Warranties

 

Warranties and guarantees are probably one of the most misunderstood aspects of a roofing job.  Most people like a long warranty. Unfortunately they are usually not worth the paper they are written on.

 

Manufacturer warranties are written to get the manufacturer off the hook. They are either very vague or they have many exclusions. They sound great but the manufacturer can wiggle out of them. Many warranties only cover the materials–not the application.

 

The following will void most warranties:

 

• Improper workmanship

• Ponding water

• Building movement

• If you do not notify the manufacturer in writing about anything new installed to the roof

• Roof top equipment not installed following their specifications

• Leaking grease or chemicals from roof top equipment

• Swamp coolers or air conditioners that leak onto the roof

• If you make repairs without notifying the manufacturer

• Changing building use to something they won’t cover

• Foot traffic

• Damage caused by others

• Not performing regular maintenance

 

Most manufacturers will not cover leaks from the following:

 

• Damage caused from high winds

• Components not specifically part of the roof (walls, flashings, pitch pockets etc.)

• Air conditioning vents

• Leaks from roof top equipment

• Anything that can be construed to be caused by a contributing factor other than natural causes

 

Never assume that because a manufacturer backs the warranty you will be covered. Find out what the limitations and exclusions are.

 

What about contractor guarantees?

 

If the guarantee is by the roofing contractor, a long guarantee is meaningless if they go out of business.  We have replaced many roofs that had long guarantees that failed.  The companies were no longer in business and the customer was left holding the bag. Don’t let this happen to you.

 

One of our competitors guaranteed all of their roof work for 10 years. They claimed they would even come back and work on anything the owner added or removed from their roof for free.  Eventually, when the backlog of roofs to take care of for free became too great a burden, they closed up and opened under another name.

 

Even if a company doesn’t go out of business, it may not honor its commitment if you have a hard to solve problem or one that they feel is not part of the roof. That is why it is important to spell out exactly what is covered when the roof is installed and also what the guarantee covers.

 

It is far more important to have a properly installed roof than a long-term, vague, guarantee.

 

Century Roofing's warranties & maintenance agreements

 

Over the past 20 plus years our customers have had the option to have the labor and materials covered through a roof maintenance agreement.

 

We offer either a 10 or 15 year warranty for both materials and labor with the stipulation that we come out yearly, for a small fee, to inspect your roof and clean off the accumulated debris. It includes a written report with photos of the condition of the roof. In doing so we get the roof ready for the rainy season and we can make sure the warranty stays in force.

 

Call some of the many customers on our client list and ask them about us. Many of them have taken advantage of our maintenance agreement. Some of them have been our clients for over 20 years.

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