 or above (3%). Nassau County: 6% of 837. First-floor tests there: 124, average 0.62. On the share at 4 or above, it ranks 4th of the county’s 5 towns and cities. The highest basement reading was 8.3 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)
24 flood-insurance claims from zip 11530 since 1978, most in 1978 (5): 140th 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)
The Town of Hempstead Building Department. 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: Garden City South (zip 11530) 1950, 14%, 89%; Mineola (zip 11501): built 1954, oil 21%, 66% owner-occupied; Carle Place (zip 11514): built 1954, oil 19%, 76% owner-occupied; Williston Park (zip 11596): built 1942, oil 13%, 83% owner-occupied. (ACS)
The New York State Uniform Code, groundwater from 46 public water systems, the county sewer-connection rule and the Article XI heating-oil tank closure program: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Nassau 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: Garden City · Stewart Manor · Mineola · Carle Place · Williston Park · West Hempstead · all 250 towns.
His Garden City South file goes back to 2024. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.