The Ins and Outs of Roof Warranties

Whether you own a home, an office building, a manufacturing facility or just a plain old barn, the roof on your building almost always has a warranty attached. Actually, two warranties and one warranty that is inferred or implied. So, let’s take a look at the ins and outs of roofing warranties.

Product Warranty

A product warranty is usually issued by the roofing materials manufacturer and guarantees the performance of the product for a certain time period (5, 10, 20 or more years depending on the material). That is assuming all instructions on installation, care and maintenance are followed. In short, let’s assume your old roof has worn out and you replace it with new materials that are warrantied to last at least 10 years. Let’s also assume that your roofing professionals followed the instructions to the letter and installed everything absolutely correctly. If something still goes wrong with the roofing materials during the warranty period, the manufacturer guarantees it will replace them at no cost to you.

Installation Warranty

A professional roofing installer will also provide a warranty as a guarantee for the company’s workmanship for a certain time period — generally about 2 years. That means if the installers screw up, and your roof fails not from faulty materials, but from poor workmanship, the professional roofer will pay for the new materials and the labor to repair your roof. Be sure to read this warranty carefully as some warranties only supply the replacement materials and not the labor, or vice versa.

Implied Warranty

In short, an implied warranty means that the product you purchased (like roof membrane) will keep water out since that is what the product is designed to do. This is also called merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The implied warranty generally also comes with some instructions from the manufacturer — well, more like warnings. For instance, walking on the roofing membrane can cause it to prematurely fail. If these instructions are not followed, generally a manufacturer won’t uphold the warranty.

Signing a Warranty

Once you’ve agreed to and signed a warranty, it is up to you to maintain the roof. Commercial or industrial facility managers often have on-staff maintenance teams, or hire professional roofing teams to maintain the roof. Trained professionals know what to do (and not to do) to maintain the integrity of the warrantied materials and work. Generally speaking, performing maintenance improperly can cause damage to the roof, so we strongly recommend hiring someone that’s familiar with your particular roof system and the manufacturer’s specs and instructions.

Notification

When something goes wrong, building owners generally have 30 days to notify the manufacturer (or roofing professional), otherwise, the warranty is voided. More specifically, the manufacturer and roofers are often legally released from warranty obligations (including repair and / or replacement) if you wait too long. Call a professional roofing company right away if you suspect something is wrong.

Note: This article describes common* terms and scenarios of roof-related warranties. Please refer to your warranty for its specific terms.