In 2015, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Shore Acres — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a town home, about 36 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.
2015, a town home, about 36 years old: 6 items flagged: 2 roof, chimney and attic; 2 exterior; 2 kitchen. As recorded: gable roof, architectural, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 10 rafters and sheathing; attic: attic access, r-19 or better insulation, soffit vents, passive and thermostatically controlled fan ventilation; v-groove, rock and mortar and brick vinyl, full brick and stone siding, chimney: metal flue pipe; poured concrete foundation, slab floor framing, supporting walls; hot water off the boiler; 100-amp circuit breakers (General Electric), BX wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, wall a/c; sliders and thermal/insulated windows, pergo laminate and carpet floors, wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Gutter and leader are filled with ice. Elbow at bottom too low and buried”; “Leader at left front is missing splash block. This will cause retaining wall to erode”; “Vinyl Siding not finished behind Gas meters”; “Deck wood is splitting at ends and paint is peeling. Wood is in contact with soil. Most was covered by snow”; “Lime stone copping cracked where front railings are mounted”; “Sheet rock screws used to hang cabinets”; “Screw walking out of style right side above refrigerator”. Also noted: “Blinds in sliding glass doors won't raise”; “Left side of house at gas meters”; “Right side upper breaker is double lugged”. On the day: cloudy, frozen ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces north. Not inspected that day: cooling and air handler equipment; vapor retarders. Not present in this house: columns or piers; food waste disposer; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; insulation under floor system; range hood; solid fuel heating devices; trash compactor; ventilation of foundation area; walls; windows.
“Flagged” is HomeGauge’s Repair or Replace mark, not a verdict on the house. See a complete report.
Related: All towns · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Shore Acres inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 10305: 1974 (Staten Island: 1974). Of 16,850 units, 16% predates 1940; 17% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1960s at 16% and the 2000s at 14%. 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: 36 years old. (ACS)
81% utility gas, 10% electricity; fuel oil 4% against 4% county-wide. NYSDEC logs Staten Island home oil spills under the borough, not Shore Acres. A tank is unlikely. 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)
31% attached single-family houses, 24% detached houses, 20% two-unit buildings; 65% owner-occupied (Staten Island: 68%). Two- to four-unit buildings are 27%; a multi-family house means shared systems, separate meters and what each unit controls. Lou’s jobs here included a townhouse. (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)
3,604 flood-insurance claims from zip 10305 since 1978, most in 2012 (1,156): 3rd 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)
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: Shore Acres (zip 10305) 1974, 4%, 65%; Staten Island (zip 10304): built 1966, oil 4%, 49% owner-occupied; Bay Ridge (zip 11209): built 1938, oil 14%, 36% owner-occupied; Port Richmond (zip 10302): built 1952, oil 8%, 57% 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: Concord · Staten Island · Bay Ridge · Port Richmond · Heartland Village · Meiers Corners · all 250 towns.
His Shore Acres file goes back to 2015. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.