Between 2015 and 2020, Lou Rubino inspected two homes in Woodside — two jobs, each with a written report, and the photographs below come from them. The reports describe a colonial and a town home, from 75 to 80 years old.
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Lou’s two summaries flagged 14 items Repair or Replace, most for the exterior (6), roof, chimney and attic (4) and garage (2). Each report, newest first, as Lou wrote it up.
2020, a colonial, about 80 years old, a two-family house: 7 items flagged: 3 roof, chimney and attic; 3 exterior; 1 garage. As recorded: flat roof, rubber membrane, seen from: walked; attic: no storage, none found ventilation; brick full brick siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, supporting walls; steam boiler heat on natural gas, 50 gallon (2-3 people) gas (quick recovery) water heater (basement and utility / laundry / kitchen area); 100-amp fuses and circuit breakers (General Electric and General Switch), BX wiring, lead supply pipes, public water, window AC; casement, thermal/insulated and metal frame windows, carpet, linoleum and tile floors, laminate and wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Silver roof paint is worn in many places”; “Spider cracks showing in many areas”; “Bubbles in roofing toward front”; “Seam opening up in large puddle in rear”; “Wooden hatch is very heavy, difficult to lift”; “Wooden frame is dry rotted”; “Hatch does not form a weather seal”; “No leader and gutter system for front roof section”; “Rear gutter down spout is not into leader pipe”; “Front wrought iron fence is rusted”; “Left and right front brick retaining wall bricks loose and cracked”; “Cement pier caps are loose”; “Left side entrance pier is loose”; “Safety item: Front side walk raised up from tree roots, causing trip hazard”; “Trip hazard, walk from house to front steps”; “Left front fascia board is separated”; “Small animals can enter into roof section”; “Garage door difficult to open”; “Hood was not connected to vented ductwork”; “Oven is old pilot light type ignition”. Also noted: “Fused sub panel between boiler and water heater”; “Radiators on second floor did not get hot at same time as first floor”; “See Gordon venting valve chart for balancing”; “Too cold to operate A/C appliances”. On the day: 58°F, clear, damp ground, no rain in the three days before; the house faces east. Not inspected that day: ceilings; cooling and air handler equipment; floors; insulation in attic; insulation under floor system; roof structure and attic; visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; occupant door from garage to inside home; operation of gfci; presence of installed cooling source in each room; roof ventilation; solid fuel heating devices; vapor retarders; ventilation fans and thermostatic controls; windows.
2015, a town home, about 75 years old: 7 items flagged: 3 exterior; 2 kitchen; 1 roof, chimney and attic. As recorded: flat roof, slate and rubber membrane, seen from: walked roof; gable vents ventilation; brick full brick siding, chimney: brick; poured concrete foundation, 3"x 10" floor framing, supporting walls; 40 gallon (1-2 people) gas (quick recovery) water heater (basement); 125-amp circuit breakers (Murray), romex wiring, copper supply pipes, public water, window AC; double-hung windows, hardwood t&g and parquet floors, wood cabinets, laminate counters. Flagged, in Lou’s words: “Cement chimney cap is cracked and weathered”; “Top three feet of chimney needs pointing, open and cracked joints”; “Skylight frame is rusted”; “Rear wall cracked from rust jacking of all window and door lentil irons”; “Rear steel basement ( Bilco ) door is rusted”; “Rear kitchen storm door is missing piston closer”; “Rear kitchen storm door paint is peeling”; “Rear kitchen door dead bolt is broken”; “Rear kitchen door window needs storm window. Strong draft in winter”; “Rear concrete patio deck is cracked near steps”; “Window glass broken and missing”; “Parquet floors polyurethane finish is worn”; “Water stain on ceiling front bedroom left front”; “Radiator enclosure is damaged”; “Plaster cracked at right rear upper corner of window”. Also noted: “Capping needed on forward edge where slate roof meets flat section”; “Left rear corner flashing near party wall is cracked”; “Hole in flashing at right front party wall near slate roof”; “Right rear bedroom middle wall left of window open ground”; “Left rear bedroom middle wall to right of window open ground”; “Front bedroom outlet left side of radiator cover is missing and wires exposed”; “Sink faucet aerater is worn out”; “Tub cold water handle is loose”; “Grounding wire is not jumping water meter”; “Exposed conductors from white romex are tape wrapped at left side of panel”; “Cover missing from junction box above boiler near ceiling”. On the day: 40°F, cloudy, light rain, damp ground, rain in the three days before; the house faces east. Not inspected that day: cooling and air handler equipment; fence; insulation in attic; insulation under floor system; microwave cooking equipment; vapor retarders; visible electric wiring in attic. Not present in this house: columns or piers; gas/lp firelogs and fireplaces; occupant door from garage to inside home; outlets; solid fuel heating devices; sump pump; 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 Queens page · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Woodside inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
Median year built in zip 11377: 1951 (Queens: 1953). Of 34,928 units, 35% predates 1940; 7% is from 2000 on. Next come the 1950s at 16% and the 1960s 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: 75 to 80 years old. (ACS)
78% utility gas, 8% fuel oil or kerosene; fuel oil 8% against 11% county-wide. NYSDEC logs 72 petroleum spills at private homes in Woodside since 1992, 7 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)
22% buildings of 50 or more units, 20% buildings of 20 to 49 units, 17% buildings of 3 or 4 units; 29% owner-occupied (Queens: 45%). With 42% of units in buildings of 20 or more, many purchases here are apartments: the inspection covers the unit, and the roof, plant and risers belong to the board. Lou’s jobs here included a townhouse and a two-family house. (ACS)
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)
47 flood-insurance claims from zip 11377 since 1978, most in 2021 (8): 106th 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 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.
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.
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: Maspeth · Long Island City · East Elmhurst · Astoria · Middle Village · Rego Park · all 250 towns.
His Woodside 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.