It’s a common misconception amongst homeowners that roof warranties are as simple as they seem. The contractor comes in, puts on your new roof, and gives you the paperwork. If anything goes wrong down the line, you’re covered, right? Simple.
Not so much.
Roof warranties are complicated documents with numerous stipulations, exclusions, and requirements that are rarely read until a homeowner attempts to use their warranty. That’s when they realize the areas where they’ve been misled, things that aren’t covered but they thought would be, after it’s too late to do anything about it. They could have saved thousands of dollars had they comprehended roof warranties prior to any issues arising.
The Two Types of Warranties (And Why They Both Matter)
The first problem? When you get a roof, you don’t get one warranty. You get two.
The first is the manufacturer’s warranty, this covers the roofing materials themselves. This is the warranty that protects shingles, tiles or metal panels under the manufacturer’s defects. Should your shingles fail due to manufacturing defects, the manufacturer will replace them.
The second is the workmanship warranty, the one your contractor provides. This covers installation, and even the best materials will not function properly if improperly installed. This is the warranty that covers leaks or other failures derived from installation mistakes.
The problem arises when these warranties do not cross over. If your roof leaks, is it because of defective materials or an installation mistake? What if it’s not apparent? Furthermore, material warranties last 20-50 years (depending on material); workmanship warrants only last 1-10 years. That leaves many years for potentially expensive repairs down the road.
What “Lifetime” Means (and Not Your Lifetime)
If you walk into a roofing showroom today, you’d likely hear lots about shingles that come with “lifetime warranties.”
Sounds great, right? But “lifetime” doesn’t mean what you think it means.
In roofing terms, lifetime refers to the expected lifespan of the roof – NOT your lifetime/ownership of your home. Asphalt shingles usually equate to 50 years. But even then, there’s another stipulation that makes this moot.
Most lifetime warranties are prorated after 10 or 15 years. This means that while your first decade of full replacement coverage is ostensibly free, after that coverage percentage declines yearly. For example, at year 20, the manufacturer may only cover 40% of replacement costs; at year 30, 20%. Homeowners pay the difference plus any applicable labor costs (which usually are not covered after a time).
So that “lifetime warranty” goes from a majestic promise to practically useless after a short span of time.
The Fine Print That Voids Everything
Where warranties mess people up is with ridiculous amounts of requirements that can void the coverage entirely.
With both manufacturer and workman warranties, missing one requirement makes the entire document a piece of useless paper.
Most require regular maintenance, what counts as “regular” depends on assessments. For example, some manufacturers require annual inspections, annual certified professional checks, if you fail to get one and something goes wrong, don’t expect coverage. Furthermore, just performing maintenance isn’t enough; documentation is required to prove you’re following through.
Many warranties are voided by walking on roofs; pressure washing roofs voids coverage; using incorrect cleaning products undeniably voids protection. Even having someone besides the initial contractor come in and make repairs without approval causes problems with coverage.
Ventilation can cause quite a few roofs to end up without coverage. Many manufacturers require proper attic ventilation. If your attic doesn’t meet those conditions during installation, the warranty won’t be valid from day one. Why? Because it’s assumed you maintained a poor attic ventilation beforehand.
This is just one reason why working with a highly rated roofing company is crucial to ensure that installation fulfills all manufacturer requirements and that sufficient documentation exists from the get-go.
Moss and algae can void coverage as well – even if they’re natural occurrences in hot areas – but this means additional treatment when one might budget for shingles and not upkeep.
The Transfer Problem
Selling your house soon? That warranty just got more complicated.
Most roof warranties are transferrable to new owners upon sale but not automatically. Many manufacturers require notification within 60 days and a transfer fee ranging from $50-$300; fail to notify within those standards and either no warranty exists for the new owner or substantially reduced coverage.
Some workmanship warranties aren’t transferable at all; some transfer with reduced parameters or time frames instead. This can significantly impact home resale values more than people realize, a home with a roof that has a solid transferable warranty with five years left is worth more than one with no coverage at all.
