Warranty · Metro Vancouver & the Fraser Valley
Roofing warranty in BC: what a workmanship warranty covers, and what the manufacturer's covers
Every new roof comes with two warranties, not one. The workmanship warranty covers how the roof was installed; the manufacturer's product warranty covers what it was made of. Ours runs ten years on asphalt shingle, metal, cedar and composite, and five years on torch-on and flat. The manufacturer's is a separate document with its own term, registered per product line.
The two are never added together, and the one that fails most often is the one homeowners never ask about.
The distinction
Two warranties, two parties, two different promises.
This is the single most misunderstood thing in roofing, and the confusion is worth money. A "50-year roof" is a claim about a shingle, made by a factory, subject to conditions almost nobody reads. It says nothing about whether the roof will keep water out.
The workmanship warranty
Who gives it: the contractor who did the work.
What it covers: how the roof was put on. Flashing and valley details, fastening pattern and nail placement, underlayment and peel-and-stick application, penetration and vent detailing, laps and seams on membrane work, hip and ridge — and any leak caused by getting one of those wrong.
How long: ten years on asphalt shingle, metal, cedar and composite. Five on torch-on and flat.
A claim: you call, we come out, and if it is our work we fix it. No adjuster, no prorated schedule.
The manufacturer's product warranty
Who gives it: the company that made the material — the shingle, the membrane, the panel.
What it covers: manufacturing defects in that material. Granule loss outside normal weathering, delamination, premature cracking. Not installation, and not a leak caused by a flashing detail.
How long: whatever that document says, per product line, usually longer than the workmanship term. It is normally front-loaded: a non-prorated window, then a payout reduced for the use you have had.
A claim: a submission to the manufacturer with the registration, documentation and usually a sample. It takes time and has conditions.
Here is the part that decides which one you will need. Most roofing problems are installation problems, not material defects. Cheap underlayment, corner-cutting on flashings and insufficient ventilation are what we find behind other roofers' work more than anything else, and not one is a manufacturing defect. The long number on the wrapper does nothing for any of them.
Our terms
Ten years, and five on flat.
The workmanship warranty is written, handed over at the final walkthrough rather than posted later, and says the same thing on every job.
- Ten years on asphalt shingle, metal, cedar and composite installations.
- Five years on torch-on and flat membrane installations.
- Covers the repair itself, not only the diagnosis — labour and materials to correct the defect and make good around it.
- Transfers once, to one subsequent owner, on written notice to us.
- Runs alongside the manufacturer's product warranty, registered per product line at the end of the job.
Flat gets five rather than ten, and it is worth saying why. Five years is the standard term for flat systems. It is shorter because a flat roof's life depends far more on maintenance the installer does not control — above all on drains being kept clear. A blocked drain can put standing water over one corner for days, and no membrane installation is warranted against that.
On a mixed roof — sloped shingle in front, a low-slope section behind — each part carries its own term, on one document, with the boundary written down.
The exclusions
What a workmanship warranty does not cover.
A workmanship warranty covers what the installer did; it cannot cover what nobody installed. These exclusions are standard across the trade, and better read here than during a claim.
- Storm damage beyond the product's rated wind speed. Every roofing product carries a wind rating. Above it, the roof is doing something it was never specified to do — an insurance question.
- Fire.
- Falling trees, limbs and other impact damage. Common on the North Shore and in the treed parts of Port Moody, Anmore and Mission, and always an insurance matter.
- Work by others. Anybody who goes on the roof after we finish and cuts, drills, fastens or seals anything — solar, HVAC, telecoms, a handyman — ends our coverage there.
- Foot traffic by others. Damage from other trades walking the roof, particularly flat roofs where equipment gets serviced.
- Blocked gutters, drains and scuppers. Water that cannot leave will back up under the roofing: a maintenance failure, not an installation defect.
- Pre-existing conditions disclosed in writing. If the quote named something — a chimney needing rebuilding, blocked soffit intake, a skylight at the end of its life — and you chose not to have it addressed, the consequences are not covered.
- Ordinary wear and the end of service life. A roof at the end of its life is not a defect. Here that is around twenty-five years.
That last exclusion cuts both ways. If it is not named in the quote, it was not disclosed.
Keeping it
Four things that protect a roof warranty.
Warranties are rarely lost dramatically. They are lost by small, reasonable-looking decisions taken years after the roof went on.
- Call the original installer first. On most workmanship warranties, ours included, letting another contractor work on the affected area before the original installer has inspected it voids coverage there. Calling whoever answers the phone when water is coming through a ceiling is understandable — and the most common way a live warranty gets thrown away.
- Keep the gutters and drains clear. The cheapest maintenance in roofing, and the one carrying the most weight in the exclusions.
- Keep a record of everyone who goes on the roof. Solar, HVAC, telecoms, chimney, gutter guards: the date and the company. If a leak later appears near a new penetration, that record settles it quickly.
- Keep the paperwork together. The warranty, the registration confirmation, the original quote, and the job photographs — where the next owner will find them.
