When we make investments in our home, we’d love these improvements to last forever, but sadly something we can assure is that they won’t, our roof protects us from heat, rain, hail, snow and even tornados and hurricanes, we cannot expect that the very thing that’s protecting us will not get damaged with time.
When we start doing research to find a company that can help us with improvements or replacements, we find that a lot of them offer lifetime warranties on their products, which sounds amazing I mean who wouldn’t like to have a lifetime warranty, but before we make any decisions we need to find out what that really is.
Chances are that when you are replacing your roof the shingles you have installed will have a lifetime warranty, but you need to clearly understand what is covered and what is not. Reading warranties can sometimes be really confusing, they tend to write them in tiny font and of course in legal language. What you need to understand is that a warranty is simply a promise from the manufacturer to the consumer that you will be protected in case something goes wrong with the product you got from them. Among all others, only CertainTeed will cover manufacturing defects even with the absence of a roof leak.
Here’s a list to take a look at to know what to ask your contractor before any decisions are made:
- “Lifetime.” simply means—for as long as you own your home.
- Manufacturing defects (ranging from too much loss of granule, press inconsistencies, and insufficient sealant) are all covered by warranties.
- Only one out of all the manufacturers will identify issues like roof leaks or other roofing problems as a “defect manufacturing”.
- Among all others, only CertainTeed will consider the warranty for manufacturers defects even with the absence of a roof leak.
- In case a manufacturing defect occurs in the first few years after roof installation, roof warranties will include full replacement material and installation. This front-loaded coverage varies per manufacturer but it is commonly 10 years.
- In the years following the front-loaded period, only the shingles will be included on the warranty, and coverage will become lesser and lesser as the roof ages. Removal and installation of shingles will no longer be covered.
This is why you shouldn’t have the impression that this lifetime warranty will have a full coverage forever for expenses like labor, disposal, and even the shingles. Most of the time this confusion makes the homeowner’s expectations very high and can cause problems between them and the contractor in the future, this is why it’s so important to make sure you ask your contractor all doubts and concerns you may have before making a decision.
Extended Warranty
If we really want to be protected in the future, a good decision to make is to get an extended warranty, depending on the coverage you choose, if the product comes with a manufacturing defect, this type of warranty can include tear off, replacement material, labor and disposal for up to 40 additional years and you will only need to pay a mere fraction of the roof cost if you think about it, you are having a very inexpensive option for making sure you’re getting great value, quality and peace of mind for many many years to come.
Replacing your roof is a big investment and now you have the basics to make an informative decision to find a contractor that can do a quality roof system and complements it with a solid extended warranty.
If you want more information about Lifetime Shingle Warranties call us today at 844-KEE-ROOF or simply fill out the form on this page and we will contact you shortly.