Why do these situations happen? Many home sales fail to transmit proper paperwork. Buyers think they get whatever warranty’s in place because sellers think it automatically transfers; when in reality, no one fills out the documentation noting such transfers. Thereafter issues arise when a new owner attempts to cash in on what they believe exists.
Labor Costs: The Surprise Expenses
Even if materials are fully covered by your warranty or manufacturer’s coverage appeal, labor costs associated are generally not – for long.
This creates awful out-of-pocket expenses homeowners never expect to pay. For example: if you have shingles for 15 years and you’ve developed a leak due to materials defected, thank heavens your manufacturer agrees to replace the ones in question free of charge, but you’re on the hook for labor removing them and new installing them (and disposing), approximately $3,000 from out-of-pocket expenses.
Some premium warranties include labor coverage, but these “enhanced” or “system” warranties cost upfront and come with even stricter conditions. You may have to use specific underlayment or ventilation products or accessories, all manufactured by the same company. Therefore initial installation tends to be more expensive – yet long-term protection is upstanding.
It’s challenging to compare apples and oranges; for example, paying an additional $1,500 for enhanced warranty coverage may seem like excess cost. But if that warranty saves you $3,000 in labor costs for future repairs, it pays for itself tenfold down the road; however, it’s hard to predict that need for coverage.
Storm Damage and Acts of God
This is something that fools almost everyone: storm damage and acts of God are NOT covered under most roof warranties.
Your warranty protects you against defects or failures during regular conditions; hail damage? Insurance company claim. Wind ripping off shingles during a hurricane? Insurance claim as well. Branches falling from your neighbor’s tree during a bad storm? Again…your insurance company steps in.
The issue arises when storm damage looks just like damage derived from careless debilitation over time, maybe shingles that blew off were old due to natural wear and tear but their edges could’ve also been damaged over time due to faulty installation, and determining which party owes determines who pays for repairs accordingly.
This puts homeowners in a situation where they think they’re protected but they’re not. A warranty company may argue that it’s storm damage (not covered) while your insurance says it’s prior damage (not their responsibility) rendering them stuck between two worlds without resources.
Documentation: Your Only Protection
None of this matters if you can’t prove coverage exists and you’ve met all requirements met thus far.
Documentation becomes key for homeowners whenever possible.
Keep every paper associated with your roof, from contracts to warranty certificates and inspection reports, even receipts for products used on your roof. Make both physical and digital copies of everything and get them organized and stored somewhere safe.
Take pictures of your roof annually, even after cleaning or maintenance efforts – they can show documented condition over time and can prove damage wasn’t gradual (worn down) but rather sudden (defect).
Keep ongoing logs of maintenance completed, even small things like removing debris or cleaning gutters, indicates accountability on your part should anything happen down the line.
If you bring contractors in for repairs or maintenance beyond what’s initially done make sure their invoices note what’s been accomplished, not just “roof repair,” but “replaced 12 damaged shingles on south slope, resealed flashing around chimney.”
What Actually Matters When Choosing Coverage
With all this complexity involved, what actually matters when picking out coverage?
The workmanship warranty length: a contractor that’s willing to provide 10-year workmanship coverage shows its worthy work compared to only one or two years. This means more than advanced manufacturer’s warranties since most roofing issues occur due to installation rather than manufacturer defects.
An established prorated schedule before purchase, two “50-year” warranties may provide vastly different actual coverage along the way. See what percentage of costs each covers at 10 years, 20 years, and 30 years, this may surprise you!
Warranties often have massive maintenance requirements, one option may require annual inspections while another only quarterly ones, be honest whether or not you’ll follow through before deciding which works best for you if you can’t keep up.
Enhanced warranties work great for high-end products, in those cases enhanced warranties make sense as replacing would be expensive. For standard roofs with basic asphalt shingles, however, basic warranties will do just fine.
Get all of this in writing, hastily added verbiage by a salesperson doesn’t count; if someone claims their warranty covers something outside expectations, as long as that provision can be found in writing, it’s fine!
At the end of the day, roof warranties should protect homeowners, but only if they understand what protection exists, and if they read everything thoroughly before any problems arise. Otherwise an expensive miscommunication could cause disappointment along the way when they fail to find help should they need it most!
