Suffolk County · contemporary and colonial

Home inspector in Riverhead, NY

Between 2016 and 2021, Lou Rubino inspected two homes in Riverhead — two jobs, each with a written report, and the photographs below come from them. The reports describe a colonial and a contemporary, from 9 to 37 years old.

Rated 4.9 on Google as of November 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870

What the Riverhead reports found

Lou’s two summaries flagged 20 items Repair or Replace, most for the roof, chimney and attic (5), exterior (4) and kitchen (4). Each report, newest first, as Lou wrote it up.

2021, a colonial, about 9 years old: 5 items flagged: 2 rooms; 1 roof, chimney and attic; 1 exterior. As recorded: gable roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: ground, framed with 2 x 12 rafters; attic: pull down stairs, storage and light in attic, r-19 insulation, ridge vents, soffit vents and thermostatically controlled fan ventilation; wood shingle look vinyl and cement-fiber siding, chimney: PVC; poured concrete foundation, 4 x12 lam beams x 2 floor framing, steel lally columns; insulated ducts, hot water off the boiler; (2) 150-amp service panel circuit breakers (Murray and Eaton), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, air conditioner unit; awning, casement and double-hung windows, hardwood t&g, laminated t&g and tile floors, plastic cabinets, granite counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Dormer over garage needs leader and gutter system both sides”; “Left rear leader pipe over lower roof needs extension to lower gutter”; “Dishwasher doors heavy from wood panels, spring in doors can not hold weight for easy open”; “Hole in sheetrock on basement stairwell”; “Laundry room sheetrock peeling behind sink”. Also noted: “Insulation has been placed between rafters with venting baffles, excellent”; “Left side deck has drop in railing sections for front and rear”; “Main GFCi for outlets in back splash and island, is breaker in garage, left side panel”; “Water heater has circulator pump for instant hot water at faucets”; “Main water shut off valve in basement, left front”; “Main propane ga shut off valve in grass right side of garage”; “Electric meter on right front exterior wall of garage”; “Generac whole house generator not tested, beyond scope of inspection”; “Modeen hot water space heater in garage”. On the day: 75°F, cloudy, heavy rain, wet ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces east. Not present in this house: food waste disposer; garage door operators; microwave cooking equipment; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; trash compactor; vapor retarders.

2016, a contemporary, about 37 years old: 15 items flagged: 4 roof, chimney and attic; 3 exterior; 3 kitchen. As recorded: gable roof, architectural, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 8 rafters and 2 x 10 rafters; attic: scuttle hole in closet and attic hatch in garage, fiberglass and r-19 insulation, gable vents and thermostatically controlled fan ventilation; clapboard wood, vinyl and aluminum siding, chimney: brick; masonry block foundation, steel lally columns and steel screw jacks; hot water off the boiler; 200-amp circuit breakers (Cutler Hammer and Westinghouse), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, well water, split system; double-hung, casement and awning windows, hardwood t&g and carpet floors, wood cabinets, sialstone counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Wear marks and damaged shingle on garage roof from solar panel installation”; “Vines growing on garage roof”; “Cupola weather vane is worn out”; “No roofing tar on solar panel mounting bolts”; “Rubber Boot worn out around vent pipe”; “Left front leader pipe not in drainage pipe”; “Attic over second floor bedrooms ceiling 2"x 6" joists are not nailed together over bearing wall and over lap is lees than 6"”; “Location over 2nd floor bedroom, old A/C installation”; “Left side deck boards are loose and worn”; “Wood column supports are in soil and have been replaced with tree limbs”; “Left side deck gate hard to open, out of square”; “Left side deck boards not flat humped in middle”; “Stairs to beach railings open dangerous for children”; “Overlook deck right rear footing is exposed and undermining from erosion”; “Rear second floor deck boards are weathered and worn and nails are popping. (Trip hazard)”; “Brick walkway right rear is uneven, sunken down, hard to walk on, appears to be set in soil”; “Brick walkway left side is uneven, appears to be set in soil”; “Board walk in yard from house to overlook deck is dry rotted and slippery”; “Beach stairs and second landing, soil is pushing on hand rails and platform and stringers”; “Slope needs to heavily planted to prevent further erosion”. Also noted: “Top panel of Steel Bilco basement door in rusted through in corners”; “Wall can be erected at an angle to stairs to deflect eroding soil away from stair structure”; “Plumbing for slop sink in garage”; “These cracks coupled with cracks in wall in loft living room and bathroom are consistent with settlement cracks”; “Doors frames are out of square from settlement to both 2nd floor bedrooms and closet”; “Original hand crank missing”; “Corner of sheetrock is broken”; “Settlement cracks in wall of second floor hallway”; “Stairwell railing balusters are not 4" apart”; “Door missing from pantry in laundry room”; “Right side wall cracked from left to right”; “Left side wall cracked below window”; “Window crank handle stripped right side”; “Lower sash frame water damaged”; “Marble sink top is cracked and china sink is cracked and leaking”; “Door frame out of square, door hard to close, from settlement”; “Cultured marble sink is cracked”; “Block wall racked on right and left sides in garage”. On the day: 57°F, cloudy, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces south. Not inspected that day: cooling and air handler equipment; well pump and equipment; whole house generator. Not present in this house: fence; food waste disposer; gas meter; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; microwave cooking equipment; presence of installed cooling source in each room; sump pump; trash compactor; vapor retarders; windows.

