In 2020, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Shoreham — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a ranch, about 34 years old.
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The report, as Lou wrote it up.
2020, a ranch, about 34 years old: 5 items flagged: 2 roof, chimney and attic; 2 exterior; 1 bathrooms. As recorded: gable roof, architectural and asphalt/fiberglass, seen from: walked, framed with 2" x 4" engineered wood trusses; attic: scuttle hole in hallway, blown, fiberglass and cellulose insulation, gable vents, ridge vents and soffit vents ventilation; clapboard vinyl siding, chimney: metal flue pipe; poured concrete slab foundation, slab and rienforced concrete floor framing, supporting walls; forced air heat on oil, 40 gallon (1-2 people) electric water heater (furnace utility room); 100-amp circuit breakers (Square D), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water; double-hung and thermal/insulated windows, laminated t&g, carpet and tile floors, laminate cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Upper and lower chimney collar is rusted”; “Splash block under right front leader pipe is pitched wrong”; “Rear storm door latch is stuck, wont lock”; “Asphalt driveway is cracked and needs sealing”; “Drain pipe under driveway needs to be cleaned out and large stone moved”; “Exhaust hose to fan in attic is torn”. Also noted: “Middle bedroom windows upper sash are fogged, lost seal”; “Fuel oil fill pipe for underground tank right front”; “Main breaker under electric meter”; “Main breaker panel in utility room”; “Ductwork is non-insulated metal”. On the day: 52°F, clear, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces east. Not inspected that day: visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: basement windows; cooling and air handler equipment; fence; food waste disposer; gas meter; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; instant hot water; insulation under floor system; microwave cooking equipment; normal operating controls; presence of installed cooling source in each room; solid fuel heating devices; trash compactor; vapor retarders; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls; 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 Suffolk County page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
Both photographs are from Lou's own Shoreham inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 11786: 1974 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 1,951 units, the 1970s built the most, 31%; 12% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1960s at 23% and the 1990s 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: 34 years old. (ACS)
68% fuel oil or kerosene, 25% utility gas; fuel oil 68% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 45 petroleum spills at private homes in Shoreham since 1987, 20 since 2015. 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)
99% detached houses; 96% 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)
12 flood-insurance claims from zip 11786 since 1979: 169th 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: Shoreham (zip 11786) 1974, 68%, 96%; Wading River (zip 11792): built 1978, oil 75%, 99% owner-occupied; Ridge (zip 11961): built 1979, oil 42%, 89% 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: Wading River · Ridge · Manorville · Medford · Shirley · Farmingville · all 250 towns.
His Shoreham file goes back to 2020. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.