Warranty

Almost every roof fails because of the way it was installed. That is why, whenever possible,   Universal Contracting offers a roof or section of roof that can be fully warranted from the shingle manufacturer that includes our workmanship. Less that one percent of the roofers in the U.S. offer this type of warranty. Asphalt shingle warranties can be very difficult to understand for the average property owner and even for the average roofer. These are some of the warranty terms from the major manufacturers that need to be addressed when trying to compare installers and their proposals

Here is a list of Warranties

Material Warranty

The major shingle manufacturers offer some type of warranty on the materials to be free of manufacturing defects for a certain length of time. For the average roofer’s installation, this shingle warranty is for a pro-rated amount beginning at the time of purchase. For example, a 30 year shingle, the replacement value goes down every year until a point that the replacement value is zero. Remember, this is for defective materials. The normal weathering of a shingle is not covered under a warranty. A 30 year shingle will only last 20-25 years and this is considered normal wear.

We recomend to install major brands only like CertainTeed or GAF

Workmanship

This is the most important warranty term to understand as a property owner. “Workmanship” is the original installation of the roofing materials. With a workmanship warranty from the shingle manufacturer, you know that you are covered for any manufacturing defects on the shingles or any installation errors for at least 20 years. This is true “piece of mind”.

“30 Year Roof”

IMany roofers use this term and they are talking about the shingle warranty. This means that the shingle manufacturer has warranted the shingles to be free of defects for 30 years. This does not mean that the shingles will last 30 years or that the installation will last 30 years. It just means that they are guaranteed to free of defects. In most cases, the roofer is not offering any type of installation warranty or non-proration period.

In conclusion, the safest choice for the property owner is to choose an installer and a material manufacturer that has a warranty that covers workmanship. Then, the property owner has a warranty that covers any issues whether it is an installation error or a manufacturer’s defect. That means there is no “out of pocket expenses” for at least 20 years. This is also a transferable warranty to the next property owner.

by CertainTeed