“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.

What the inspection can examine here

The roof, chimney and attic — how the roof was observed is stated in the report, as New York requires, and the attic is entered wherever a hatch allows.
Kitchen plumbing, GFCI protection and the built-in appliances, run through their normal cycles.
The heating plant and any central air — operated in normal mode, dated from the data plate, with the flue and clearances looked at where accessible.
Radon — a separate, optional test arranged alongside the inspection.

Photographs from Riverhead reports

Attic rafters with loose wiring and an exposed wire connection hanging near a junction box, marked by a red arrow. — Wiring exposed near the attic fan; the report also notes the attic fan over the second floor bedrooms is disconnected. Lou recommended evaluation and repair by a licensed electrical contractor.

Dry beach grass and soil covering wooden bulkhead decking next to a timber post, marked by a red arrow. — Soil has eroded onto the bulkhead deck and grass is growing on the deck, as recorded in the exterior section of the report.

Basement ceiling showing wood I-joists with stamped lumber markings and yellow fibreglass insulation between them. — 2x12 wood I-beams with 12-inch insulation, photographed for the floor structure item of the report alongside the 4x12 laminated beams.

All three photographs are from Lou's own Riverhead inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.

Buying in Riverhead: the questions with sourced answers

Each answer is built from Riverhead’s own rows in public data — the Census, NYSDOH, NYSDEC, FEMA, the office that holds the permits — or from Lou’s reports, and cites its source. Data retrieved 1 November 2026.

How old are the houses in Riverhead?

Median year built in zip 11901: 1979 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 13,126 units, the 2000s built the most, 20%; 26% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1990s at 13% and the 1970s at 12%. 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: 9 to 37 years old. (ACS)

How are homes in Riverhead heated? Is an oil tank likely?

42% utility gas, 40% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 40% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 220 petroleum spills at private homes in Riverhead since 1984, 59 since 2015. 7 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)

Is Riverhead mostly houses or apartments, owned or rented?

65% detached houses, 9% attached single-family houses; 70% owner-occupied (Suffolk County: 82%). Detached houses dominate, so most inspections here run from the roof to the foundation of one building. (ACS)

Is radon a concern in Riverhead?

Town of Riverhead: 14 basement tests, average 1.98 pCi/L, 1 at 4 or above (7%). Suffolk County: 8% of 576. First-floor tests there: 1, average 3.2. On the share at 4 or above, it ranks 5th of the county’s 10 towns and cities. The highest basement reading was 8.9 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)

Has Riverhead flooded? Is the house in a flood zone?

510 flood-insurance claims from zip 11901 since 1978, most in 2012 (157): 34th of the 189 zips on these pages. A claim count describes the zip, not the house; 2012 was the year of Hurricane Sandy. Flood zones follow the address. Check the address on FEMA’s map. (OpenFEMA)

Who holds the permits and certificate of occupancy in Riverhead?

The Town of Riverhead 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.

Which code, water and sewer rules apply in Riverhead?

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.

How much does a home inspection in Riverhead cost, and how fast is the report?

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.

Suffolk County, town by town

Every Suffolk County place with a page here, each with the real count from Lou's records. The Suffolk County page covers the county as a whole.

Where this sits in Lou's territory

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: East Quogue · Westhampton Beach · Speonk · Hampton Bays · Remsenburg · Manorville · all 250 towns.

Buying in Riverhead?

His Riverhead file goes back to 2016. Yours would not be the first.

Schedule an inspection Call 516-330-3870

Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.