A contractor’s workmanship warranty and a manufacturer’s product warranty protect against different problems. A long number of years in an advertisement is not useful until you know what failure is covered, who pays for diagnosis/removal/labor, and what conditions can void the claim.
Manufacturer Warranty: Usually About the Product
Manufacturer warranties commonly focus on defined product defects or specific performance claims, subject to preparation and application requirements. They may provide replacement material or a refund without paying the labor needed to remove and reinstall the coating.
Sherwin-Williams’ published SuperPaint exterior lifetime limited warranty is a useful example: when its conditions are met, the remedy is replacement product or refund, while labor/application/removal costs are excluded. It also excludes problems caused by improper surface preparation, structural defects, failure of a previous paint or improper application. That illustrates why “lifetime warranty” is not the same as “the manufacturer pays to repaint the house for life.”
Contractor Warranty: Usually About Workmanship
A workmanship warranty is the contractor’s promise regarding its installation. The written terms should say what counts as defective workmanship, the term, how a claim is reported, whether inspection is required, what remedy is provided and what maintenance or third-party work can affect coverage.
System Warranties Can Add Another Layer
Some specialty coating and roofing systems offer project-specific warranties only when an approved assembly, installer, film thickness, inspection or registration process is followed. Do not assume the retail warranty shown for a can of paint applies to a professional project or specialty system. Behr, for example, states on its current professional Dynasty exterior page that its consumer limited lifetime warranty does not apply to professional projects and that project-specific warranties may be available through a representative.
Questions to Ask Before Signing
- Is this a manufacturer warranty, contractor workmanship warranty, or both?
- Who owns the claim process?
- Is labor covered or only material?
- Does the warranty transfer to a buyer?
- What preparation and application records must be retained?
- What maintenance or recoating is required?
- Are moisture, movement, ponding water, old coatings or substrate failures excluded?
- If the contractor disappears, is there still a manufacturer remedy?