Roofing warranties are the subject of much confusion, sometimes I think it’s all on purpose to confuse homeowners! As you get bids for your new roof you’ll likely hear the words “Lifetime warranty” thrown around quite a bit. While this sounds great on the surface, let’s dig in and I’ll explain exactly what a “Lifetime warranty” is and what you actually get for it.
First, it’s very important to understand what is and isn’t covered by the different warranties on your roof. There are multiple warranties that are part of a roof system and it’s not just one that covers everything. Here are the basics:
- Contractor Labor warranty
- Roofing Material warranty
- Warranties on all the different components
Contractor Labor Warranties Explained
When considering which contractor to hire, the warranty offered by the contractor should be a main concern. The contractor labor warranty will tell you how confident the contractor is that his crews will do a good job on your roof. You’ll want to look for 2 things:
- What is covered?
- How long is it covered?
Be sure that the warranty covers any defects in installation, and that the full liability covers both the labor and material to remove the existing, and purchase and install the new material to fix the defect. If your contractor will only cover the labor, then you’ll end up footing the bill for the material itself, which could be significant.
When looking at how long the warranty is for, the contractor will usually give you a number of years that he will come back and fix issues, then after that you’re on your own. I’ve yet to see a contractor that prorates their warranties over a number of years like the manufacturers do, but I wouldn’t put it past some cunning contractor to put in there.
Obviously the thing to look for is a bigger number here. The longer the contractor will stand behind his work, in writing, the more confident he is that nothing is going to go wrong with the installation. This becomes more valuable if the contractor has been in business for a long time. If a brand new business is offering a 25 year labor warranty, will they be around long enough to service it?
Ask your contractor to explain how their labor warranty works, and what it covers. Then ask him to show you where it says that, in writing, on the contract you’re going to sign with them. If they can’t provide anything in writing, then don’t count on them doing what was only spoken about.
Roofing Material Warranties Explained
When you buy a new roof, the most important warranty is the one given by the contractor. However, the main warranty you’ll likely hear about is the one on the roofing material itself. This one is also probably the most complex and difficult to understand.
Manufacturers used to offer 30, 40, or 50-year warranties based on the thickness and durability of the shingle. This was helpful on the surface because it gave homeowners an idea of how long a certain shingle would last.
However, now all shingle manufacturers have moved to a “Lifetime Warranty” on all their shingle products, no matter the quality. So it’s more difficult to see at a glance what’s happening. After reading this short guide though, you’ll understand the difference.
Plus, it’s important to note that these material warranties DO NOT cover the labor at all. If your contractor installs the product incorrectly and it fails, they won’t cover a thing. So when a contractor says they offer a lifetime warranty, you better double check to see what they mean. Are they just passing the lifetime warranty of the shingles off to you, without covering the labor at all?
Malarkey Material Warranty
If you’re going to get an asphalt shingle roof, we recommend Malarkey. There are multiple reasons why, but we believe they are the manufacturer with the best design and technology available today. So we’ll use their warranty as an example (and it’s almost the same as every other warranty so by explaining one you will understand all of them)
The first thing to get out of the way is what these warranties actually cover. All standard shingle warranties (no matter the manufacturer) only cover the materials and labor to install new shingles. They do not include the costs to remove or dispose of the existing shingles. So even if you have a warranty the first month after it’s installed, you will have to pay out of pocket for the removal and disposal of the defective shingles.
Above are the 5 different types of shingles offered by Malarkey. As you can see under “Term” they all say “Lifetime” – so it basically doesn’t mean anything. How these lifetime warranties work is that they always have a warranty, but the amount the warranty will pay out decreases every year that the roof is installed on the home. The amount covered by the warranty as it decreases is called the prorated amount.
If you look under “Right Start Period” this is the length of time that the shingle is fully covered without being prorated. This means that if a defect is found anytime in the first 15 years on a Vista shingle, they will cover 100% of the cost to install new material. After the 15 years has passed the amount covered will reduce by 1/480 per month (as seen in the Reduction Per Month column). This means that if your shingles fail after 18 years, 3 years or 36 months after the non-prorated period, the amount covered will be reduced by 36/480 or 7.5%, meaning they will cover 92.5% of the cost. I hope that’s clear as mud.
What’s Not Covered By The Material Warranty?
