Be Extremely Careful With Building Materials Manufacturer Warranties
By Greg Vanden Berge
I have been trying to send this message out for years
now.
Just because a product states that it has a limited lifetime warranty or
a lifetime warranty, this doesn't mean that this particular product will
be guaranteed if the company that manufacturers the products goes out of
business.
It wasn't that long ago that building materials manufacturers would
start one business and if it didn't work out like they expected it to,
they would close that business down and start another one. This was
pretty common in the construction business for quite some time and I
don't know if things are any different today.
If you buy a building product that has some type of lifetime guarantee
on it and you do not wish to ruin the guarantee, you should make sure
that you read all of the installation instructions and follow them
closely. Do not install their products any other way than those listed
by the manufacturer.
This seems to be a big problem with windows, roofing, flooring and some
exterior coatings. They promise you a limited lifetime or a lifetime
warranty and if you don't read the contract or instructions close
enough, you could find yourself with a building material product that
might be guaranteed for life, but the labor to remove and install the
damage products isn't.
It's not hard for a manufacturer of building materials to void their
guarantees, especially if the building materials themselves have not
been installed to meet their manufacturer specifications. You need to be
extremely careful with building material manufacturer warranties.