Between 2018 and 2019, Lou Rubino inspected two homes in Midtown — two jobs, each with a written report, and the photographs below come from them. The reports describe an apartment building and an apartment house, from 89 to 111 years old.
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Lou’s two summaries flagged 5 items Repair or Replace, most for the kitchen (4) and exterior (1). Each report, newest first, as Lou wrote it up.
2019, an apartment house, about 111 years old: 1 item flagged: 1 kitchen. As recorded: seen from: permission not granted to view roof; brick full brick siding; brick, poured concrete and rock foundation, rienforced concrete floor framing, supporting walls and steel h beams; tankless con ed, city steam water heater (basement and water utility room); 200-amp circuit breakers (Aa Switchboard Comp), conduit wiring, cast iron supply pipes, public water, ptac; casement, thermal/insulated and double-hung windows, parqet, carpet and tile floors, laminate cabinets, granite counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Master bedroom, cracked at left side corner of side window”; “Water damage to parquet floor near master bedroom PTAC unit”; “Second bedroom, right side window does not open stuck at top of frame”. Also noted: “Active construction on brick exterior to replace rusted steel, window lentil irons and brick work above windows”; “Work estimated time of completion is September 2019”; “Trash Chute in 4th floor, common hallway closet”; “Safety Item: Shower door glass does not appear to be Safety Glass”; “Shower diverter in tub spout is stuck in on position”; “Safety Item: GFCI outlet in medicine cabinet does not trip”; “Structural concrete column taking up space in assigned storage bin”; “Water pressure in building is maintained by twin lift pumps and water tank on roof”; “Water is heated by Con Ed City”; “Gas only supplied for clothes dryers in laundry room”; “Car must be taken when handling old wiring as insulation can crumble”; “Main apartment shut off switch in 4th floor electrical closet”; “Steam supplied by Con Ed City Steam”; “Living room, steam shut off valve handle off at PTAC unit”. On the day: 74°F, rain, wet ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces west. Not inspected that day: ceilings; dishwasher; eaves, soffits and fascias; flashings; floors; insulation under floor system; outlets & fixtures; plumbing water faucets; roof coverings; roof drainage systems; roof ventilation; service entrance conductors; skylights, chimneys and roof penetrations. Not present in this house: basement windows; burner; burner for water heater; chimneys, flues and vents; combustion air; fence; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; heating equipment; range hood; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; vapor retarders; windows.
2018, an apartment building, about 89 years old: 4 items flagged: 3 kitchen; 1 exterior. As recorded: flat roof, flat roof walkingtile and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked; attic: no storage, none found ventilation; brick full brick siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, rienforced concrete floor framing, supporting walls; hydronic heat on oil, hot water off the boiler; 60-amp circuit breakers (Federal Pacific), BX wiring, cast iron supply pipes, public water, ptac unit; double-hung, single pane and interior draft wndows windows, hardwood t&g, carpet and concrete in basement and stairwell floors, wood cabinets, ceramic tile counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Apartment exterior windows are original with single pane glass, and interior draft windows are difficult to slide, very inefficient”; “Windows are drafty, leaking, very heavy and difficult to open and close”; “Vinyl tiles worn and cracked”; “Cabinets are in good condition”; “Ceramic counter tiles loose, cracked and chipped and mismatched”; “Water damage to wall below window”; “Most likely from leaving window open during rain over extended period as noted on rusted window sills”; “Area tested low on moisture meter scale”; “Master bedroom, exterior and interior metal window sills rusted”; “Obvious long term damage to metal sills”; “Window lower sash glass is cracked across entire width”; “No apartment number on entrance door”; “Entrance door lock sticks”; “For ease of everyday use”; “Entrance closet door does not close out of square, no striker for door knob”; “Wall is water damaged from leaking shower head pipe near window”; “Tiles are loose from ongoing water damage of shower head pipe”; “Safety item: Trip hazard marble saddle is too high not same level as floor tile”; “Plaster wall above shower head has extensive water damage”. Also noted: “Burner igniters worked but gas off at time of inspection”; “Electrical box in built out closet”; “Original window with Interior draft windows need replacement outlived usefulness”; “Pipe has been leaking for a long period to cause substantial damage”; “Only two outlets in each room”; “Safety Item: Sub panel is Federal Pacific Stab Lock Brand know as latent fire-hazard”; “Only in Master bedroom and living room”. On the day: 40°F, cloudy, snow flurries, wet ground; the house faces east. Not inspected that day: ceilings; floors; insulation in attic; insulation under floor system; plumbing water faucets; ranges/ovens/cooktops; roof structure and attic; trash compactor; visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: basement windows; electric meter location; fence; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; instant hot water; microwave cooking equipment; outlets & fixtures; pantry/closet doors; presence of installed cooling source in each room; presence of installed heat source in each room; roof ventilation; sump pump; vapor retarders; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: The Manhattan page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Midtown inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10022: 1958 (Manhattan: 1951). Of 25,686 units, 30% predates 1940; 6% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 18% and the 1960s at 17%. 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: 89 to 111 years old. (ACS)
58% utility gas, 20% electricity; fuel oil 12% against 15% county-wide. NYSDEC logs Manhattan home oil spills under the borough, not Midtown. 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)
74% buildings of 50 or more units, 17% buildings of 20 to 49 units, 4% buildings of 10 to 19 units; 48% owner-occupied (Manhattan: 25%). With 90% of units in buildings of 20 or more, many purchases here are apartments: the inspection covers the unit, and the roof, plant and risers belong to the board. Lou’s jobs here included a co-op apartment. (ACS)
Manhattan (reported by borough): 131 basement tests, average 2.09 pCi/L, 16 at 4 or above (12%). First-floor tests there: 68, average 2.7. The highest basement reading was 49.5 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)
40 flood-insurance claims from zip 10022 since 1978, most in 1979 (17): 113th 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 NYC Department of Buildings. Look the address up on BIS or DOB NOW. 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 City Construction Codes, the NYC Department of Buildings records, NYC water and sewer and the offering-plan rules for co-ops and condos: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Manhattan, 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: Sutton Place · Lenox Hill · Midtown East · Upper East Side · Lincoln Square · Yorkville · all 250 towns.
His Midtown 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.