As a roofing contractor I often am asked what the warranty is on the roofing jobs we do. That's a great question and one you should ask any roofer you are considering hiring to work on your home.

Well, there are two critical components to a roofing warranty. One is the manufacturer's warranty. The second is the roofing contractor's warranty. Not to be confused, but many times that's exactly what happens. People understand that they're getting maybe a 30 year roofing product from the manufacturer and somehow associate that that's a 30 year service commitment, a warranty commitment. And it's not. That's not true at all. We have to break those into again two components. Number one, manufacturer's side of the deal, roofing contractor's side of the deal.

The manufacturer will warranty the shingles for wear. So wear is like a tire might wear. Loss of shingle granulization, possible early failure. Those are the things they're going to warranty their shingles for and it may be a prorated warranty. Probably is. Might have a five year non-prorated period and then for the balance of it a prorated period. Something to investigate and look into. Different manufacturers have different warranties.

Maybe the biggest one though is the roofing contractors warranty because that's where the rubber hits the road. A properly installed roof has to be warrantied by the roofing contractor.

Now, how do we know that he's going to stand behind his commitments? Well, find out how long he or she has been in business. Some people are offering large warranties, for over a long period of time, and have not been in business that long. Or have changed ownership. Maybe they have some challenges inside their organization. Very challenging for the homeowner to understand that.

So we have to look around. Call wholesalers. Check with the manufacturer, they have certified contractors that they recommend. Check with your referrals. Maybe visit the contractor, go to his showroom and meet the people. The people you trust, the people who have been in business a long time, the people who care about you, they're going to be the ones who stand behind their warranty. So the two warranties come together to create the umbrella that protects you and your family with the proper roof job.