In 2016, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Stony Brook — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a ranch, about 65 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.
2016, a ranch, about 65 years old: 9 items flagged: 4 exterior; 2 kitchen; 1 roof, chimney and attic. As recorded: gable roof, 3-tab fiberglass, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 6 rafters 24"o/c; attic: storage and attic hatch in garage, fiberglass and below insulation, gable vents and soffit vents ventilation; cement shingle cement-fiber siding, chimney: brick and metal flue pipe; poured concrete slab foundation, rienforced concrete floor framing, supporting walls; hydronic heat on oil, hot water off the boiler; 150-amp circuit breakers (Eaton), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, window AC; double-hung and storm windows, carpet, hardwood t&g and tile floors, metal cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Cement chimney cap is cracked and some brick joints eroded”; “Two plumbing vents need new boots”; “Siding on enclosed patio has water damage”; “Enclosed patio door lock broken”; “In rear and right side window trim has termite and water damage”; “Driveway has large holes and many cracks”; “Tree overhanging right front roof section”; “Not fire rated. Piece of sheet metal over hollow door”; “Window right side dinette area top sash won't stay up”; “Caution Fire Hazard: Vinyl dryer exhaust hose”; “Ceiling cracked from corner of closet structure”; “Ceramic floor cracked in front entrance foyer and grout joints open”; “Front hallway closet. Left side door frame termite damage”; “Live winged termites in wood”; “Active termite baits noted outside”; “Sheetrock cracked at seams and water stains”; “Dry when tested with moisture meter”; “Cracked on both sides of skylight and sheetrock tape loose in skylight tunnel”; “Wood stove has a cracked door glass and is not connected to flue pipe”. Also noted: “Enclosed patio leader pipe is disconnected”; “Left front leader elbow berried in debris”; “Right side roof no gutter and leader installed”; “Small roof section left rear no gutter and leader installed”; “Gutters are full of leaf debris”; “Some bays between ceiling joists have no insulation”; “Ceiling paint peeling in right rear bedroom”; “Tested with moisture meter, no water damage noted”; “Fuel filter is only supported by thin tubbing from oil burner gun”; “Long run from pole through trees”; “Outlet in garage is not GFCI protected”; “Water leak at copper elbow and tubbing to boiler coming out of concrete floor”; “Infrared photos show a spread out pattern under crack in tile floor of front foyer”; “May be a water leak from copper heat pipes”. On the day: 45°F, clear, damp ground; the house faces south. Not inspected that day: whole house trap. Not present in this house: basement windows; food waste disposer; gas meter; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; insulation under floor system; microwave cooking equipment; outlets & fixtures; presence of installed cooling source in each room; sump pump; trash compactor; vapor retarders; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls; 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.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Stony Brook inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 11790: 1965 (Suffolk County: 1970). Of 4,856 units, the 1960s built the most, 46%; 3% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1970s at 15% and the 1950s at 15%. 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: 65 years old. (ACS)
52% fuel oil or kerosene, 37% utility gas; fuel oil 52% against 45% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 202 petroleum spills at private homes in Stony Brook since 1986, 69 since 2015. 12 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)
90% detached houses, 6% attached single-family houses; 90% 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)
49 flood-insurance claims from zip 11790 since 1978, most in 1992 (8): 101st 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: Stony Brook (zip 11790) 1965, 52%, 90%; Saint James (zip 11780): built 1973, oil 43%, 87% owner-occupied; East Setauket (zip 11733): built 1969, oil 50%, 85% owner-occupied; Lake Grove (zip 11755): built 1970, oil 52%, 80% 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: Saint James · East Setauket · Setauket · Lake Grove · South Setauket · Nesconset · all 250 towns.
His Stony Brook file goes back to 2016. Yours would not be the first.
Not sure yet? Read what New York requires of your inspector or see a real report.