Importance Of Understanding Your Residential Roof Warranty

Complete Understanding

The majority of homeowners and building owners tend to focus on the overall length of their roofing warranty. They never fully understand what said warranty consists of, unfortunately. The majority of warranties were designed to protect the manufacturer more so than the building owner. Before any work is performed, here are a few questions you should ask your contractor:

• What type of warranty am I receiving?
• What is the term of the warranty?
• What will void my roofing warranty?
• What are my maintenance responsibilities?
• What does a typical warranty cover?

If possible, ask for a warranty template before purchasing a new roof or coverage. Read through the paperwork in its entirety, ensuring you understand all the little intricacies and small print.

Benefits of Understanding Roofing Warranties BEFORE Your Next Roof Installation

A new roof is a big investment and roofing material costs have steadily risen over the last decade. That makes the warranty that a roofing contractor offers more of a decision factor when gathering estimates for your next roof replacement.

It might surprise you what may or may not be covered on a roof warranty. That is why it is so important to do your due diligence and find out what the typical warranty will cover before your purchase a new roof system.

Most homeowners tend to focus on the length of the warranty, which is rarely the root of roofing malfunction issues. Often homeowners confuse a ’30 year warranty’ or ’50 year warranty’ product warranty  with the workmanship or craftsmanship warranty offered by the roofing contractor.  Manufacturer warranties vary – some cover just certain material, such as shingles, while others cover the entire system.

Manufacturer warranties are often tiered, offering coverage on the material versus the entire system and/or labor cost for repair. Most require the contractor to perform warranted repairs for the first few years after the install.

Most roofing contractor’s warranties cover workmanship, not materials. These are the warranties you are better served paying more attention to. The roofing contractor’s workmanship warranty is where the rubber meets the roof. If something goes wrong with the roof, the roofing contractor is the one you will call.

4 Common Ways You Could Potentially Void Your Warranty.

1. Antennas and satellite dishes – If you drill holes in your roof to install an antenna or satellite dish you could possibly void at least part of your roof warranty. Since any leaking could be caused by the holes that you drilled.

2. Skylights and solar panels – Keep your warranty in mind before starting a home improvement project that involves major roof work, such as installing skylights or solar panels that require roof penetration or the removal of shingles

3. Pressure washing – Homeowners might choose to pressure wash their roof because of issues such as moss buildup. But they can severely damage their roof in the process because of the strong force of pressure washing.

4. Ventilation – Improper attic ventilation can also nullify your roofing warranty. Inadequate venting can trap heat in your attic and wear out your shingles.
In a nutshell, before installing that new satellite dish, solar panel or skylight, make sure you can do the work without turning your roof warranty into a useless piece of paper.

The Importance Of Understanding Roof Warranties Featured

As the area’s most trusted roofing contractor, we encourage our clients to fully understand the extent of their coverage. It’s beneficial during times when unexpected damages or maintenance issues spring up over the years. Here’s a deeper, more insightful look at roof warranties.

Know Your Coverage

Knowing the full extent of your coverage prevents you from spending more than necessary should issues arise with your roofing system. You can also be better prepared, financially, knowing which aspects of the roof isn’t under coverage should repairs or a full replacement be needed.

Have Leverage

Warranties are legal and binding and they ensure that whatever work you need, only a qualified roofing professional does it. Furthermore, and perhaps the biggest advantage you’ll have as a homeowner, is your warranty guarantees an inspection by no less than the roof manufacturer’s representative.

Protect Your Investment

Protection of your investment is what warranties come down to. As one of the most important and most expensive components of your home, it’s crucial to have a safety net should anything go wrong. Your roof bears the full brunt of extreme weather all year round and this daily stress can do a number on your roof.

Understanding the ins and outs of your roofing warranty lets you know what you are and aren’t entitled to. This keeps you from unnecessary spending during repairs and helps you prepare your financial resources for things not covered by the warranty.

Facts on Roofing Warranties

1. Only Defects in Roofing Materials are Covered

Warranties on roofing materials only cover manufacturing defects and not deterioration of the roofing system due to prolonged use. The lifespan of roofing materials depends on multiple factors including the installation procedure, environmental factors, and conditions such as the ventilation and insulation of the building. If a roofing material comes with a warranty of thirty years, it simply means it will remain free from any manufacturing flaws for thirty years.

2. Only Specific Conditions are Covered

Roofing warranties usually cover specific conditions, such as algae resistance, manufacturing defects, and blow-off resistance. If you get comprehensive cover for the roofing system, it is important to know the specific details and not assume that all eventualities are covered.

3. It is vital to Know Cover and Compensation Details

As a customer, it is important to go through details of the manufacturer’s warranty. If there is algae coverage on the roofing system, you may get compensated for cleaning the roof and not on residential roof repair or complete replacement of the roofing system. Understand the specific details of available covering to ensure that you are protected against known defects that may otherwise prove heavy on your pocket.

4. You Must Go Through the Installation Warranty

Apart from the manufacturer’s warranty, it’s also important to consider the installation warranty provided by your residential roofing contractor. Know what’s covered in the installation warranty and the length of cover. Warranty attributes are a great way to measure the confidence of your contractor in their work.

5. Always Take Note of What’s Not Covered

Apart from getting a comprehensive understanding of what is covered under roofing warranties, you must also get clarity on what’s not covered. Problems such as inadequate ventilation, defective design of the building, and faulty drainage systems are usually not covered under the roofing material and installation warranties.

This blog is a continuation of our first installment in this two-part series on ten must-know facts on roofing warranties. As emphasized in our first installment, it is always important to understand the finer details of your roofing material and installation warranties. Triumph Roofing and Construction provides free roof inspection services to help you assess the health of your materials and roofing structure. This write-up discusses five more facts that you need to know about roofing material and installation warranties. Let’s start.