Roof Warranties: What a Lifetime Warranty Really Means

21 Dec Roof Warranties: What a Lifetime Warranty Really Means

Let’s talk about roof warranties. A new roof is one of the most important investments we as homeowners will make in the course of our home ownership. Many of us feel emotional connections with our homes, but it is also important to see your residence as an asset. Statistics Canada shows that Canadian’s principle residences are responsible for 42.3% of our private investment holdings nationwide. It doesn’t matter if you’re a retiree or a newly minted college graduate, that is a significant chunk of your financial security. 

As such, you want to make sure that when it comes time to invest in a new roof that you have security for a long time in the form of a warranty. Roof warranties are not insurance policies, however, and although it is tempting to view the longest warranty as the best, it is critical to understand what the warranty actually covers as well as the reputation of the company issuing the warranty and their commitment to stand behind their customer service. There are two types of roof warranties we will be discussing: manufacturing warranties and workmanship warranties.

First let’s talk about manufacturing warranties. A manufacturing warranty covers any defective performance due to the products. The number one question people ask me about manufacutring warranties is this: “How do manufacturers offer lifetime warranties on their shingles without running themselves out of business? Don’t all shingles break down eventually?” The answer is to this question is “exclusions and nullifications”. These are stipulations that either exclude certain things from coverage or worse yet nullify the roof warranties altogether. Some of these things are reasonable: failure of the homeowner to pay, making alterations to the roof without written approval and “acts of God” (aka hurricanes, tornadoes etc), while some are there to give manufacturers an out on making good such as: failure to have a bi-annual roof inspection conducted, failure to keep a log of all personnel who have had access to the roof, change of use or occupancy and failure to notify the manufacturer on a change of ownership. A comprehensive list of exclusions and nullifications can be found here.

There is another matter to consider when thinking about roof warranties and that is the workmanship warranty. These warranties are generally shorter in length, but easier for the homeowner to enforce due to the locality and person to person nature of the contractor vs the corporate red tape of the manufacturer. The two keys here are to ensure that the company will be around long enough to enforce the warranty (hard to get service out of a non-existent company) and picking a company that has a reputation for and commitment to excellent customer service. At Peak Roofing, we know that our satisfied customers become our best advertisement, which is why customer service is our #1 priority. We offer a 10 year, no dollar limit, workmanship warranty and we stand behind our conviction to uphold that commitment for each and every one of our clients!

We want our clients to make as educated and informed a decision as possible and make the decision that is most going to benefit them. If you have any roof or warranty related questions pick up the phone and call us at 905-746-5792. We are happy to help you navigate this important investment!