Every roofing installation company has a warranty that comes along with it. Most homeowners never bother to read the entire paperwork associated with their purchase, but there are certain details in the warranty that can save you thousands of dollars in repairs.
The first thing to keep an eye on is the terms of the warranty itself. A lot of warranties have time limits or other odd requirements. Because these are phrased to protect them from liability against homeowners, they might be difficult for someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing to understand at first glance. Furthermore, some warranties require inspections by inspectors who work for the same roofing company that provided your roofing materials. If this seems suspicious or simply inconvenient, try using another inspector instead.
Nothing will invalidate a warranty faster than ignoring routine inspections and necessary repairs. Many warranties come with a clause that stipulates the warranty is automatically null and void if you never had a professional inspect or perform maintenance on your roof at any point during the coverage period.
So, unless you want to pay full price for repairs down the road, be sure to have an inspector take a look around once every few months. If this seems inconvenient, keep in mind that it only takes about fifteen minutes to thoroughly inspect most roofs, so scheduling ahead of time wouldn’t even require too much effort on your part.
Lastly, remember that each state has its own regulations regarding roofing company warranties. Some states might not even legally recognize them as valid contracts because they are pieces of paper created by international corporations.
Double-check what your state’s laws are, and if you’re still not sure, look up the laws of a neighboring state. If that doesn’t help, consult someone in legal or insurance. The last thing you want is to protect yourself from expensive repairs only to receive a lowball offer once it comes time to settle any potential claims against your warranty.