What does your roofing warranty actually cover?

By Hannah Ford.

Understand the ins and outs of roofing warranties and some of the common misconceptions.

In this AskARoofer® Podcast episode, Lauren White visits with Marty Stout from Go Roof Tune-Up to discuss roofing warranties. 

There are several types of roofing warranties, and each has different benefits. “The most common warranty you're going to see on a residential roof is a material warranty. A manufacturer will warranty a specific shingle or tile. Every manufacturer has their own system and their own combination of how they get to a specific age on each warranty,” Marty said. “Most manufacturer material warranties come in a category of five-year increments, starting at 10 years and going up to 25 or 30. And then once they get to 30, they jump up to 50. Typically, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and if it goes beyond 30, it's pretty much 50 years.” 

“I was just talking with a homeowner today, in fact. She has a material on her roof that has a 50-year warranty, and she was really excited about having this roof that she knows is going to last for 50 years,” Marty said. “She found out though that that means that the material will not fail or fall apart in the course of 50 years. If it does, the manufacturer will honor their warranty. It doesn't mean that the roof is not going to leak if the roofer didn't install it correctly.” Make sure to read your roof warranty to understand what it does and does not cover. In the event of damage or leakage, your warranty may not solve the problem. 

“The biggest misconception is that if I buy a lifetime-warrantied shingle, that I have a lifetime warranty on the performance of my roof. We think it applies to everything, and it doesn't. It just applies to the performance of the shingle or whatever the material is. Typically, people think it covers everything, but it just covers the material mostly,” Marty explained. “If they really want a warranty that has some teeth in it, they need to make sure that it covers the material, it covers the workmanship and it's not prorated.”  

Read the transcript or Listen to the podcast to learn more about different types of roof warranties and ensure your roof is protected.