Roof Warranties: What’s Covered and What’s Not?

You
can easily become confused whenever you are faced with a warranty.
Most warranties aren’t written in everyday language. This makes
them difficult to understand. However, as a homeowner, you deserve to
understand your roof warranty. And that starts with whether or not
your roof installation includes a warranty.

Do
Roofs Come With Warranties?

The
short answer to whether or not your roof will come under a warranty
is: “It depends.” The answer will be yes if you hire a
professional roofing company with a great reputation and connections
with a top-notch roofing supply manufacturer like Owens Corning. On
the other hand, if you go with a DIY-style operation that doesn’t
even have a website and purchases whatever roofing items they can
get, you’ll probably not have a warranty.

It’s
better to work with professional roofers and be assured of having a
warranty. The last thing you want is to realize that although you
saved a little money in the short term, you must spend much more.

How
Do Roofing Warranties Work?

Roofing
warranties can be divided into a couple of primary categories. The
first is the manufacturer’s warranty. The second is the
contractor’s warranty. Each of these types of warranties delivers
peace of mind in specific ways.

First,
let’s look at the warranty offered by the roofing material
manufacturer. Typically, this warranty covers defects in the
materials. For example, a defective bundle of shingles would be
covered under your manufacturer’s warranty as long as the defects
happened while the shingles were still within the manufacturer’s
control. However, if the shingles were defective because of something
the laborers did, the manufacturer would no longer cover their
replacement. (This is another reason to always go with a reputable
roofing company with years of experience.)

A
manufacturer will not necessarily cover the entire cost of replacing
a defective product. The manufacturer’s warranty typically covers
the cost of replacing the product. This means you may have to pay for
other elements of a replacement job, like disposing of some of the
roofing material byproducts.

How
does the contractor’s warranty work, then? Every contractor’s
warranty is a little bit different. Ours is a generous 10-year,
no-leak roof
warranty length
on replacement roofs, which is unsurpassed in the roofing business.
We always recommend asking any responsive,
well-regarded roofing company,
” How
long is a roof warranty
that you will offer me?”

As
you might imagine, the contractor’s warranty covers work done by
the roofer. This kind of warranty is all about workmanship. A
contractor’s warranty should help you feel better about choosing
the contractor. After all, the warranty guarantees that you’re
covered in the case of labor defects.

Other
Roofing Warranty Tips and Considerations

Now
that you better understand how roofing warranties work, you should
know that warranties won’t cover everything. When a wind storm
kicks up and severely damages your roof, repairs will not be covered
by either a manufacturer’s or contractor’s warranty. But does
home warranty cover roof
repairs in those cases? Sometimes it will. It’s best to ask your
home warranty or insurance
provider about the ins and outs of your contract to know ahead of time.

You
should also know that your warranty won’t cover future roofing
needs, such as a roof built over a new addition to your home.
Therefore, if you hire someone to build a sunroom, you must budget
for a roofer to extend your current roof. Ideally, you’ll want to
choose either the same roofer who put your current roof in or a
roofer whose materials can seamlessly blend in with your existing
roof color and style.

As
a final note on roofing warranties, remember that you can frequently
extend a manufacturer’s warranty. Extending a warranty can be a
practical consideration, especially if you plan on living in or
renting out your property for a long time. You’ll have to pay to
extend the warranty, but the amount you pay could be worth it to you.
Ensure you understand everything you’re getting before signing on
the dotted line.

Warranties
aren’t always the easiest documents to understand the first time
you look at them. That’s why our team at Findlay
Roofing is always ready to explain them to customers. Contact us to schedule
an appointment to discuss your roof and the warranties available if
you become one of the countless satisfied Findlay Roofing clients.