When looking at the warranty, you’ll find a big list of “exclusions.” These are all the things that aren’t covered by the warranty. Basically they exclude everything that they don’t have control of. This is summed up in 4 different things: Rough handling by the material supplier, bad installation by the contractor, poor maintenance practices (allowing moss to grow or pressure washing the roof) or damage from external factors (weather, vandalism, etc).
This means if half your roof blows off, but it was due to the contractor not nailing it correctly (putting the nails in the wrong spot, nailing too hard, etc) then they will disclaim all liability and it will be up to you to deal with the contractor to fix the problem. And trust me this happens more often than you might think.
Enhanced Material Warranties
Some contractors are certified with the material manufacturer and can offer enhanced warranties that are fully backed by the manufacturer of the shingles. In the case of Malarkey shingles, they have 2 different levels of warranty – Emerald Pro and Emerald Premium.
The Emerald Pro Warranty increases the non prorated coverage you get on material defects all the way up to 50 years on every material they offer. This means that if a defect is found even 25 years after the roof is installed, it will be 100% covered. This will give you some additional security in the case of a material defect being found on your roof.
The Emerald Premium Warranty goes one step further. Along with increasing the non prorated coverage to 50 years, they also back up the installation itself for 25 years. This means that if you have any problem, either a labor defect, or a material defect, you’ll be 100% covered. This gives a lot of extra security since they will cover all the labor costs to fix anything found, even if your contractor has gone out of business.
Another big difference here is that with the standard material warranty they will not cover removal or disposal, whereas with the Enhanced Warranties the removal and disposal is all included in the coverage.
These enhanced warranties are a great option because of the extra coverage they provide in the case of anything going wrong. They will, however, increase the cost of the roof replacement itself. In order to qualify you’ll need 3 things to happen during your roof replacement:
- Installer must be a certified contractor and able to offer the warranty desired.
- They’ll have to use premium components manufactured by the shingle manufacturer such as ice & water shield, synthetic underlayments, starter shingle, and specialized ridge cap (which tend to be a bit more expensive)
- They’ll need to register and pay an additional cost to activate your warranty (if this is skipped, you won’t have the warranty)
Note that these warranties still carry some of the same exclusions that will not be covered like:
- Poor attic ventilation (which must be taken care of by your contractor)
- Extreme weather (like ice damming or very high winds above 130 mph)
- Storm damage
- Damage from fire, vandalism, or even excessive foot traffic on your roof.
A WORD OF WARNING: I’ve heard many stories of contractors who register these warranties for people even though they do not use the more expensive, required materials (usually ice shield or synthetic felt). If you hire a contractor who does this, if any defects are ever found, your warranty will be null and void because the contractor did not follow the guidelines required. Another reason to have a detailed contract and pay attention to what’s happening.
Roofing Component Warranties Explained
Now that we have the main roofing material warranty covered, the other side of the material warranty is all the different components of the roof – drip metal, underlayments, flashings, etc. And one thing you can bet about warranty protection is this: If you ever have a problem with your roof, everyone will be pointing the finger at everyone else because they don’t want to have to be the ones to pay to fix it.
Unfortunately though, there’s not much to say here. Most components just don’t offer warranties. The materials are mostly sold as-is and what you get is what you get. Because of this, make sure to hire a roofing professional that buys from well known brands with a track record. If you find someone that can get you a great deal because of the discount materials he picked up, it might be best to pass over that deal.
The few products that do have warranties on them are some brands of ice & water shield (usually the more premium versions), “Lifetime Pipe Flashings” by Lifetime Tool and some of the more pricey accessories like skylights and sun tunnels.
In most of these cases, these component warranties only cover the product itself, and not any labor to remove or install, so it’s another reason to choose quality components when replacing your roof.
Understanding Roofing Warranties For a Worry-Free Replacement
Roofing warranties are kind of like insurance – it’s no fun to pay extra for but you’ll be thankful you did if there’s ever a problem. Don’t fall for the “lifetime warranty” gimmick – every shingle manufacturer these days offers a lifetime warranty and it’s not nearly as good as it sounds.
Some of the enhanced warranties from manufacturers can provide a lot of extra coverage for what it costs, but remember: No matter how good the warranty, it can be voided by a botched installation.
For this reason, the most important thing you can do is find a contractor you can trust, have them explain everything to you, and prove it in writing. Don’t blindly enter into an agreement with a contractor when you don’t understand something. Doing your due diligence up front will save you a load of headaches in the future if there’s ever a problem with your new roof.