Between 2014 and 2020, Lou Rubino inspected 11 homes in Merrick. Like its neighbours, Merrick splits in two: older streets near the railroad with houses that pre-date the war, and the post-war spread of capes and splits filling in around them, running south to the canals.
Rated 5.0 on Google as of August 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870
On older Merrick blocks the electrical system is often the honest historian of the house. Lou opens the readily accessible panel covers on every inspection — New York requires it (19 NYCRR 197-5.9) — and what is behind the door is where Merrick findings have concentrated — water damage reaching a main breaker, a breaker carrying two circuits under one lug — the kind of thing only visible with the cover off.
Heating runs a close second. Chimneys and flues that served an oil boiler for fifty years have usually been converted, re-lined or abandoned somewhere along the way, and which one happened is worth knowing before closing rather than after.
Related: Old wiring and panels, explained · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Merrick inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Asphalt and slate-type roofs age in legible stages: curling, cracking, slipped pieces, exposed fasteners. Reading the stage helps establish the visible wear and whether maintenance, repair or further evaluation is the honest next step. The report must say how the roof was examined.
Flashing — the metal where a roof meets a wall, a chimney or another roof — is where most leaks actually start. A leak here typically shows up rooms away from its source, which is why the report photographs the source. How moisture problems are traced.
Flashing — the metal where a roof meets a wall, a chimney or another roof — is where most leaks actually start. A leak here typically shows up rooms away from its source, which is why the report photographs the source. How moisture problems are traced.
Siding, trim, masonry and parged walls are the building's raincoat, and cracks or failed mortar can give water a way in. The report documents their location and pattern so the right contractor or specialist can evaluate them when warranted. Where water gets in, explained.
Cracks and damaged framing are information: their pattern and extent tell the report whether further evaluation by an engineer or the right contractor is the honest next step. The report documents location and extent so change can be seen later. What a condition report does and does not rule on.
An inspector removes the readily accessible panel covers because New York requires it — most of what matters in a panel is invisible with the cover on. Double-tapped breakers, mixed wire eras and scorched connections are all findings that only appear with the cover off. Why the covers come off.
All photographs are from Lou's own inspection reports for jobs in this area, screened so nothing identifies a property or an owner.
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.
Also nearby: Bellmore · Freeport · East Meadow · all 26 towns.
His Merrick file goes back to 2014. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.