And have the roof looked at every couple of years. Almost every leak starts at a detail rather than in the open field, so a roof inspection is the cheapest thing in this trade.
Two more things worth knowing
Transfer, and what a warranty is not.
It transfers once, on written notice
The workmanship warranty transfers to one subsequent owner, on written notice to us. Give it at or around the time of sale, so the transfer sits on the file before anybody needs it rather than being reconstructed during a claim.
It is a genuine asset at resale and one of the few documents a buyer's inspector will read. The manufacturer's product warranty has its own transfer rules, notice period and sometimes a fee, set out in that document rather than ours.
A warranty is not insurance
Neither is insurance, and neither is home warranty insurance, which in British Columbia is third-party coverage on new residential construction. The province's housing and tenancy pages set that scheme out; it is a different thing entirely.
Both depend on the party that issued them still existing. That is the practical reason to check a roofer is WorkSafeBC registered, insured and manufacturer certified before the work rather than after. Those are what a ten-year promise rests on.
Questions
Roof warranties, plainly answered.
What is the difference between a workmanship warranty and a manufacturer's warranty?
A workmanship warranty covers how the roof was put on. A manufacturer's product warranty covers what the roof was made of. If a valley leaks because it was flashed badly, that is workmanship and it is the roofer's responsibility. If shingles lose their granules prematurely because of a defect in the batch, that is product and it is the manufacturer's. They are two separate documents, issued by two different parties, with different terms, different durations and different claim processes. They are never added together into one number.
How long is your workmanship warranty?
Ten years on our workmanship for asphalt shingle, metal, cedar and composite roofs, and five years on torch-on and flat membrane work. Five years is the standard term for flat systems and it is shorter for a real reason: a flat roof's service life depends heavily on maintenance that is out of the installer's hands, above all on drains and scuppers being kept clear.
What does the workmanship warranty actually cover?
Defects in how the roof was installed, and leaks caused by them. That includes flashing and valley details, fastening pattern and nail placement, the application of underlayment and peel-and-stick, penetration and vent detailing, laps and seams on membrane work, and hip and ridge installation. If the roof leaks because of something we did or failed to do, we come back and fix it, and the repair itself is covered too.
What does a workmanship warranty not cover?
Things nobody installed. Storm damage beyond the product's rated wind speed, fire, falling trees and limbs, other impact damage, work carried out on the roof by anybody else after we finish, damage from foot traffic by other trades, damage caused by gutters or drains that were left blocked, and any pre-existing condition that was disclosed in writing at the time of the quote and that you chose not to have addressed. Ordinary wear and the eventual end of the product's service life are not defects either.
Does the roof warranty transfer if I sell the house?
Yes, once. The workmanship warranty transfers to one subsequent owner on written notice to us, which should be given at or near the time of sale so the transfer sits on the file before anyone needs it. The manufacturer's product warranty has its own transfer rules, its own notice period and sometimes its own fee, and they are set out in that document rather than in ours.
Do I have to register the manufacturer's warranty?
Yes, and registration windows are short, so it is done at the end of the job rather than left to you. Product registration is submitted per product line, because a roof frequently carries more than one manufacturer's materials and each has its own registration. An unregistered product warranty is generally worth considerably less than a registered one, and the difference only becomes visible years later when somebody makes a claim.
Is a lifetime shingle warranty really for life?
Not in the way most people read it. A lifetime shingle warranty covers manufacturing defects in the material, and it is front-loaded: there is a non-prorated window at the start, inside which the manufacturer covers reasonable labour to replace defective shingles but generally not the cost of tearing off and disposing of the old roof. After that window the payout is prorated to reflect the use you have had, and labour usually drops out entirely. It also assumes the product was installed to the manufacturer's published specification, which is why installation and material warranties are more connected than they look.
What should I do if my roof leaks while it is under warranty?
Call us first, before anyone else touches it. On most workmanship warranties, including ours, authorising another contractor to work on the affected area before the original installer has inspected it voids the warranty on that section. If water is actively coming in, contain it inside, take photographs, and let us tarp or temporarily repair the outside. Photographs of what you saw and when are worth a great deal at the point of a claim.
Can a workmanship warranty be voided?
It can be limited or voided on a specific area, usually by things done after the job rather than by anything dramatic. Alterations or new penetrations cut by another trade without a roofer, mechanical or solar equipment mounted through the membrane or the shingles, pressure washing, walking on the roof, and gutters or drains left blocked long enough to back water up under the roofing are the common ones. Keeping records of anyone who goes on the roof is the simplest protection there is.
Is a roofing warranty the same as BC home warranty insurance?
No. Home warranty insurance in British Columbia is third-party coverage on new residential construction, arranged through a licensed provider and regulated provincially. A roofing workmanship warranty is a direct commitment from the contractor who did the work, and a product warranty is a commitment from the manufacturer. Neither is insurance, and neither survives the contractor or the manufacturer ceasing to exist, which is a genuine reason to care who you hire.
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A warranty is only as good as the roof under it.
Type your address and we measure the roof from satellite imagery, then price it. The written quote names the specification, the conditional items and both warranty terms before you decide anything. How the process runs.