Between 2015 and 2024, Lou Rubino inspected 12 homes in Oceanside. Much of Oceanside sits low and close to the water, its southern streets on canals — so alongside the usual post-war cape-and-highranch questions, the inspection here carries a second set: elevation, flood history, and what Sandy taught this particular block.
Rated 5.0 on Google as of August 2026 · U.S. Army veteran owned · NY licence #16000039568 · 516-330-3870
On a canal street the bulkhead is structure, the same as a foundation wall — it just happens to be holding back water instead of soil. Rot at the waterline, hardware letting go, grade sinking behind it: none of it shows from the kitchen window, and all of it costs real money. Lou walks the waterside of the property the way he walks the roof.
The services deserve the same attention. Gas meters and regulators that have lived outdoors through salt air and storm tides, water services that pre-date the rebuild above them — the house may be newly renovated while its connections to the world are not.
Related: Flood zone and elevation, explained · What an inspection costs · Schedule an inspection.
All three photographs are from Lou's own Oceanside inspection reports, chosen because they show a building component and nothing that identifies a property or an owner.
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.
Meters, regulators and gas piping are checked visually and, where warranted, with instruments — outdoor equipment in salt air earns a closer look. How a building is metered is also part of what you are buying. The licence behind the inspection.
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.
Interior finishes are read as evidence, not decoration — a crack pattern, a stain edge or a new patch of paint each say something about what the building has been doing. See how findings are documented.
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.
All photographs are from Lou's own inspection reports for jobs in this area, screened so nothing identifies a property or an owner.
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: Long Beach · Freeport · Valley Stream · all 26 towns.
His Oceanside 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.