"We Stand Behind Our Work" Isn't a Warranty: What a Contractor's Written Guarantee Should Spell Out

Several months later, a brownish mark on the ceiling appears. While the contractor website depicts that they guarantee their work, there is nothing in the contract contains. 

This obviously does not reflect anything if you are not comfortable with all guarantees included. A workmanship warranty should specify details about any defects in the installation. How long it covers, any exclusions, and how to claim. You also have the product guarantee. New roofs will have that manufacturer warranty for the shingles in effect; if the contractor’s work eventually fails, it will fall under the workmanship guarantee.

A Workmanship Warranty Protects the Work, Not the Parts

What is a workmanship guarantee protecting you from, then? It shields errors in the job itself, such as sparkling set at the incorrect position, a seam left open, or a part engraved against the maker’s instructions.

The products themselves can have a proof of their own. A new roof, for example, can come with two different promises: one from the shingle manufacturer for faults in the material and one from the roofer for the installation. A standard shingle guarantee doesn’t pay when shingles fail early because of installation blunders, and that gap is what the contractor’s commitment is for.

A workmanship warranty may also pay for the materials required to renovate a mistaken job, so check whether yours does. On any project that blends products and labor, ask which claim covers which element and who stands behind each one.

Five Terms a Written Warranty Should State

The Federal Trade Commission’s 2014 guide called Hiring a Contractor provides advice on what to look for before signing, including information on the guarantees for both materials and labour warranties. It should also provide the name and address of whoever honors each one: the contractor, a distributor, or the manufacturer. The guide adds that how long the assurance runs, and any limits on it, belong in the contract too.

Beyond that, a contractor warranty should include five terms in simple language:

• Duration: “Twelve months from completion” is a term. “For years to come” is not.
• Coverage: This includes labor, parts, or both. Also state what materials are used to complete the fault.
• Exclusions: Look for lines on storm repair, misuse, normal wear, and later repairs by future work.
• Claim steps: Who do you contact? What format should the claim be in? And how soon after you found the issue.
• Resolution: How is the issue resolved? Is it repair, re-do, replacement, or refund?

The same guide suggests making sure all documentation is in a single place. It includes your contract, change orders, correspondence, and payment details. It also mentions photos taken as the job goes, and notes that these records matter most if concerns come up during or after the work continues. That is exactly when a promise claim actually requires them.

A Website Promise, a Signed Warranty and a Public Record

A contractor’s assurances can vary in solidity. A line on its website is the least reliable: the company wrote it and can change it overnight. A signed warranty is healthier, since it states terms and you keep a copy. Firmest is a public record, for example, a license listed in an official document, which an agency keeps instead of the contractor.

It helps to compare the record side by side. Each business page in US Directory (usd.org) holds both the business declarations, taken from its website, and what information is shown, and the page names each source with its date.

The FTC also advises to make a similar point about advertising that a good ad isn’t proof a contractor provides quality work. Find out for yourself. By looking against the five terms above, you will notice that we stand behind our work. This gives you nothing to claim under: no period, no coverage, and no process.

Look Up the Contractor Behind the Warranty

A written assurance is worth only as much as the company providing it. Three checks from the same FTC guide show whether that company is licensed, insured, and an established business:

• License: Not every state mandates this. But many want contractors to be licensed, bonded, or both. Inspect with your local building department or consumer protection agency to find out what your area requires. And where licensing regulations apply, they should have a current license.
• Insurance: The guide says contractors should carry personal liability, workers’ compensation, and property damage insurance. Ask for copies of their insurance certificates and ensure they are current. If they aren’t, it warns, you could be held liable for injuries and damage during the project.
• Time in business: Ask how long the company has worked, and favor an established company with a history and a reputation you can check for.

A certificate is a document you hold and a license is a record an agency keeps, so each shows more than a statement. Neither replaces the written confirmation, but they show who you’d be holding to it.

Ask Whose Lifetime a “Lifetime” Warranty Means

A lifetime guarantee sounds like the best option available, which is why it deserves the closest reading. The FTC’s 2014 report provides a list of red flags. If a contractor is offering a lifetime assurance or long-term guarantee, they have a red flag for a home repair scam. This also includes door-to-door sales and pressure to sign right away on the same list. This guide suggests you want to avoid anyone who exhibits these signs.

That doesn’t make every lifetime promise a scam, but the word needs written proof next to it.

Before you count on a lifetime workmanship guarantee, figure out whose lifetime it covers: is it for your lifetime, the years you own the house, or the expected life of the product?. Ask what makes it valid, such as recording the work, keeping up maintenance, or contacting the same firm for later repairs.

Settle These Questions Before Signing

Take these to the estimate, and get the answers into the contract instead of a verbal assurance:

• How long does the guarantee last, and does the clock start at completion or at the final payment?
• Does it cover labor as well as parts?
• Who honors it: you, a distributor, or the manufacturer?
• How do I file a claim, and in what format?
• What voids the warranty?
• Will it transfer to a new owner if the house is sold?

The FTC’s suggestions also include verbal promises made on its list of what a contract should contain. A promise the contractor later forgets, alerts, leaves you with nothing, or with an additional charge. Six clear answers are what turn a statement into a workmanship assurance you can use.

Each of these answers should be included in the contract, not only in the verbal promises.

Get the Guarantee in Writing

The FTC also provides a checklist, meant for the moment before the final payment, that includes holding written contracts that cover both the materials and the workmanship. Don’t make any payment until the documentation is in your hand. What a contract must include depends on your state, so check with your agency in your state or city, which can tell you what applies where you live.

A good promise says how long, what, how, and who, and it says so in writing, not only on a website. A company willing to write those answers down is also easier to hold to.

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