Edmonton Roofing Contractor Shingle Warranties

Shingles & Shingle Warranty

The Difference Between Craftsmanship Warranty and the Shingle Warranty

First off, it’s important to decipher between the warranty offered by the company that installs the shingles and the company that makes the shingles as there is a big difference. For example, a GAF shingle comes with a 40 limited warranty, but if the company that installs that shingle for you does it incorrectly, then the company who makes the shingle won’t cover the problem because it’s not the shingle’s fault. Most companies in Edmonton offer a 2 or 5-year craftsmanship warranty ( Rapid Roofing offers a 10-year Bumper to Bumper warranty so to speak).

Now that we have the issue of Craftsmanship Warranties and Shingle Warranties defined, let’s now discuss the actual warranty on shingles.

In the last decade, most shingles have gone from the traditional 3 tab asphalt shingle to a two-layer fiberglass insert construction, which has dramatically improved their ability to withstand the elements. For example, the GAF Timberline shingle offers a 50-year non-prorated warranty when installed by a Certified Installer.

Which brings us to the first important element of warranties – that being whether they are prorated or non-prorated. Prorated means that the actual value of the coverage on the shingle diminishes over time. For example, if a shingle has a 25 year prorated warranty, that means the warranty will lose replacement value for either each month it is in your home ( 25 years x 12 months=300 months ). In this case, for each month that your shingles were in your house the warranty protection/reimbursement value would reduce by 1/300. If the prorated warranty was based on each year it would then mean that each year that passed the warranty would reduce by 1/25th of the warranty value.

As a certified installer with GAF & preferred contractor with Owens Corning, we are able to extend a 50-year NON-prorated warranty to our clients. This means that the entire value of the shingles does not lose value for the entire 50 years. If a non-certified installer put the same shingles on, the warranty would reduce proportionately for how long it was in the home.

Most shingle manufacturers now have some form of front end total coverage on their prorated warranties. For example, IKO Cambridge has a 15-year total coverage and then a quickly reducing prorated warranty that kicks in after that. Both Owens Corning and GAF have 10-year total coverage before their prorated warranty kicks in. ( unless you use a preferred contractor for Owens Corning or a certified installer for GAF such as Rapid Roofing that can offer you a non-prorated warranty)

MORE INFORMATION: see our breathable shingle underlay page

So What Does Warranty Cover?

Warranties have lots of small print. If we take a look at the actual GAF Timberline warranty, for example, we can conclude the following two important elements…

1. Lifetime Protection against Manufacturing Defects

This means that if the shingle was made wrong they will replace it. But what is ” lifetime ” when it comes to warranties? In the case of GAF, it means for as long as you own the house, or if transferred to the new owner, must take place within the first 10 years of the warranty and has to be registered with GAF.

1. Blow Off/ Wind Damage

This means that if the shingle was made wrong they will replace it. But what is “lifetime” when it comes to warranties? In the case of GAF, it means for as long as you own the house, or if transferred to the new owner, must take place within the first 10 years of the warranty and has to be registered with GAF.

There is a lot of small print when it comes to shingles and their warranties, and typically what you will find is that all manufacturers have very similar warranties based on the type of shingles. For example, GAF, Owens Corning, and IKO Cambridge are all considered medium to high-quality shingles that have very similar warranties and small print. The only thing that really jumps out when comparing these three brands is that the Owen Corning shingle doesn’t need to 6 nails to meet Wind Warranty requirements ( typical roofing practice is 4-5 nails per shingle ). Other than that, they are fairly close in both construction and warranty.

In conclusion, the truth of the matter is the shingles themselves are really very much the same with the real difference being in who installs them. Like the finest piece of oak, if the carpenter doesn’t measure right and cuts straight, the quality won’t be there.

For a free roof quote, please contact our office at 780-221-8411 or email us at info@rapidroofingrepair.com.