In 2016, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Ossining — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a town home, about 29 years old.
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The report, as Lou wrote it up.
2016, a town home, about 29 years old: 9 items flagged: 4 exterior; 3 roof, chimney and attic; 2 kitchen. As recorded: gable roof, 3-tab fiberglass, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2" x 6" engineered wood trusses; attic: scuttle hole in closet and no storage, fiberglass and r-19 insulation, ridge vents and soffit vents ventilation; clapboard wood siding, chimney: wood; poured concrete slab foundation, 2 x 10 and rienforced concrete floor framing, supporting walls; hydronic heat on gas, 40 gallon (1-2 people) electric water heater (garage); 150-amp circuit breakers (Crouse-Hinds), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; double-hung windows, tile, carpet and hardwood t&g floors, laminate cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Original roof 29 years old. At end of life”; “Chimneys have roof cricket”; “Make sure roofers do not remove crickets during roof repair”; “Wood siding on chimney is dry rotted”; “Front leader pipes are crushed”; “Some water damage to siding in corner to left of entrance”; “Trees are overhanging roof in rear”; “Front fascia board to right of chimney paint is peeling”; “Wall damaged from plumbing repairs”; “Wall damaged from plumbing repairs second floor behind bedroom bath”. Also noted: “Rear deck gate is falling apart”; “Master ceiling fan inoperable”; “Toilet, water runs continually”; “Valve removed from toilet tank”; “Shower doesn't close completely, heavy drip”; “Outside to left of entrance below gas meter”; “Outside to left of entrance”. On the day: 52°F, clear, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces south. Not inspected that day: garage door operators; visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: basement windows; burner; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; insulation under floor system; trash compactor; vapor retarders; ventilation of foundation area; windows.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: The Westchester page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
Both photographs are from Lou's own Ossining inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10562: 1962 (Westchester: 1958). Of 12,745 units, 31% predates 1940; 7% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1960s at 17% and the 1980s at 15%. 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: 29 years old. (ACS)
48% utility gas, 33% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 33% against 30% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 734 petroleum spills at private homes in Ossining since 1987, 212 since 2015. 26 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)
39% detached houses, 14% buildings of 50 or more units, 12% attached single-family houses; 61% owner-occupied (Westchester: 62%). Two- to four-unit buildings are 19%; a multi-family house means shared systems, separate meters and what each unit controls. Lou’s jobs here included a townhouse. (ACS)
Town of Ossining: 83 basement tests, average 2.12 pCi/L, 10 at 4 or above (12%). Westchester: 18% of 2,826. First-floor tests there: 34, average 0.71. On the share at 4 or above, it ranks 20th of the county’s 23 towns and cities. The highest basement reading was 10.9 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)
90 flood-insurance claims from zip 10562 since 1978, most in 1999 (21): 77th 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 Village of Ossining 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: Ossining (zip 10562) 1962, 33%, 61%; Croton-on-Hudson (zip 10520): built 1961, oil 34%, 69% owner-occupied; Chappaqua (zip 10514): built 1965, oil 48%, 88% owner-occupied; Briarcliff Manor (zip 10510): built 1970, oil 25%, 82% owner-occupied. (ACS)
The New York State Uniform Code, the local water suppliers and the county rule on testing private wells at sale: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Westchester, 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: Croton-on-Hudson · Chappaqua · Briarcliff Manor · Pleasantville · Congers · New City · all 250 towns.
His Ossining file goes back to 2016. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.