Reitzel Roofing and Exteriors

Reitzel Roofing and Exteriors Providing Virginia Beach and Hamptons Road Areas With Quality Roofing & Home Improvements Since 2004 Reitzel Home Improvement has been in business for 15 years.

Providing quality work for an affordable price has always been our goal. Our reliable staff members will always treat you by providing the best of their extensive experience. Every aspect of your job is approached with focus and commitment. Call us today for more information.

08/27/2026

We’re not saying it’s a miracle…

But we’re also not NOT saying it. 😂

During this roof inspection, we took a look at these skylights and honestly have no idea how they aren’t leaking yet.

They’ve been caulked.
Then caulked again.
And apparently when that wasn’t enough… someone added some more caulk. 👀

At this point, the caulk has basically become its own roofing system.

The problem is that repeatedly adding sealant isn’t a substitute for properly installed and functioning skylight flashing. Caulk deteriorates over time, and continually covering an underlying problem doesn’t actually correct the installation.

These might not be leaking TODAY…

But we definitely wouldn’t want to bet the living room ceiling on how long that lasts. 😅

If you find yourself repeatedly caulking the same skylight, chimney, vent, or flashing every time it leaks, it’s probably time to stop patching the symptom and figure out what actually needs to be repaired.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/26/2026

“No trees in my yard, so my gutters should be fine.”

Well… your neighbor’s trees would like a word. 😂🍂

During this roof inspection, we found gutters that were completely clogged with leaves and debris.

The interesting part?

There aren’t even trees in the homeowner’s backyard.

Wind had carried debris from neighboring trees onto the roof and straight into the gutters until they became completely blocked.

And clogged gutters are more than an annoyance.

When water can’t properly drain away from your roof, it can overflow or back up, potentially contributing to damage around the roof edge, fascia, soffits, and other vulnerable areas of your home.

So even if your property is relatively tree-free, your gutters still need to be checked and cleaned periodically—especially after storms and high winds.

Apparently, property lines mean absolutely nothing to leaves. 😂🍂

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/22/2026

Your shingles can be the right product… and STILL be installed wrong.

During this roof inspection, we found architectural shingles that had been installed using a three-tab shingle nailing pattern.

Why does that matter?

Architectural shingles have a specific nail placement designed for how the shingles overlap and seal together. When you use the wrong nailing pattern, you can end up with nails positioned dangerously close to the edge of a shingle.

And here’s the tricky part:

The roof might not leak tomorrow.
It might not leak next year.

It can take 5, 7, even 10 years before those installation mistakes finally show themselves.

That’s exactly what we’re seeing on this roof now.

This is why proper installation matters just as much as the shingles you choose.

You can buy great materials—but if they’re installed incorrectly, you’re still setting yourself up for premature leaks and repairs.

And unfortunately, once the shingles are installed, most homeowners will never know the difference… until water starts coming inside.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/21/2026

When we say your roof shouldn’t have landscaping… this is what we mean. 🌱😂

We were called out to inspect a leaking chimney, got up on the roof, and found something we definitely weren’t expecting:

A patch of grass. Growing. On. The. Roof.

And as impressive as your roof starting its own lawn might be… that’s not supposed to happen. 👀

If vegetation is able to grow on your roof, it usually means moisture and organic debris have been sitting there long enough to create an environment where something can actually take root.

And where there’s persistent moisture around a chimney, there’s potential for deteriorated roofing materials, flashing issues, and water intrusion underneath.

So yes, we came looking for a chimney leak.

We found a garden. 😂🌱

Your roof should be protecting your home—not auditioning for the landscaping crew.

If you’ve got a persistent chimney leak, have someone inspect what’s actually happening up there. You might be surprised by what they find.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/20/2026

Just because someone tells you it’s “new” doesn’t mean it was done right. 👀

We were called out to inspect this leaking roof, and the more we looked, the more problems we found.

Someone had recently installed a new power fan—but during the installation, shingles were broken, caulked back down, and old nail holes were left unsealed.

Then we got to the chimney…

The flashing had essentially been spray painted and called “new,” there was no cricket to properly divert water around the chimney, and the shingles in the valley had been woven instead of using the proper installation method for this roof.

Individually, these details might seem small.

Together? They create multiple opportunities for water to get exactly where you DON’T want it.

This is why we say it all the time:

New ≠ properly installed.

A roof doesn’t keep your home dry because everything looks good from the ground. It works because every layer, pe*******on, valley, flashing detail, and transition is installed correctly.

