In 2014, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Ridge — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a ranch, about 34 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.
2014, a ranch, about 34 years old: 9 items flagged: 3 roof, chimney and attic; 2 exterior; 2 garage. As recorded: gable roof, 3-tab fiberglass, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 6 rafters and wood trusses; attic: pull down stairs in garage, fiberglass and r-19 insulation, gable vents, passive and thermostatically controlled fan ventilation; clapboard aluminum siding; poured concrete slab foundation, concrte slab floor framing; insulated ducts, 40 gallon (1-2 people) electric water heater (hall bath); 150-amp circuit breakers (Square D), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; double-hung windows, carpet floors, wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Some gutter support spikes are pulling out”; “Bump in roof structure left side front”; “Insulation missing from three bays over living room and two bays over front entrance”; “Maintenance Item: Exterior walls are aluminum sided, that has been painted”; “Front entrance patio cracked in two places”; “Garage floor cracked right front, was patched and is open again”; “Safety Item: Garage door does not have auto reverse safety”; “Kitchen windows child safety lift stop will not stay in when lifting window, also jambs window when closing”; “Windows child safety lift stop will not stay in when lifting window, also jambs window when closing”; “Window won't open and won't pop forward for cleaning”; “Slab cracked laterally on right side of garage”. Also noted: “Thermostatically controlled attic fan”; “A/C duct in attic outer layer is torn”. On the day: 82°F, clear, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces south. Not inspected that day: fence; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls. Not present in this house: ceramic floor; chimneys, flues and vents; food waste disposer; fuel storage and distribution systems; microwave cooking equipment; occupant door from garage to inside home; range hood; solid fuel heating devices; 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.
The photograph is from Lou's own Ridge inspection report, chosen because it shows a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 11961: 1979 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 6,142 units, the 1970s built the most, 34%; 12% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1980s at 26% and the 1950s at 10%. 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: 34 years old. (ACS)
42% fuel oil or kerosene, 35% electricity; fuel oil 42% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 109 petroleum spills at private homes in Ridge since 1988, 33 since 2015. 5 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)
63% detached houses, 23% attached single-family houses, 4% buildings of 3 or 4 units; 89% 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)
9 flood-insurance claims from zip 11961 since 1979, most in 1979 (3): 175th 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.
By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: Ridge (zip 11961) 1979, 42%, 89%; Shoreham (zip 11786): built 1974, oil 68%, 96% owner-occupied; Wading River (zip 11792): built 1978, oil 75%, 99% owner-occupied; Manorville (zip 11949): built 1993, oil 36%, 87% owner-occupied. (ACS)
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: Shoreham · Wading River · Manorville · Shirley · Medford · Farmingville · all 250 towns.
His Ridge 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.