What Warranties or Guarantees are Typically Offered For Metal Roofing, and What Do They Cover?

Installing a new roof is an investment, not just in terms of money but in the protection of your property. It’s a vital component of your property that provides protection and greatly impacts your property value. With its exceptional 50-60 year life expectancy and warranties, metal roofing has an acknowledged advantage.

Warranties for Metal Roofing

Like other products, metal roofing warranties generally contain a list of excluded items and requirements (such as maintenance) to keep warranty coverage in force. From clearing snow, leaves, or debris from the roof to regular inspections, it is important to understand the requirements. The conditions generally include the kind of regular maintenance you should be carrying out anyway, but it does pay to check.

Metal roofing warranties also include a length of coverage. It’s pretty typical to see a 30-40 year coverage; however, you can also find companies touting “Lifetime” coverage. Many of these so-called “lifetime” warranties are prorated extensively or contain requirements that most owners can’t or won’t meet. As the buyer, it’s important that you complete your due diligence to read warranties thoroughly, ask questions, and understand the warranty before purchasing the product.

When dealing with a metal roof installation, you have the potential for four different types of warranties.

1. Substrate

Some substrates, like Galvanized steel or aluminum, don’t offer warranties. Others, like Galvalume^Ⓡ steel, can offer a warranty of up to 45 years. That’s a long time and a big difference to consider when selecting your materials. Not every manufacturer covers Galvalume, so it’s important to make it one of your early questions when selecting where to purchase your panels. If you’re not familiar with it, you can learn more about Galvaume by checking this out.

In the case of a Galvalume product, if your metal roof panels deteriorate to the point of perforation, you may get relief through a warranty claim.

2. Paint/Finish

A paint or finish warranty is the second type of warranty that might apply to your new metal roof. As the name implies, this warranty covers the coating on top of substrates like Galvalume, Galvanized, and Aluminum.

Typical finish warranties include a length of coverage, an acceptable level of color change (referred to as fading), and paint degradation, commonly called chalking.

As you review finish warranties, it's obvious that you’ll want to compare warranty length. Beyond the warranty length, reviewing the amount of color change allowed is critical.

Some manufacturers may lead with a big number for years of warranty coverage yet allow such great degrees of color fade and chalk that your product could technically be within the warranty guidelines yet appear a completely different color than what you purchased. Again, as with any sizeable product purchase, it’s important to read the warranty thoroughly and ask for clarification when necessary before making your purchase decision.

3. Workmanship Warranties

Along with warranties for the materials, if you worked with a licensed contractor, you’ll typically pick up workmanship warranties from the installer.

Workmanship warranties offered by installers can be extensive, between 5 to 10 years in some situations. Always check what the workmanship warranty is when looking at overall installation benefits.

The metal roof workmanship warranty only covers the work completed by the installer, such as proper clip, fastener, and trim installation for a standing seam project. If these fail, then the installer should repair the roof for you within the warranty period, usually without additional cost.

Again, there will be maintenance requirements to maintain the warranty, so always check what you need to do. They are, as with material warranties, usually the sensible maintenance programs you would expect, but it is important to understand them.

4. Weathertightness Warranty

Weathertightness warranties represent another type of possible warranty. This type of warranty provides a guarantee that the roof won’t leak for a specific period, usually around 20 years. This type of warranty is very rare for residential projects and is more often seen in high-end commercial and architectural projects.

You’ll find several types and varying degrees of coverage for these types of warranties. Each manufacturer tends to offer their own program, so it’s always best to chat with your top manufacturers before including this requirement in the specifications.

Why do Warranties Matter?

A new metal roof install is good value, but still a significant investment, and a warranty improves the overall ownership experience in a number of ways:

• Saves you Money – A metal roof offers impressive longevity and performance, but if things do go wrong, a warranty can offer the peace of mind that things will be sorted out.
• Gives you Confidence – With decades-long manufacturer warranties, you can have confidence that your roof will look and perform at its best for years to come.
• Protects your Investment – A roof is a big investment. Working with a reputable manufacturer and tier-one supplies offers you the best chance for success.
• Boost Property Value – If you decide to move on after having a metal roof installed, a long material warranty can add value for anyone looking to buy the property.

Making the most of your Warranty

To get the most from your metal roofing warranty, there are some things to consider before and after installation. When considering a metal roof, always look for qualified roofing companies to install the product. Manufacturer-approved roofers have the experience and skills to complete the installation correctly, quickly, and efficiently, which minimizes issues.

Check the kind of workmanship warranties they offer too, and don’t forget to ask about maintenance services. Your warranties will have some stipulations about regular maintenance, so if your installer can do that for you as well, it simplifies the whole process for you.

You should always read your warranty to make sure you understand what it covers and, just as crucially, what it does not. Keep records of everything too, from the initial installation to all maintenance or inspection visits, any repairs, and so on. This can help if you do need to make a claim at some point.

A metal roofing warranty is essentially an extension of the installation and is as important as the choice of materials, color, or anything else, it is the support that ensures your metal roof ownership is an enjoyable one.