Warranties – NOT created equal

SHINGLE WARRANTIES

Many people think that when they get a new 30 yr roof, you automatically get a 30 year warranty from the manufacturer, simply because you hired a roofing company to install it.  The hard truth is that there are many critical steps that could be overlooked or ignored, that could cause your entire warranty to be null and void, right from the initial estimator measuring your home and up to the moment you receive the final invoice.  Most manufacturers require the homeowner to file a warranty application, including information on the Contractor whom installed the roof.  For extended warranties, further documentation is needed, and the Contractor must be an approved installer of their brand of shingle.

SKYLIGHTS AND SKYLIGHT WELLS

Skylights are exposed to massive extremes in climate.  In the summer, this can reach temperatures in excess of 90 degrees with nowhere to go.  This causes the drywall, paint, and texturing to expand and deteriorate at a much faster rate.  During a shower, moist air accumulates in the highest point of the bathroom, causing the moist air to be absorbed into the texturing.

Question: But my living room skylights are also flaking and they are not exposed to the moisture of a bathroom!  

That’s correct, because it is not only because of humid air, but mainly because of the extreme heat and extreme cold in the winter.  Most skylights beyond 10-15 yrs old do not have any protective coatings against UV rays, such as Low E.  This further expedites the cracking and peeling of the texturing or popcorn finish.   This heating and cooling cycle happens every day of the year, slowly breaking down the finish until it naturally falls away or is scraped off and repaired.

Please read more about this at: http://www.removeceilingtexture.com/?s=skylights

For this reason, we (and most other roofing contractors) do not cover this natural deterioration under our workmanship warranty as this is an unavoidable situation that has resulted from decades of exposure to the elements.  The vibrations that are necessary to install a roof (hammering nails) is unavoidable, which forces our hand into a potentially uncomfortable scenario if the homeowner is not educated about the process.   Please expect to see flaking chips of texturing sprinkling down during the roofing process.

GUTTERS

Existing damage to gutters and leaks in the corners of the gutters is not covered by our workmanship warranty.  However, if we damage the gutters due to a worker slipping, or something hitting the gutters, this falls under our workmanship warranty.  For this reason, we require supporting documentation in the form of before and after photos to substantiate that damage was not preexisting.  Normally this is completed during a walk-around before the work commences.  This protects both homeowner and contractor.