Almost every roof comes with more than one warranty, they cover completely different things, and the gap between them is where homeowners get caught.
Here’s what each one actually does, what ours covers, what none of them cover, and the questions worth asking before you sign anything.
There Are Three, Not One
1. The manufacturer’s material warranty
Covers the product itself against manufacturing defects. It comes with the material regardless of who installs it, and it’s the warranty people mean when they say they have a 30-year roof.
What it does not cover is the labor to tear off and replace a failed roof, and it does not cover anything the installer did wrong. On a standard warranty you can end up with free replacement shingles and a five-figure bill to put them on.
Most standard material warranties are also prorated. Full value in the early years, declining steadily after that, so a claim in year twenty is worth a fraction of a claim in year three.
2. The enhanced or system warranty
This is the one worth understanding, because it closes part of that gap and most people don’t know it exists.
Manufacturers offer extended coverage that includes workmanship, but only when the roof is installed by a contractor they’ve certified, using their full system rather than just their shingles, and only when it’s registered after the job.
L&L installs GAF and Malarkey. As a GAF Certified contractor, we can register GAF’s System Plus and Silver Pledge limited warranties on qualifying roof systems. As a Malarkey Certified Pro contractor, we can register Malarkey’s Certified Pro warranty, which requires at least three Malarkey accessories installed as part of a complete Secure Choice roof system.
Two conditions catch people out. The roof has to be a complete manufacturer system, meaning starter strip, ridge cap, underlayment, leak barrier and ventilation go on with the shingles rather than just the field shingles. And it has to be registered with the manufacturer after installation. An enhanced warranty nobody registered is not a warranty.
3. The contractor’s workmanship warranty
Covers the installation itself: flashing, nailing, sealing, the details that decide whether a roof leaks. This is separate from anything the manufacturer offers and it’s only as good as the company standing behind it.
Industry-wide these run anywhere from one year to ten, and the spread tells you something about the contractor. A one-year workmanship warranty is close to no warranty, since installation problems often don’t surface until the second or third heavy season.
What L&L’s Workmanship Warranty Covers
We match the manufacturer warranty in length. Whatever term the system carries, our workmanship coverage runs alongside it rather than expiring years earlier.
It covers errors in installation, meaning any deviation from the manufacturer’s minimum standards for how the product should go on.
It does not cover intentional damage, accidental damage, or failure caused by a part of the structure we didn’t install. That last one is worth an example, because it’s the exclusion people run into. If we install siding on your house and the sheathing behind it fails, and that failure takes the siding with it, that’s not covered, because we didn’t install the sheathing. If we did install it, it is.
And it stays with the house rather than with you. If you sell, the coverage goes to the new owner. That’s less common than it sounds. Plenty of workmanship warranties are void the day the property changes hands, which quietly makes them worth less than the paper they’re on.
What No Warranty Covers
Worth being blunt, because these are the denials we see.
- Storm damage. Hail, wind and fallen limbs are an insurance matter, not a warranty matter. That’s what your homeowners policy is for.
- Neglect. Manufacturer warranties assume the roof is maintained. Clogged gutters, debris left in valleys and ignored minor damage are all grounds to deny.
- Inadequate ventilation. Nearly every shingle warranty is conditioned on the roof being ventilated to code. An under-vented attic ages shingles early, and the manufacturer will look at the ventilation before paying a premature-failure claim.
- Someone else’s work. Adding a satellite dish, solar panels, a skylight or new rooftop equipment can void coverage on the area affected, and sometimes more than that.
- Pressure washing and the wrong cleaning products. Both can void a shingle warranty on their own.
- Normal aging. A roof reaching the end of its service life is not a defect.
Prorated vs. Non-Prorated, and Why It Matters
A non-prorated warranty pays full replacement value for a defined early period. A prorated one pays a declining share based on how much service life the roof has used.
Read where that line sits. A warranty advertised as 50 years is often non-prorated for the first ten and prorated after, which means the headline number and the number that would actually pay out are very different. That’s not a scam, it’s standard, but it’s worth knowing before you compare two quotes on their headline figures.
What About Siding and Windows?
Same three-warranty structure, different manufacturers.
On siding, L&L is a James Hardie Elite contractor, and Hardie’s product warranties are among the longest in the category. On windows, we’re a Pella Certified Contractor, which means we order direct and install to Pella specification, which is what keeps the product warranty intact.
Our workmanship warranty works the same way across all three trades: matched to the manufacturer’s term, covering installation error, transferring with the house.
Are Manufacturer Warranties Transferable?
Often, and it’s worth real money at resale.
Most manufacturer warranties transfer to a buyer once, within a set window after the sale, sometimes for a fee. Ours transfers with the property automatically, but the manufacturer’s side usually has its own paperwork and deadline, so don’t assume it happens by itself.
If you’re buying a house with a recent roof, ask for the original invoice, the manufacturer registration and any workmanship paperwork. If you’re selling, having that documentation in hand removes an objection before it’s raised.
What to Ask Before You Sign
- Which specific manufacturer warranty will you register on this roof, and is that named in the proposal?
- Is this quote a full manufacturer system, or field shingles with the accessories left off?
- How long is your workmanship warranty, what does it cover, and does it transfer if I sell?
- Does the quote address attic ventilation, given that the manufacturer warranty depends on it?
- Who do I call in year six, and will you still be here?
- Can I see the actual warranty document rather than a summary?
A contractor who answers all six without hesitating is worth hiring. One who gets vague around registration usually isn’t.
Get It in Writing
L&L Contractors has been roofing Murfreesboro, Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, Smyrna, Spring Hill and the rest of Middle Tennessee since 2006. We put the warranty terms on the proposal with the price, so you know what you’re buying before you decide.
Call (615) 577-9103 or book a free roof inspection online.
