Queens · town home

Home inspector in Woodhaven, NY

In 2014, Lou Rubino inspected one home in Woodhaven — one job, one written report, and the photographs below come from it. The report describes a town home, about 94 years old.

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

What the Woodhaven report found

The report, as Lou wrote it up.

2014, a town home, about 94 years old, a two-family house: 8 items flagged: 3 roof, chimney and attic; 3 structure; 2 exterior. As recorded: flat roof, 3-tab fiberglass and rubber membrane, seen from: walked roof, framed with 2 x 8 rafters; attic: attic hatch, rock wool insulation, thermostatically controlled fan ventilation; clapboard vinyl siding, chimney: brick; masonry block foundation, 2 x 8 and 6"x 8" main wood beam floor framing, steel lally columns, crawlspace: no access; 50 gallon x 2 gas (quick recovery) water heater (basement and utility room); 100-amp x 2 circuit breakers (Square D), BX wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, window AC; double-hung windows, hardwood t&g and parquet floors, laminate cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Shingle over front facade right side are missing and wrong color”; “Empty roofing cement cans left on roof, can become projectiles in a wind storm”; “Chimney has broken flue spinner cap”; “Original wool insulation in attic”; “Rear concrete deck left side block work is broken and cracked”; “Bottom of concrete deck is spalled and rebar and reinforcing wire are rusted out”; “Front concrete steps on left and in front of doorway, cracked and broken”; “Front sidewalk cracked and trip hazard at water valve pipe”; “Hole in back splash (missing outlet) far right”; “Wall cabinet doors to right of stove misaligned”; “Oven igniter not working”; “Exhaust fan hose in attic too long and kinked at fan housing”; “Unable to gain access to crawl space under sun porch”; “Metal vent cover plate should be placed over front crawl space vent hole. Work should be done by a qualified handy-man”. Also noted: “Roof rafter are 24" apart not code by today's standards”; “Ceramic Tile to right of rear door missing”; “Clothes dryer vent piping requires flexible metal not vinyl”; “Main and sub panel covers off”; “Covers missing from junction boxes behind water heater and above rear basement window”; “First floor panel three breakers are double lugged on left side bottom”; “Second floor panel main breaker not engaged into bus bar completely”; “Cover plates missing from switches and outlets on first floor. Never replaced after painting”; “Radiators in the middle and rear bedrooms first floor are not getting hot”; “Main steam pipe to boiler is pitched wrong way and causing steam knock”; “Asbestos like material on steam pipes in basement near rear wall”. On the day: 75°F, clear, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces west. Not present in this house: outlets; solid fuel heating devices; 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.
Foundation walls, columns, beams and floor framing where visible — and what could not be reached goes in the report too.
The panel, with the readily accessible covers off — New York requires it — and the visible wiring, outlets and grounding.
Radon — a separate, optional test arranged alongside the inspection.

Photographs from Woodhaven reports

Concrete block side of a rear deck with a cracked and crumbling section outlined in a red box. — Rear concrete deck left side block work is cracked, outlined in red in the exterior section of the report.

Underside of a concrete slab with exposed rusted rebar and reinforcing wire, red arrow pointing up. — Bottom of the concrete deck is spalled and the rebar and reinforcing wire are rusted out, marked with a red arrow.

Gas pipe entering a water heater control with a red line and the label — Drip leg missing from the right side water heater gas pipe, labelled "Drip Leg Missing" with a red line in the report photo.

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

Buying in Woodhaven: the questions with sourced answers

Each answer is built from Woodhaven’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 Woodhaven?

Median year built in zip 11421: 1938 (Queens: 1953). Of 12,776 units, 58% predates 1940; 4% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 14% and the 1940s at 11%. 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: 94 years old. (ACS)

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

83% utility gas, 9% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 9% against 11% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 40 petroleum spills at private homes in Woodhaven since 1992, 3 since 2015. A gas conversion can leave a tank behind. 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)

Is Woodhaven mostly houses or apartments, owned or rented?

35% two-unit buildings, 18% detached houses, 17% attached single-family houses; 53% owner-occupied (Queens: 45%). Two- to four-unit buildings are 45%; a multi-family house means shared systems, separate meters and what each unit controls. Lou’s jobs here included a two-family house. (ACS)

Is radon a concern in Woodhaven?

Queens (reported by borough): 598 basement tests, average 1.26 pCi/L, 22 at 4 or above (4%). First-floor tests there: 118, average 0.62. The highest basement reading was 23.8 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 Woodhaven flooded? Is the house in a flood zone?

15 flood-insurance claims from zip 11421 since 1978, most in 1980 (4): 161st 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)

Who holds the permits and certificate of occupancy in Woodhaven?

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.

How does Woodhaven compare with the towns around it?

By median year built, fuel-oil share and owner-occupancy: Woodhaven (zip 11421) 1938, 9%, 53%; Richmond Hill (zip 11418): built 1938, oil 12%, 49% owner-occupied; Ozone Park (zip 11417): built 1948, oil 9%, 58% owner-occupied; Cypress Hills (zip 11208): built 1950, oil 4%, 26% owner-occupied. (ACS)

Which code, water and sewer rules apply in Woodhaven?

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 Queens, so they are set out there with their sources instead of on each page.

How much does a home inspection in Woodhaven 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.

Queens, town by town

Every Queens place with a page here, each with the real count from Lou's records. The Queens 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: Richmond Hill · Ozone Park · Cypress Hills · Glendale · Ridgewood · Middle Village · all 250 towns.

Buying in Woodhaven?

His Woodhaven 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.