b'WarrantiesUnderstanding (and Misunderstanding) Warranties Associated with the Roofing Industry By Helene Hardy Pierce, F-IIBEC and Derek Hodgin, RBEC, PE, CCCAThis article originally appeared inSecondly, from the consultantsdoes or does not cover. The onlyhowcoveragecanchangede- Unlimitedvs.LimitedDollar the March 2021 issue of IIBEC In- perspective, specific case studiesway to know what any warrantypending on the actual document.Amount for Repairsterface and is reprinted with the per- are provided that describe someor guarantee actually provides aFollowing is a closer look at whatWhile every warranty or guar-mission of the International Institutecommon misunderstandings re- property owner is to read it andthese different considerations areantee is limited by the terms of of Building Enclosure Consultants. latedtowarranties.Hopefully,understandthecoverageandand what they actually mean forthe coverage itself, and by such theinformationinthisarticleterms of that coverage. the property owner. thingsastheexclusions,notice W hether we like it or not,willfacilitatewarrantydiscus- A good example of this is aWhat Is Covered provisions,etc.,ourindustry warrantiesseemtobesions to take place early in roof- materialandworkmanshipusesthetermNDLtodefine animportantelementing projects, so there is a trans- warranty. What does the mate- This is the starting point of un- guarantees with no limit on the of a roofing project for propertyparentunderstandingofwhatrial and workmanship actuallyderstanding a specific document,dollar amount that will be spent owners.Whileawarrantycer- warranty is available and what itmean? Does it cover defects inand it is usually found in the de- for covered repairs. Conversely, a tainly should be a consideration,does and does not cover. Thesematerial and workmanship? Orscriptionofcoverage.Onecau- warranty or guarantee that is not it should never be as important asdiscussionsshouldsignificantlydoes it just provide the materialtion is that coverage in any war- aNDLwillspecificallycallout good design, products and work- reducethemisunderstandingsand labour to repair a defect inranty or guarantee is also definedalimitationoncoverage,such manship. However, in the absencethat occur when an issue arisesthe material? Are the defects cov- bywhatisspecificallyexcludedasrepairsshallnotexceedthe of a roof consultant to assist withafter the project is complete. ered extensive or very narrowlyfromcoverage.Whencoverageoriginal installed cost of the roof-the evaluation of these issues, andefined?Aretherelimitsonisnotclearaboutworkmanshipingsystemortheoriginalcost unknowing owner can mistakenlyOn Understandingwhat the remedy is? If so, whatdeficiencies, a quick scan of theof the material. Another item to assume that a warranty providesWarranties are they? All of these questionsexclusions will often provide thepay attention to regarding repair someevidencethattheseissuesRoofing contractors and roofcan have very different answersanswer.Arequirementthatthelimitations is whether the cover-have been addressed and they areconsultants are often placed independing on the specific war- roofing system has to be installedage is pro-rated over time and/or covered for any issues of non- thepositionofsubjectmatterranty. Yet many property ownersin(strict)accordancewiththehas a cumulative or per-incident performance that may arise. experts for property owners. Thisthink if they are getting a mate- manufacturerswritteninstruc- maximum. Proration of coverage The intent of this article is tois especially true with reroofing,rial and workmanship warrantytions, or more clearly that work- is common with standard prod-provide information so the readerwhichrepresentsover70perat the completion of their proj- manship is specifically excluded,uct warranties, where coverage is will have a better understandingcentofthelow-sloperoofingect, they are getting equivalentwouldclassifythatparticularreduced based on the service the ofwhatwarrantiesprovideandmarket.Understandingwhatiscoveragewhenseveralcontrac- warrantyasamaterialdefectsmaterial/system has provided.do not provide. Since the manu- and is not covered in any giventors bid their project and each facturer is often coming from awarranty can help increase youragrees to provide a material andproduct warranty. The use of theOther Key Provisions/Specificsdifferent place than the roof con- ability to be that trusted advisorworkmanship warranty. phrase material and labour war- In addition to what is covered sultant or specifier, weve split thisranty can be found in a productand whether there is a monetary article into two sections. First, wefor a property owner. Basic Differentiators warranty not because the install- limitation, warranties and guaran-will offer a breakdown for under- The First Rule of Warranties Listed in Table 1 are commoning workmanship is covered, buttees have many other key provi-standing what may or may not beWhataparticularwarrantydifferentiatorsbetweenseveralbecausethelabourtorepairasions that owners need to be aware found in a warranty or guaranteeorguaranteeiscalledortitledtypes of roofing warranties/guar- material defect is included in theof when understanding whether a and important things to consider.may not reflect what it actuallyantees; this simple table showscoverage provided. particular offering fits their needs 14ONTARIO ROOFING NEWSISSUE 2 2021 THE ONLY SOURCE FOR PROFESSIONAL ICI ROOFING CONTRACTORS IN ONTARIO ORN'