In 2018, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Port Richmond — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a colonial, about 119 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.
2018, a colonial, about 119 years old: 8 items flagged: 3 roof, chimney and attic; 3 exterior; 1 kitchen. As recorded: gable and flat roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: drone, framed with 2 x 6 rafters; attic: walk up stairs, r-19 insulation, ridge vents, soffit vents and windows ventilation; cement shingle and ashphalt shingle asbestos slate shingle and asphalt siding, chimney: brick; brick foundation, 2 x 10 and 6"x 6" main wood beam floor framing, wood piers; steam boiler heat on oil, hot water off the boiler; 100-amp circuit breakers (General Electric), BX wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, window AC; double-hung, single pane and storm windows windows, carpet and linoleum floors, wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Chimney needs to be repaired and pointed from roof line up”; “Stone cap and top three courses of brick are loose”; “Left rear leader pipe should be directed to yard”; “Right, middle and left side brick columns for front deck have loose and missing brick”; “Right side column is undermining”; “Floor joists under front and rear decks are not supported by Teaco brackets”; “Wood columns under front and rear decks need to be on concrete”; “Rear deck stairs need to rest on concrete”; “Large tree, left side is lifting side walk and impacting left front foundation corner”; “Second cabinet draw to left of sink track is broken”; “Door frame to kitchen out of square”; “Right rear bedroom walls cracked near corner and over hall door”; “Right rear bedroom hall door is out of square”; “Right front bedroom door to hallway is out of square”; “Second floor stair railing is loose”; “Basement stair rail needs balusters”; “Exterior brick foundation wall has open joints around perimeter, needs to be pointed”. Also noted: “Rear flat roof is showing signs of wear, mineral is worn”; “Oil fill pipe and vent left side rear”; “Outside under front deck right side”; “Most outlets in house are two prong, open ground”; “Water in boiler site glass is very rusty”; “Bathroom radiator valve is wrapped in duct tape”; “Hallway radiator valve wrapped in duct tape”; “Right rear room 1st floor radiator valve wrapped in duct tape”. On the day: 80°F, clear, dry ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces south. Not present in this house: clothes dryer; clothes dryer vent piping; clothes washer; cooling and air handler equipment; dishwasher; exhaust fan; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; instant hot water; insulation under floor system; microwave cooking equipment; operation of gfci; outlets & fixtures; presence of installed cooling source in each room; range hood; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; trash compactor; 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.
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Both photographs are from Lou's own Port Richmond inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10302: 1952 (Staten Island: 1974). Of 6,927 units, 37% predates 1940; 14% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 12% and the 1960s at 11%. 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: 119 years old. (ACS)
83% utility gas, 8% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 8% against 4% county-wide. NYSDEC logs Staten Island home oil spills under the borough, not Port Richmond. 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)
47% detached houses, 32% two-unit buildings, 10% attached single-family houses; 57% owner-occupied (Staten Island: 68%). Two- to four-unit buildings are 35%; a multi-family house means shared systems, separate meters and what each unit controls. (ACS)
Staten Island (reported by borough): 253 basement tests, average 1.38 pCi/L, 16 at 4 or above (6%). First-floor tests there: 64, average 1.19. The highest basement reading was 14.1 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)
595 flood-insurance claims from zip 10302 since 1978, most in 1978 (129): 29th 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.
By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: Port Richmond (zip 10302) 1952, 8%, 57%; Heartland Village (zip 10314): built 1976, oil 3%, 75% owner-occupied; Staten Island (zip 10304): built 1966, oil 4%, 49% owner-occupied; Concord (zip 10305): built 1974, oil 4%, 65% owner-occupied. (ACS)
The New York City Construction Codes, the NYC Department of Buildings records and NYC water and sewer: county-wide, written once. They are the same for every town in Staten Island, 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: Heartland Village · Meiers Corners · Staten Island · Concord · Shore Acres · Bay Ridge · all 250 towns.
His Port Richmond 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.