A new residential roof is a big deal. It is the largest possible roofing project for your southeast Michigan home. You probably are scribbling notes to ask your roofer concerning your complete roof replacement. Things like, “Repair instead,” or “What does roof warranty cover?” One sign you have teamed with an excellent roofer: you can get not one but two great warranties. 

Basic Manufacturer’s Warranty

Almost every manufacturer of residential roofing shingles provides some kind of basic warranty. This roofing warranty covers manufacturing defects, a good bet for the maker of the shingle. Why? Modern industrial methods are so precise and refined that defects are uncommon. The basic warranty can be offered without much financial exposure to the shingle maker; claims for this warranty level are rare. 

Atlas Roofing manufactures shingles we at Victors Roofing install on homes throughout our service area. Atlas provides a robust and basic warranty lasting five to 10 years, depending on the price line of your selected shingle. 

With Atlas, however, even the basic warranty includes limited coverage lasting anywhere from 20 to 40 years! That is a very generous “basic” protection plan for your Michigan home’s new roof. 

Defects? What Defects?

With actual manufacturing defects almost non-existent, what defects do appear on Michigan homeowners’ roofs? Usually, defects resulting in roof leaks — not from storm damage or wind — come from installation errors:

  • Incorrect nailing pattern
  • Insufficient roofing nails
  • Wrong overlap of shingles
  • Forgetting to install drip edge
  • Failure to install water and ice shield
  • Cutting too wide a ridge vent into the sheathing
  • Using too thin a ridge vent, hampering ventilation
  • Leaving soffit vents clogged with insulation
  • Miscutting sheathing
  • Leaving existing bowed, cupped, or cracked rafters in place
  • Failing to install flashing, curbing, or rubber boots correctly

Almost all installation errors stem from three causes:

  1. Rushing to complete the roof replacement
  2. Using inexperienced or untrained roofing crews
  3. Using outdated installation techniques or methods not recommended by the materials manufacturers

Work with a roofer who uses highly knowledgeable project managers on-site with every complete roof replacement. Expect to see dedicated roofers, not day crews, picked up from the parking lots of big-box home improvement stores. 

You can save yourself tremendous heartache and wasted money by working only with roofers who can demonstrate mastery of modern installation processes. Look for all the proper paperwork:

  • Licensing
  • Insurance, including liability insurance and Workers Compensation protection
  • Certifications by leading manufacturers of roofing materials

Victors Roofing, for example, is an AtlasPRO+ Diamond Level roofer. 

Lifetime Manufacturer’s Warranty

A manufacturer of roofing materials trusting the integrity of its products can afford to offer even stronger warranties. Atlas Roofing provides limited lifetime warranties for some pricing levels of its residential shingles, such as StormMaster® Slate, StormMaster® Shake, and Pinnacle® Pristine shingles.  

This warranty provides labor and materials costs for replacing shingles judged defective due to manufacturing errors or that cause leaks (when properly installed). Scrutinize your roof warranties; some do not cover the expense of a reputable roofer to repair or replace defective materials. 

For a major shingle manufacturer to extend these more generous warranties, the installing contractor must be completely professional and trusted by Atlas Roofing. Victors Roofing is such a roofer and can offer these lifetime warranties. 

But can you get something even better? 

Workmanship Warranty

Covering the costs of replacing defective roofing materials is excellent. It is a major purpose of roofing warranties, but it overlooks one crucial detail:

  • What if installation errors, not manufacturers’ defects, cause your Michigan home’s roof to leak?

Ideally, you can find a roofer who believes in highly trained roofing crews and backs their work with a workmanship warranty. Imagine a roofer so confident in the skills and knowledge of the roofers that you, the homeowner, can get a leak-free guarantee, a workmanship warranty. 

Victors Roofing offers such a warranty. And not for a year or two, but for 12 full years after installation. 

When you work with a great, highly experienced residential roofer, you can get two warranties protecting your new roof:

  1. The manufacturer’s warranty, covering manufacturing defects for times ranging from five to 40 years
  2. The installer’s workmanship warranty, covering installation errors for 12 years

The installer’s warranty from Victors Roofing includes a free inspection six years after installation, giving you even more peace of mind and bang for your buck. After that, we highly recommend thorough roof inspections every year, every other year, or at least every five years. 

For homeowners throughout southeast Michigan, Victors Roofing is your best, complete residential roofing contractor. We not only install new roofs so that the manufacturers’ warranties retain their full force, but we also provide our own workmanship warranty. Contact us today to learn more about our many services.