Roofing Contractors: Choosing The Best Workmanship Warranty

When it comes to the roof on your home you must be careful to ensure that it is functioning at 100%. A leaking roof can be costly and ultimately destroy hundreds or thousands of dollars of your property. Some times a roof can be leaking for a substantially long period of time before the water damage becomes noticeable, and throughout this process roof boards and other structural parts of your house have been compromised. That is why it is essential that once you finally realize that there is a need for replacement, you make the proper investment by choosing a professional roofing contractor who is qualified to repair damages and install your new roofing system. This investment will be costly and usually range in the thousands of dollars. Moreover, it is not a procedure you want to be cutting corners on by hiring some fly-by-night roofer who does the job for a substantially lower rate. Remember! This is your roof. It's comparable to buying a car -- you get what you pay for...

Roof shingles are the most common application here in Wisconsin and are designed to last for at least 25-30 years and protected by a manufacture warranty. There are also better grades of shingles that have a 40 year or even lifetime warranties. However, this warranty in incumbent upon proper installation by the roof contractor. In the event that the shingles are not properly installed the manufacturer warranty is void and any defects will have to be addressed to the contractor who installed them. The most common form of defect in installation by many installers is improper fastening, i.e., not enough nails, nailing too low on the face of the shingle, or a combination thereof.

Another essential component to a sound roof system is valley metal and the metal flashing(s) which transition water from vent stacks, walls, or the chimney, onto the roof shingles. Flashing's are designed to direct and shed water away from the object and over the top of the shingles. If flashing's are improperly installed and do not shed water over the top of the shingles or efficiently direct it to the gutter, your roof will inevitably leak! Like improper installation, these potential defects are not covered under the shingle manufacturer's warranty.

With these things in mind its time to get to the meat and potatoes of roofing warranties so please read on...

There are numerous warranties available on various roofing products; including the manufacturers warranty, but I merely wish to address workmanship warranties which cover defects in the installation of roofing systems.

Essentially there are only two relevant types of warranties available that cover the installation of the roof: Prorated and Non-Prorated.

With a pro-rated warranty, the customer must pay a percentage of the cost to repair or replace a defective product during the warranty period based on how long they have had the product.

With a non pro-rated warranty, defective products and/or product installation will be repaired or replaced during the warranty period at no charge to the customer.

I have reviewed many roofing contractors warranty options throughout Wisconsin, and many of those roofing contractors only offer a prorated workmanship warranty; generally ranging from 5 to 10 years -- with the exception of one Waukesha roofing contractor who offers a 10 year Non-prorated workmanship warranty. For the competition that's a hard one to touch!

My advise to any homeowner in the market for a new roof is to ask questions of the potential roofing contractors you may be thinking about for your new roof installation, and review the terms of the workmanship warranty. Don't be fooled! If they are significantly cheaper in their quote, now you know why! Chances are they don't offer a Non-prorated workmanship warranty, which means their investment is covered. Are You!