Ask Each Roofer How Many Days a Warranty Call Waits for a Reply

A roof warranty is only as useful as the phone call you make when a problem shows up. The shingle maker's paperwork and the roofer's own workmanship promise both depend on someone at the company answering a call and putting a reply in writing. In St. Louis that call tends to come at a bad time: during a January thaw when a starter strip lets go, after a spring hailstorm when a bedroom ceiling starts to spot, or in August when a ridge vent rattles loose after a line of storms. Before you pick a roofer, ask each one how many days a warranty call waits for a written reply.

This page is for the homeowner who has two or three written bids on the table and needs one more fact to decide. The question is simple, and the answer is often vague. Write down what each roofer says, close to word for word, and keep it with the rest of your comparison.

Roofer comparison

Roof warranties come from two places. The shingle manufacturer makes its own warranty on the material. The roofer makes a separate promise on the labor and the installation. Keys Roofing installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only, so the material warranty comes from one of those two makers, and the workmanship promise comes from Keys. Those are two different papers with two different claim routes, and a homeowner who has not read both can end up calling the wrong office with a leak.

When you compare roofers, put the warranty claim process in the same column as the bid price. Ask each one who takes a warranty call, what number they dial, whether a person answers during business hours, and how many days pass before you hold a written reply. A verbal promise that someone will call you back is not a reply. A written reply, sent to your email or mailed to the address on the contract, is the record you will need if the leak comes back in the next wet season.

Ask about the busy months too. A roofer's office can slow down after a storm, when every homeowner on the block is calling about the same shingles. Ask whether the warranty line gets the same staffing in those weeks as it does in a quiet month, and whether the reply time changes. An answer given now, while the bid is still open, is easier to hold the company to than one you learn about after the crew has left.

Pay attention to the gap between the answer a roofer gives on the phone and the answer printed on the contract. If one roofer says a claim gets a reply within two business days and the signed contract says nothing, the two answers do not match. Mark that line and ask the roofer to put the number in the contract. A roofer who skips the question in writing has told you something about how the warranty will be handled.

What it costs

A warranty call does not usually cost the homeowner money, and no roofer should tell you that a claim call carries a fee. What costs money is the time between the call and the repair. A leak that waits nine days for a crew visit can ruin drywall, insulation and a set of hardwood floors below it. A bid with the lowest total on the first page can carry a higher cost later if its reply time is slow, so compare the response time as a number, not as a feeling.

Some warranty work does come with a charge, and the bid should say so before you sign. A repair visit for a problem outside the covered workmanship, such as a gutter that was not part of the roof scope or a flashing damaged by a later contractor, may be billed at a set rate. Ask each roofer for that rate in writing, and ask whether the trip charge applies if the crew finds nothing to fix. Ask too whether a warranty visit happens during the crew's normal hours or needs a separate appointment, since a Saturday visit can be priced differently under some bids. A flat written answer is worth more than a promise that the company will be fair.

Keys can tell you how its office handles calls at (314) 220-2333. Ask the same questions of the other roofers on your list and write the answers in the same words, so the columns line up. If one company gives you a day count and another gives you a general statement, the difference is the comparison. Do not guess what the general statement means.

What to ask

Use these questions word for word with each roofer, and keep each answer beside the question it answers.

1. How many calendar days pass between a warranty call and your first written reply, and who sends it?

2. Who answers the warranty phone line, and is that person on your crew or in the office?

3. Which paper covers the shingles, and which covers the labor, and can I have copies of both before I sign?

4. If a leak appears during a wet week, what should I do first, and do you want photos or a written description?

5. What is the trip charge for a warranty visit that finds the problem is outside the covered work?

6. If the crew that installed the roof is no longer working for you, who answers the call?

Write the day count on your comparison sheet beside each roofer's name. A roofer who gives a number you can check is easier to hold to it later than one who says soon. If a roofer will not give a number, ask the question again in writing and note the date you asked and the date the reply came back. The time it takes to get an answer is part of the answer.