How Do You Educate Your Homeowners About Shingle Warranty's?

(And is it Warranties or Warranty's?)

It seems sometimes the proration seems to confuse them.  Do you get push back, does it matter to them?

Good topic Vickie - Well, thank you Vickie.  Maybe my loyal RCS'ers will chime in and help me.

I dont - Tropical hit the nail on head!

I dont

I agree with TR except I've witnessed more replacement coverage than just one job, although I have to admit that a huge surge of  warrantee issues surfaced more than 33 years ago when some manufacturers had serious difficulty when converting from rag felt to glass mat.  That was a real spectacle and fittingly it featured some spectacular failures.  J-M sailed right through that while producing what I feel was the best shingle ever made, the J-M Woodlands.

On the other hand, when I do get down to discussing warranty issues, I pretty much follow clvr's line of reasoning albeit considerably more biting in my commentary than he describes.

While my experience may not be typical, I rarely, if ever, go into detail about shingle warranties.  When asked, I've tell the clients that I guarantee the roof against defect in installation for 7 years and the manufacturers warranty (if any) cover the materials.  Then I explain that in my 33 years of roofing, I was only aware of one job that the roof shingles were replaced and actually covered by the shingle manufacturers warranty.

I've done some local home shows and I've had dozens of people say "I had that 50 year shingle last year" installed. The first few times I was thinking they had a Grand Manor or something. Not the case. A large firm that moved in a few years back upsells the Owens Corning 50 year warranty on the basic 30 year shingle.

I take the most realistic approach that I know how to do.  I tell them that when my Dad built his house in '96, he put on the 25 year asphalt shingle. It became a 30 year shingle with little to no change, and now they are 40/50/lifetime. My own Malarkey now calls the basic Highlander a 40 year shingle, which does help me battle the marketing hype.

When you hold one shingle and say "would you like this to be a 30 year or a 50 year shingle?" people either think you've lost your mind or know that your speaking some truth.

By the way, my Dad's roof looks decent from the driveway, but the granules are gone with scrim showing everywhere after 22 years. Thank goodness we got a hail claim last year, so it will be getting Presidentials this fall.

I really wish the shingle manufacturers would not call it a "LIFETIME WARRANTY".Depending on which brand you use thay all start proration after 10-15 years and it is confusing for some homeowners.I know you can sell them a upgraded warranty.Which I myself don't really like to push.Bottom line the shingle manufactuer has the final say to determine if the shingles have manufacturing defect.I do believe the higher end shingles like Carriage House,Grand Manor's etc. will last a lifetime if the roof has a steep slope and a good install.