If you’ve recently had roof work done and you’re STILL dealing with leaks, don’t keep throwing caulk at the problem.

Find out why it’s leaking.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/18/2026

You know you’ve been in the roofing business a LONG time when you inspect a roof you originally installed… for about $4,000. Materials included. 😳😂

Yep. We put this roof on many, many years ago—and now we’re back inspecting it again.

On one hand, it’s pretty cool to see our work still standing all these years later.

On the other hand…

Nothing makes you question your age quite like remembering a time when an entire roof replacement cost what some roofing materials alone can cost today. 👴😂

We’ve watched roofing materials change.
We’ve watched building codes change.
We’ve watched prices DEFINITELY change.

And we’ve learned a thing or two along the way.

There aren’t many shortcuts to decades of experience. Sometimes you just have to be around long enough to inspect the roofs you installed yourself all those years ago.

Now excuse us while we go stretch our backs. 😂

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/14/2026

Well… we found the source of the roof leak. 🦝😂

And apparently, he was looking for a new place to live.

During this roof inspection, we found multiple missing shingles and actual HOLES in the roof.

At first, we were looking for the usual suspects—storm damage, installation issues, aging shingles…

But after taking a closer look, it appears a raccoon had been attempting a little unauthorized attic renovation. 👀

Those openings don’t just let wildlife in. They also give rainwater a direct path into your roof decking, insulation, and attic, where a relatively small problem can quickly turn into water damage, rot, and a much more expensive repair.

Missing shingles are one thing.

A raccoon trying to turn your attic into his new condo? That’s another. 😂

If you notice missing shingles, unusual noises in your attic, or signs of a roof leak, don’t wait to have it inspected. Sometimes the cause of the leak is NOT what you expect.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/13/2026

Just because your roof leak was “repaired” doesn’t mean it was actually fixed.

This homeowner recently paid someone to repair a leaking chimney.

But when we got on the roof, we found a few problems with that repair:

• The chimney flashing was essentially caulked into place instead of being properly installed.
• The shingles weren’t properly secured down.
• There was no ice and water shield protecting this vulnerable area.

So, unfortunately, the chimney is leaking again.

Caulk can be useful as part of a roofing system—but it shouldn’t be the roofing system.

When you’re dealing with an area as vulnerable to water intrusion as a chimney, the flashing, underlayment, shingles, and waterproofing all need to work together to move water AWAY from the home.

Otherwise, you’re not fixing the leak.

You’re buying it some time before it shows up again.

If you’ve had the “same” roof leak repaired more than once, it may be time to stop patching the symptom and find out what’s actually causing it.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/12/2026

More roof vents does NOT always mean better ventilation.

On this roof inspection, we found a mix of powered attic fans and box vents installed right next to each other.

At first glance, that might sound like extra ventilation.

But when different exhaust vents are placed too close together, they can start pulling air from each other instead of pulling fresh air through the entire attic.

So rather than creating airflow from the bottom of the roof to the top, the air can basically circulate between the nearby vents while the rest of the attic stays poorly ventilated.

That means more trapped heat.
More trapped moisture.
And potentially faster wear on your roofing system.

In this case, the setup is so inefficient that the home would actually be better off with no exhaust ventilation than with competing vents working against each other.

Roof ventilation isn’t about how many vents you have.

It’s about having the RIGHT intake and exhaust system working together.

Because when ventilation is designed properly, it can help protect your shingles, your roof decking, and the entire attic system.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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08/11/2026

New shingles don’t mean much if the wood underneath is rotten.

That’s exactly why we don’t just tear off the shingles and leave the old roofing paper behind.

On this roof replacement, once we removed both the shingles and the underlayment, we found three separate areas where the roof decking had rotted through.

If we had simply covered everything back up with new shingles, those weak spots would still be sitting underneath the brand-new roof.

And that’s not a roof replacement. That’s hiding a problem.

A proper roof replacement means getting down far enough to inspect the decking, replace damaged wood, and make sure the new roofing system has a solid foundation to sit on.

Because even the best shingles in the world won’t perform the way they should if they’re installed over rotten decking.

The parts of your roof you can’t see matter just as much as the ones you can.

📍Proudly serving Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, Suffolk, and the entire Hampton Roads area.



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Address

3324 Virginia Beach Boulevard #108
Virginia Beach, VA
23452

Telephone

+17575137053

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