Posted @ 6/28/2013 3:12 PM by John | Files in Roof Warranty, Roofing Repairs
"Most roofs installed today are covered by a warranty. A roofing warranty can be issued by the manufacturer of the roofing material or the installing roof contractor or both. Typically a warranty issued by the manufacturer provides much greater protection than one issued be the installing contractor.
Roofing contractors’ warranties are only as solvent as the contractor. Should the contractor go out of business your coverage is gone as well. Many of the large national contractors who issue their own warranties (often attempting to resemble the manufacturer’s warranty with less coverage) provide far less protection than the typical manufacturer’s warranty. As a rule you should only consider warranty from a financially stable manufacturer with – as they say – “Deep Pockets”.
You should keep in mind that manufacturer’s warranties are written by the manufacturer’s attorneys and therefore the language is heavy in legalese in order to protect the manufacturer. You would be wise to check the solvency of the manufacture as well as the location of its head quarters’. If a manufacturer is not a US firm, should there be a catastrophic loss they could roll back operations in the US and leave you without coverage.
Typically, warranties are supported by the warranty fees paid by the installing contractor to the manufacturer at the time of installation. If you use a manufacturer who does not collect a separate fee they are more likely to not have a separate fund supporting their warranties.
Roof system manufacturer warranties come with many subtle nuances, but typically they fall into two (2) types: a material warranty or a Full System (also called no dollar limit) warranty. A Material Warranty typically only provides coverage should there be a material defect and they do not pay the labor the install the new material.
As a building owner or facilities manager you should only accept the Full Roof System warranty. This warranty covers both the roofing material and its installation. It is also called a No Dollar Limit warranty because it is not prorated and it provides coverage at the current costs. This type of warranty provides the most coverage.
In summary, roofing contractor's warranty should never take the place of a roofing manufacturer’s warranty. NDL warranties are the ones which provide the best coverage and a quality warranty can provide the peace of mind need to help insure the performance of your new roof."