Home Inspections - North Shore, Long Island

The north shore areas of Nassau and Suffolk County on Long Island have many beautiful homes, but many have similar deficiencies that we find on a regular basis. Home Inspections in Glen Cove, Roslyn, Sea Cliff, Lattingtown, Mill Neck, Port Washington, and Great Neck show similar issues and are just a few of the neighborhoods we visit regularly.

Meticulous Home Inspection has inspected many homes in these areas and although most homes in Nassau county have a connection to the municipal sewer system, many hilly and rocky areas common to the north shore still have cesspools, and cesspools are prevalent in Suffolk county as well. At a Sea  Cliff home inspection recently we found an original concrete block cesspool  from the 1940's still in service.  In modern construction cesspools are no longer allowed as it pollutes the groundwater vital to drinking water on Long Island. Mini waste treatment systems are now the standard for containing and processing a homes' waste.

Asbestos pipe insulation is almost always friable (can produce dust that can be breathed in) due to its extreme age, and it came in varying lengths that were cut to size and strapped onto the pipe to maximize heating efficiency. The pipe elbows were composed of a plaster-like material that was mixed on-site and applied to the elbows. In many Long Island homes inspected by Meticulous Home Inspection there are only remnants of this material left on the elbows as it has been previously removed, but this deficiency is always included in the report as it can still be released into the air and breathed in.

Nine inch square tiles can also be friable, and these are present in many homes to this day. In some homes it is in near perfect condition and poses no health risk, and in other homes it can be fragmented and broken in pieces on the floor. It has also been found hidden under carpets or under furniture. When friable it should be remediated by a licensed asbestos abatement contractor that has special licensing for removal and disposal – you can’t just ‘throw it in the garbage.’

Older Homes on the North Shore of Long Island

Old homes can have issues that are revealed by our inspectors such as railings that are too low and have too much space between balusters. While these are not considered defects, they are considered deficiencies because when built, building codes were not that prevalent, were not strictly enforced, and function followed form.

Railings that are below 36 inches in height and have more than 4 inches between balusters are called out in our reports as needing updating. Wide spacing between balusters may not be a reason to pass on a home, but if a safety issue is present you can rest assured that Meticulous  will include it in our report.