Explore the ins and outs of extended roofing warranties in Part 2 of our roofing warranty series. Learn what’s covered, what’s not, and how to choose the right warranty for your home.

In Part 2 of our blog series about understanding roofing warranties, we’ll dive in to extended warranties
offered by contractors. You’ll recall in Part 1; we discussed two factors to consider regarding warranty
coverage: Material Coverage and Workmanship Coverage. Extended Warranties are where the
Workmanship Coverage really become relevant…and there is some significant value for homeowners
who choose to partner with a contractor offering this warranty as a part of their value proposition.

Extended warranties were created by manufacturers 10-15 years ago enabling them to extend the life of
the warranty well beyond the 10-year non-prorated period noted earlier. In order to offer these types of
warranties, contractors must be vetted by the manufacturer and then receive a special certification
authorizing them with the privilege of offering this warranty solution to their customers. We at Sierra
Hills Roofing received this certification from GAF and Owens Corning. These manufacturers ran credit
checks, verified references, consulted the BBB and wouldn’t offer entry into their certification program
until we had been in business for two full years. I say all this to emphasize that manufacturers don’t just
hand these certifications out willy-nilly! They do their due diligence to insure they are only partnering
with healthy businesses that will represent their brand with integrity and success. Once certified,
contractors can begin offering these extended warranties to their customers.

Extended warranties can actually extend the non-prorated period of the material warranty all the way to
50 YEARS. These are typically labeled as System Warranties. Manufacturers require contractors
completing a reroof to include several of their roofing accessory items along with the shingle in order to
qualify. These are typically items like: underlayment, starter shingles, ventilation products, and hip &
ridge caps. This assembly embodies a “roofing system” and is then warrantied by the manufacturer for
an extended period. In GAF and Owens Corning’s case, that’s a full 50 years! Just like the non-prorated
10-year period included with the manufacturer standard warranty that was explained in the prior blog;
System Warranties include labor costs to replace defective roofing material…only now it’s covered for a
non-prorated 50 years. That’s FIVE TIMES THE COVERAGE you get with the standard product warranty!

The fun doesn’t stop there! Above and beyond the System Warranties, manufacturers also offer
premium extended warranties that include Workmanship Coverage. In my professional opinion, these
are a huge value-add for the homeowner and the contractor collectively…and here’s why. Premium
extended warranties have the same material coverage as the aforementioned System Warranties, but
now include additional coverage for workmanship. So, what is workmanship; and how does
workmanship compare to “labor”? Labor is the act of installing a roof; workmanship is the art of
installing a roof. Workmanship Coverage warranties the roof installation even in the event the roof was
installed incorrectly, meaning not installed to manufacturer specifications. The caveat here is that the
roofing contractor owns this warranty for the first two years. So that means, if the roof fails in the first
two years due to an improper installation, it is incumbent upon the contractor to remedy the error.
After that, the manufacturer takes over. Once that happens, if the roof fails the manufacturer actually
pays a certified contractor (whether it be the original or a different one) to replace the failed area.

That’s a huge value for the homeowner, and the contractor. While we’d all love to believe that our hired
contractor is a perfect craftsman, everyone is human. Errors happen, but with this warranty you are fully
covered by the manufacturer for material defects and the original contactor’s installation.

A couple of additional notes about extended warranties. I mentioned earlier that only certified
contractors can offer these warranties. Certified contractors are also the only people that can register
these types of warranties with the manufacturer. Warranty registrations are completed upon project
completion. Extended warranties are registered by the certified contractor on the homeowner’s behalf.
This happens on a contractor portal through the manufacturer’s website, which is a digital resource
given only to the contractor. These extended warranties also include an additional cost for the certified
contractor. You read that correctly, EXTENDED WARRANTIES ARE NOT FREE, so there is likely an
additional cost factored into the cost of the bid/proposal to encompass this added expense. It’s still
extremely worthwhile! If you make the decision to partner with a contractor offering an extended
warranty, it will likely be the last time you ever roof this house in your lifetime!

What if you don’t intend to live in this home for the rest of your life…is there still value in purchasing a
new roof accompanied by an extended warranty? ABSOLUTELY! These warranties are fully transferrable.
Whether you decide to sell your home, or if you die before the warranty expires and your home is being
passed down to family in an estate, the new owner of the home will enjoy the benefits as the previous
owner without any interruption. Its important to speak with your contractor about the transfer process,
as each manufacturer is slightly different. If you partner with us at Sierra Hills Roofing, we are brand
ambassadors for our manufacturing partners, and offer complimentary assistance to our customers with
every step of the transfer.

This concludes our two-part blog designed to help you comprehend the different types of warranties
available with a reroof. Roofing manufacturers also publish legalese documents explaining the warranty
coverage from top to bottom. These are available online at:

– https://www.gaf.com/en-us/resources/warranties
– https://www.owenscorning.com/en-us/roofing/warranty

For more information, contact Sierra Hills Roofing at 916-975-5095, or visit our website at
www.sierrahillsroofing.com. Thank you for reading.