What’s in a Workmanship Warranty? Dolan Roofing & Construction Is Breaking It Down
Roofs are a major investment. As a homeowner, few home improvement expenses will cost more than a roof replacement, and roofing work is almost always disruptive. But while planning a roof replacement can be a headache, a much worse headache will follow if it turns out the work wasn’t done correctly. That’s where a workmanship warranty comes in.
Workmanship warranties cover the labor of a roofing contractor, ensuring that if any mishaps or errors occurred that would compromise the lifespan of your roof, you aren’t financially responsible for fixing them. At Dolan Roofing & Construction, we offer a workmanship warranty on replacements we complete to provide homeowners with greater peace of mind and to demonstrate our confidence in our work.
But what do these warranties cover, and how do you make sure you’re getting the value you should? We’re taking a closer look in today’s blog post.
What’s Included in a Workmanship Warranty?
A roofer’s workmanship warranty covers any errors or mistakes that were made during the installation process. If your roof installation is covered under a workmanship warranty, it means the roofer has committed to addressing any problems that arise due to poor installation quality or errors.
Common Errors Covered by a Workmanship Warranty
Reading the above definition, it may seem like issues with workmanship are major problems due to roofers cutting corners or just engaging in pure negligence. The reality, though, is that those kinds of huge mistakes are more often made by scam artists, such as storm chasers, who won’t offer a workmanship warranty in the first place.
Typically, the types of mistakes will be as small as a quarter-sized spot of missing caulk, a misplaced nail, a few nail holes, or a fastener that wasn’t fully tightened. In other words, the mistakes these warranties cover are just the small human errors that even roofers with decades of experience will make from time to time.
How Long Should a Workmanship Warranty Be?
Workmanship warranties can vary in length, from 2 years to 5 years and even up to 10, 25, or more. As a homeowner, it can be difficult to know which provides enough coverage, and since some roofers may charge for longer workmanship warranties, it’s important to know how long is needed.
As seasoned roofers, we can tell you that in our experience—and you’d probably hear the same from most manufacturers—workmanship issues will make themselves apparent within the first 2 years or so. For larger issues, it can be as soon as the first or second heavy rainfall; small problems will take a longer time to become evident.
This means a workmanship warranty of around 5 years will be plenty long enough to cover even very subtle workmanship issues. In our area, San Antonio roofers typically offer 2–5 years.
Don’t I Want a Longer Workmanship Warranty?
As mentioned above, nearly all workmanship issues will become apparent within the first 2 years. That means workmanship warranties longer than 5 years are largely unnecessary, especially if you have to pay for them.
In some ways, longer workmanship warranties can be misleading. As a homeowner, you may think a 25-year workmanship warranty means any issues will be covered—but realistically, if something goes wrong with your roof 9 years into its lifespan, it’s likely due to poor maintenance or weather, not installation errors.
In addition, workmanship warranties are only as good as the roofing company offering them. If a roofer has only been around for a few years, how can they know that their work will hold up 25 years later? The simple answer is that they don’t.
A workmanship warranty demonstrates that a roofer is willing to stand behind their work—but it shouldn’t be used as a gimmick to convince homeowners that you’re getting more coverage than you actually are.
Have Questions About Our Workmanship Warranty? Ask Away!
At Dolan Roofing & Construction, we believe in doing quality work and operating with honesty and transparency. Our workmanship warranty is our way of standing behind our skills and experience as roofers—while providing peace of mind to our customers.
If you’re considering a roofing project with our team, and you’d like to learn more about what our warranty covers, feel free to ask any questions you may have! And if you’re in need of a roof replacement, you can get started right away by scheduling an inspection with our team.
