HOW TO CHOOSE A ROOFING WARRANTY IN QUEENS, NY

In no other industry is the term “warranty” thrown around as indiscriminately as it is at homeowners’, particularly when it pertains roofing. New roofing is far from cheap and requires a sufficient, non-abstract and practical coverage plan. Roofing is notorious for being damaged by mother nature. As homeowners know this, roofing warranties become one of their major issues at hand.

BE SMART WHEN CHOOSING A ROOFING WARRANTY!

Even when one has a warranty, it is essential to understand the ins and outs of the whole agreement lest it becomes null and void. When it comes to a roofing warranty, don’t look at the length it will remain valid, but rather what it covers. Roofing contractors can be quite deceiving when enticing potential clients to buy new roofing and prefer to conspicuously portray the keyword: “30-year warranty” or “50-year warranty.”

Homeowners will naively select one, little do they know that the warranty has unclear or undefined terms. Maybe it doesn’t include fixing the attic, the shingles or such like stuff. Or perhaps it covers roof leak, damages as a result of high winds, hail, roof puncture or acts of God and nothing more. It also may not include the cost for the actual parts.

TYPES OF ROOFING WARRANTIES – UNDERSTAND YOUR COVERAGE

Ideally, a warranty is supposed to ensure any roofing problem is rectified without paying any sum of money. And it should be so for the whole period, whether it is 20, 30 or 40 years.

But because it is sad to feel scammed by a roofing contractor, it becomes important to look at it critically. At the moment, there are three main types of warranties, and they include:

• Contractor roofing warranty – issued by the contractor to cover the quality of the whole roof, including any repairs and replacements.
• Product manufacturer warranty – issued by whoever made the material used by the contractor. Normally, this warranty covers failures and defects in the material – exclusively those which the manufacturer is responsible. The GAF Golden-Pledge warranty is a good example of this. GAF is the countries largest shingles manufacturer.
• Manufacturer’s full-system warranty – again, offered by the manufacturer of a particular material, this warranty cover nearly everything, from the materials to all accessories that together ensure the roof lasts. Basically, anything within the warranty guidelines is indicated.

WHAT IS SERVICE WITHOUT CHARGE, PLUS WHAT VOIDS THE WARRANTY?

All roofing warranties vary greatly and the 30-year period isn’t written by someone who decided to settle for such a period arbitrarily. Shingles that are designed to last for 30 years should actually last until then, similar to all the other materials. And the probability of the material becoming defective before then is nearly zero – they know it!

So, if anything happens after six or 10 years after roofing was done, the contractor may blame you and refuse to repair it. Even when the issue was genuine, you may have to bear with them making it null and void.

It’s recommended, therefore, that you seek to know if the quality of workmanship was up to standard and if a proper inspection was done. More importantly, get to know what service without charge entails and what would void the warranty.