Between 2018 and 2019, Lou Rubino inspected two homes in Medford — two jobs, each with a written report, and the photographs below come from them. The reports describe two colonials, from 23 to 23 years old.
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Lou’s two summaries flagged 12 items Repair or Replace, most for the exterior (6), roof, chimney and attic (4) and structure (2). Each report, newest first, as Lou wrote it up.
2019, a colonial, about 23 years old: 6 items flagged: 3 exterior; 2 roof, chimney and attic; 1 structure. As recorded: hip roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked, framed with 2 x 8 rafters; attic: scuttle hole in closet and light in attic, r-30 or better insulation, soffit vents and passive ventilation; brick and clapboard vinyl and full brick siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, steel lally columns and supporting walls; hydronic heat on oil, hot water off the boiler; 200-amp circuit breakers (Square D), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; casement, thermal/insulated and awning windows, hardwood t&g, carpet and tile floors, wood cabinets, granite and laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Roof is 23 years old, one layer”; “Roof appears to be 30 year shingle”; “May get five to seven years more depending on the weather conditions”; “Capping missing left side lower at peak corner”; “Capping cracked at peak corner left side upper”; “Leader pipe next to chimney left side needs extension pipe”; “Leader pipe left rear of garage needs pipe extension”; “Leader pipe, right rear, needs extension pipe”; “Leader pipe left front of garage needs pipe extension”; “Upper leader pipe over front entrance should be extended to lower gutter, to avoid wearing out lower roof”; “Screens missing from first floor windows”; “Right rear basement entrance wall cracked both sides from frost heaving”; “Basement entrance lower landing, leaves accumulated near drain”; “In heavy rain drain will not take water. Water will overflow into basement”; “Basement entrance railing rusted, needs scape and paint”; “No access panel to work on jacuzzi pump and motor”; “On off switch does not work”; “Basement floor cracked near boiler and water heater”. Also noted: “Chimney cap in good condition”; “Eight inch insulation between joists”; “Spider cracked, no repairs”; “Non noticed, pressured treated lumber as sill plate”; “Indirect fired off boiler”; “Water meter under basement kitchen sink”; “Main fuel oil shut off valve in basement under tank and in yard under pool heater oil tank”; “Main panel and sub panel in basement left front corner”; “Pool sub panel behind pool right rear”; “Electrical meter left front exterior wall”; “Basement baseboard radiators did not get hot, only radiant heat in basement bath got hot”; “A/C compressor is 23 years old”; “Too cold to operate A/C without damage, below 60degrees”; “Basement is not A/C cooled”; “Pumps are stored in pool shed for winter”; “Winterized, no fuel oil in tank”; “Grounding wires for pool pumps are present”. On the day: 43°F, clear, damp ground; the house faces south. Not inspected that day: do steps or ladders exist on both sides of the pool; electric lights secure; insulation under floor system; is the pool depth marked on outside area of pool; is there a depth of at least 8 feet to allow safe diving; operational condition of pool; pool heaters; pool liner condition; pumps for circulation of water; pumps for vacuum or cleaning; surface walls and floor of pool; vapor retarders; water level should be within inches from rim to allow an easier climb out. Not present in this house: burner for water heater; can fence be climbed by the use of personal items or structures against fence; does pool have any rescue equipment; gas meter; is the pool fenced; solid fuel heating devices; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls; windows.
2018, a colonial, about 23 years old: 6 items flagged: 3 exterior; 2 roof, chimney and attic; 1 structure. As recorded: hip roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked, framed with 2 x 8 rafters; attic: scuttle hole in closet and light in attic, r-30 or better insulation, soffit vents and passive ventilation; brick and clapboard vinyl and full brick siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, steel lally columns and supporting walls; hydronic heat on oil, hot water off the boiler; 200-amp circuit breakers (Square D), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; casement, thermal/insulated and awning windows, hardwood t&g, carpet and tile floors, wood cabinets, granite and laminate counters. On the day: 43°F, clear, damp ground; the house faces south. Not inspected that day: do steps or ladders exist on both sides of the pool; electric lights secure; insulation under floor system; is the pool depth marked on outside area of pool; is there a depth of at least 8 feet to allow safe diving; operational condition of pool; pool heaters; pool liner condition; pumps for circulation of water; pumps for vacuum or cleaning; surface walls and floor of pool; vapor retarders; water level should be within inches from rim to allow an easier climb out. Not present in this house: burner for water heater; can fence be climbed by the use of personal items or structures against fence; does pool have any rescue equipment; gas meter; is the pool fenced; solid fuel heating devices; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls; windows.
“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.
Both photographs are from Lou's own Medford inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 11763: 1976 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 10,001 units, the 1970s built the most, 38%; 17% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1960s at 16% and the 2000s 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: 23 to 23 years old. (ACS)
62% fuel oil or kerosene, 24% utility gas; fuel oil 62% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 390 petroleum spills at private homes in Medford since 1987, 142 since 2015. 12 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)
79% detached houses, 11% attached single-family houses; 90% 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)
29 flood-insurance claims from zip 11763 since 1978, most in 1980 (8): 134th 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 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.
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: Farmingville · Patchogue · Holbrook · Shirley · Blue Point · South Setauket · all 250 towns.
His Medford file goes back to 2018. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.