Provider profile
Cavalier Enterprises
Provider snapshot
What this listing says
Hampton Roads homeowners dealing with water damage who want a family-owned Class A contractor that handles mitigation, mold removal, and full rebuild under one roof.
Best for
- Virginia Beach, Norfolk, or Chesapeake homeowners who need emergency water extraction and a full rebuild handled by one company.
- Insurance-claim situations where you want the restoration company to coordinate directly with your adjuster and handle the paperwork.
- Post-flood mold problems in Hampton Roads coastal properties where humidity makes secondary mold growth likely.
- Homeowners who want the owner involved in their project, not just a crew dispatched from a call center.
- Fire or smoke damage situations that require both structural repair and odor remediation under IICRC standards.
About this company
Cavalier Enterprises operates out of Virginia Beach as a Class A general contractor focused on disaster restoration. They handle the full arc from emergency water extraction through rebuild, including mold remediation, fire damage repair, and storm cleanup. The company serves residential and commercial properties across Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake.
What stands out is the single-company pipeline. Cavalier does the mitigation, the mold work, and the reconstruction, so homeowners deal with one crew from start to finish. They hold IICRC certifications in water damage restoration, applied microbial remediation, odor control, and fire and smoke damage. They also carry credentials from the Army Corps of Engineers and the ABC Builders Association. The website lists partnerships with major insurers including USAA, State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Travelers, and Nationwide.
The company has operated for over 30 years and is family-owned. Don Sanders runs it and frequently shows up on job sites himself. Multiple reviewers mention Don arriving personally for emergency calls, including on weekends. The team photo on their website shows roughly 13 people with two work trucks.
78 Google reviews at 4.4 stars is a solid but not exceptional track record. The rating sits just below the threshold where you stop worrying, and the single recent negative review is detailed enough to take seriously.
Services
Service area
Cavalier Enterprises is headquartered in Virginia Beach, VA at 851 Seahawk Circle. They serve Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and Chesapeake. The website references "surrounding areas" in Hampton Roads but does not list specific additional cities beyond those three.
Review consensus
Don Sanders gets named more than anyone else. Reviewers describe him arriving within 15 minutes of a call, showing up on Sundays, and personally overseeing projects. David Cerulli earns praise for clear communication and responsiveness. Jeff and his team get called out for fast plumbing-related work. Ryan, Mark, Joey, and Oscar are named in a bathroom renovation review for constant communication and meticulous tile and flooring work. Multiple reviewers highlight the insurance coordination, with several saying Cavalier handled the entire claims process for them. Fast emergency response is the most common praise theme, followed by quality of finished work and courteous crews.
1 found across 78 total reviews at 4.4★. The single recent negative review comes from Jackie C, a Local Guide with 31 reviews. She describes a water damage restoration that went well in the mitigation phase but fell apart during the rebuild. Specific complaints: painters left paint on outlets, light switches, baseboards, and new flooring. Baseboards were cut to the wrong height. The garbage disposal and washer/dryer were hooked up incorrectly, causing flooding in both areas. A new shower started detaching from the wall within four months. When she pushed back on a temporary fix, she says Don treated her like a hassle. Project manager Ryan failed to track construction progress, once calling her to rush home for a counter measurement when counters had not been installed yet. The reviewer later updated to say Ryan contacted her with threats and blamed issues on Don. No owner response exists on Google for this review.
Cavalier operates as a small family-run outfit where Don Sanders is both the owner and the primary point of contact. This creates an unusual dynamic: when things go right, customers feel personally cared for by the owner. But the one negative review suggests that when things go wrong, there is no management layer between the dissatisfied customer and the owner, and the response was dismissive rather than corrective. The zero percent owner response rate on negative Google reviews reinforces this. The company manages its reputation through volume of positive experiences rather than through structured complaint resolution.
Don Sanders (owner — overwhelmingly positive, named in 15+ reviews for fast response and personal involvement). David Cerulli / Dave (project oversight — positive, praised for communication). Ryan (project manager — mixed; praised in one bathroom renovation review for constant communication, but the 1-star review describes him as unreliable and alleges threatening behavior over the review). Jeff (crew lead/technician — positive, praised for fast plumbing work). Mark (technician — positive, praised for tile and flooring). Joey (technician — positive, praised for tile and flooring). Oscar (demolition — positive). Mike (contact/estimator — positive, praised for quick scheduling). Dan (technician — positive, described as nice).
Ask for Don Sanders to oversee your project personally. The positive reviews skew heavily toward jobs where Don stayed involved from start to finish. If your project gets assigned to a different project manager, establish a written scope and schedule upfront so you have documentation if finish quality falls short.
Keep in mind
- Cavalier does both mold testing and mold remediation. That means the same company deciding you have a mold problem is the one billing you to fix it. Consider getting an independent mold assessment before committing to their remediation services.
- The one recent 1-star review describes poor finish work (paint on outlets, flooring gaps, mismatched baseboards) and a project manager who failed to stay on top of the build. The reviewer also reports the project manager contacted them with threats over the review.
- Cavalier did not respond to that negative review on Google. With a 0% owner response rate on recent complaints, you cannot see how the company addresses criticism publicly.
- Their service area covers three cities across Hampton Roads. Confirm crew availability and response times if your property sits in Norfolk or Chesapeake rather than Virginia Beach where they are headquartered.