Nassau County · South Shore

Home inspector in Wantagh, NY

Between 2014 and 2020, Lou Rubino inspected 15 homes in Wantagh — and he did not have to travel, because Wantagh is where he lives. Post-war capes, ranches and splits make up most of the town, many of them dormered, extended or converted long after they were built.

Rated 5.0 on Google as of August 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870

The house Lou knows best is the Wantagh house

Most of Wantagh went up in the same post-war years as Levittown next door, but by many different builders — so slab, crawlspace and full basement can sit on the same street, and the first job of the inspection is establishing which one you are buying. A slab house has no basement to inspect the plumbing from, which makes the attic, the panel and every accessible hatch matter more, not less.

Seventy years on, almost none of these houses are original. Dormers, rear extensions and garage conversions are the norm, and each one is a place where new work meets old — which is exactly where Lou finds most of what goes in the report.

What the inspection can examine here

The floor itself, where hot-water heat is present — a moisture and thermal pass reads what a slab will not show you.
The panel, with the readily accessible covers off — New York requires it, and dormered houses collect wiring eras.
The attic and every hatch that opens — on a slab house it is the only place the structure can speak. What he cannot reach goes in the report too.
Radon — Nassau basements and slabs test differently, and testing is a separate, optional service.

Photographs from Wantagh reports

A pit in a concrete floor with piping and debris, one area circled in red. — Circled here is the home's whole-house sewer trap, set in a pit in the floor where debris has collected around it. The trap is the main clean-out point between the house and the sewer line, so the inspector locates and checks it.

An attic exhaust fan with a thermostat control box, connected by flexible metal conduit. — A powered attic fan and its thermostat control, wired through flexible metal conduit. The fan works alongside a gable vent to ventilate the attic, and both were inspected.

A gas water heater in a tight corner, with a red arrow at its gas piping connection. — The gas piping at this water heater is loose — not secured to the wall — and ties in through a flex pipe. The report recommends evaluation and repair by a licensed plumbing contractor.

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

From the Wantagh files

More of what Lou has actually photographed on Wantagh inspections. Open any note to learn what the finding means for a buyer — every link stays on this site.

Raised concrete platform with anchor bolts at its edges and red markup lines drawn where a railing would stand — Red lines trace the outline of a missing guard railing on a raised concrete platform, anchored at the exposed bolts along its open edges. Where the drop is sufficient, a missing guard can present a fall hazard, so open edges like these are documented for assessment.

Why this matters — why findings are photographed

Every photograph in a report exists to make a finding checkable — the point is not the picture, it is that you and your attorney can see exactly what the inspector saw. Read a complete sample report.

Brick chimney top with a metal flue pipe, red arrows pointing at the cracked concrete cap. — Red arrows mark the cement cap on this boiler chimney, which is cracked and badly weathered. The report recommends evaluation and repair by a licensed brick mason contractor.

Why this matters — the chimney

Chimney crowns, caps and screens are the cheap parts that protect the expensive parts. Cracked crowns and missing screens let water and animals into a flue, and the damage below can run for years unseen. What happens when part of a system cannot be seen.

Red markup outlining a stepped crack in exterior brickwork above a garage door, next to a porch light — Red markup traces a stepped crack in the brickwork beside the garage door. The report attributes it to rust-jacking: the steel lintel over the opening is rusting and expanding, cracking the brickwork above it.

Why this matters — the exterior envelope

Siding, trim, masonry and parged walls are the building's raincoat, and cracks or failed mortar can give water a way in. The report documents their location and pattern so the right contractor or specialist can evaluate them when warranted. Where water gets in, explained.

Gray asphalt shingle roof with two red arrows pointing at worn, darker patches — Red arrows mark worn areas on an asphalt shingle roof where the protective granule surface is deteriorating. Granule loss exposes the shingle underneath to the sun and shortens the roof's remaining life.

Why this matters — roof wear

Asphalt and slate-type roofs age in legible stages: curling, cracking, slipped pieces, exposed fasteners. Reading the stage helps establish the visible wear and whether maintenance, repair or further evaluation is the honest next step. The report must say how the roof was examined.

Looking down a roof edge at a gutter filled with debris, a red arrow pointing at it. — Seen from the roof above, the arrow marks a lower gutter filled with water and debris. The report recommends cleaning the gutters and having gutter guards installed by a licensed leader and gutter contractor.

Why this matters — drainage

Managing roof runoff is often one of the most cost-effective maintenance jobs a house gets — discharge against the foundation raises the risk of moisture problems below. Why drainage decides basements.

Roof valley between two shingle slopes with leaf debris collected, marked by a red arrow — A red arrow points to leaves and debris collected in a roof valley, the channel where two roof slopes meet. Debris here traps water against the shingles instead of letting it drain off the roof.

Why this matters — roof wear

Asphalt and slate-type roofs age in legible stages: curling, cracking, slipped pieces, exposed fasteners. Reading the stage helps establish the visible wear and whether maintenance, repair or further evaluation is the honest next step. The report must say how the roof was examined.

All photographs are from Lou's own inspection reports for jobs in this area, screened so nothing identifies a property or an owner.

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.

Also nearby: Bellmore · Massapequa · Merrick · all 26 towns.

Buying in Wantagh?

His Wantagh file goes back to 2014. 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.