Warranties are an important issue when considering the main factors in making a good decision for your replacement roof. There are three parts of a roof warranty to examine; the Materials Warranty, Exclusions to the Materials Warranty, and the contractor’s Labor Warranty against workmanship errors. Sometimes a NDL (No Dollar Limit) option is available from the materials manufacture, at a “cost per foot” basis for customers that require a more substantive warranty. NDL’s are a form of insurance and should be discussed with your contractor.
Most roofing membrane, Material Warranties, range from 10 to 20 years in warranty life. There are Exclusions to the Material Warranty, things like “ponding water” or “vendor abuse” and should be reviewed by the customer, but the number one exclusion, is not having annual inspections and maintenance conducted, thereby voiding a warranty.
On a cynical note, understand that Material Warranties are written by manufactures’ attorneys attempting to mitigate as much liability as they can, so it’s important to follow a warranty outline in order to keep the warranty active. Common sense dictates, that if you maintain something properly, it will last longer saving you life cycle costs.
Note: Checking out the roofing contractor is the most important thing you can do before looking at warranties. Is the roofing contractor a reputable contractor? How long has he/she been in business? At the end of the day, a warranty can state all kinds of things, but warranties are directly related to the quality, and reputation of the Roofing company. Will the Roofing Company be your advocate with a manufacture if there should be a problem with the materials?
The contractor’s Labor Warranty begins with the State of California mandating that contractors warranty their workmanship for a minimum of 4 (four) years. Above all else, the best practice for workmanship issues is to find a reputable roofing contractor that has well trained and experienced crews, and is properly licensed and bonded.
Warranties for Coating Systems can be a bit misleading in themselves, and unfortunately there are contractors who purposely mislead customers. First, understand that a Coating System is NOT considered a roof system by the roofing industry, or the IRS, but rather a maintenance or restoration system. Secondly, often times there is language within the coating warranty that states the roofing contractor will determine if the system requires another layer of coating to maintain the warranty, which the customer is then charged. This is why it is important to read through the warranty language carefully and understand that almost certain, there will be additional costs to maintain this fluid applied system (Coating System).
For commercial roofing inquiries, or roof assessments contact the professionals at SBR Inc., Roofing and
Waterproofing contractors for Los Angeles. 888-766-3748