Have you ever asked your roofer for a guarantee that your leak stops? If not, why haven’t you?
Plenty of situations exist where it makes sense for a roofer to do a more thorough repair and guarantee your leak stops. It makes sense for them because they get a larger job, and it makes sense for you because you get the security of knowing you don’t have to put any more money into stopping that leak.
To ask for the correct warranty, you need to know what options are available to you. Here’s a quick list:
- Workmanship Warranty: Workmanship warranties are placed on the actual work that was performed. It does not guarantee that the work will solve the problem; it only guarantees that the work performed won’t fail.
- Leak-Free Warranty: Leak-Free Warranties guarantee that the leak will stop once the repair is made. If the same leak occurs after the repair is made then the roofing company will owe you additional repairs at no additional charge. These warranties should be for a minimum of one year.
- No-Dollar-Limit Warranty: No-Dollar-Limit Warranties (NDLs) are found in full roof replacements and are guaranteed by the manufacturer for a specified amount of time. These warranties guarantee the material will not fail and that you will not have to pay to have the roof repaired for the life of the warranty. They typically range between 10 and 30 years. It’s very important to read the terms and conditions of No-Dollar-Limit Warranties, as they often require action on your part in order to keep them from being voided.
Read also: Keep Your Roof Covered with a Warranty
Here are three examples of where a Leak-Free Warranty makes a lot of sense:
- Leaking has been occurring for a long time. It’s time to stop asking roofers to make quick repairs that don’t work. You’ve poured money and resources into cheap fixes and you need a company to give you a better solution.
- Leaks are occurring over an area that houses expensive, water-sensitive equipment. If the water is going to damage equipment if it comes in again or if it is going to inhibit normal business operations then a Leak-Free Warranty should be considered. The collateral costs of your servers being down, for instance, may far outweigh the cost of a major roof repair.
- Collateral damage is occurring. The cost of replacing decking, joists or mold remediation can be much more expensive than making a major roof repair. Stopping a leak to mitigate damage can be very important.
Find a reputable roofing company and ask them to give you two options; a leak-free warranty and a workmanship-warranty. You may be surprised by how reasonable the pricing can be when you compare it to what you’ve already spent chasing that leak.
Great roofing companies love the opportunity to provide permanent solutions. Many times it just requires a facility manager to ask for one.
Adam Capps is commercial department manager for UB Commercial.
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