Frequently Asked Questions

Feared Question #7

“How long is your warranty, what does it cover, and how is it funded?”

Believe it or not, there are painting and remodeling companies offering 10 year warranties, 20 year warranties, lifetime warranties. Sounds great, doesn’t it. Almost too good to be true? Don’t be shocked if it is too good to be true. Unrealistically long warranties are more a marketing ploy than any ethical attempt by a contractor to back the work they do. The sad fact is, most of those companies will be long out of business before their warranties expire. What should you look for in a warranty? There are a couple of key areas you should ask about and be aware of.

The length of the warranty is typically proportional to the investment you made in the project. A really low price on the job and a super long warranty scream “this is a stick-up, give me your money”! It just can’t happen. There are many very good contractors that offer a one year warranty on their work. And that is OK, providing the work is done well. Typically, most material or workmanship failures will show signs within the first year. Two and three year warranties are also common. Longer than that, you should be looking closely at the company and the fine print of the warranty.

What exactly does the warranty cover? A decent warranty will provide both labor and material for a covered defect. Many manufactures offer very long term warranties on their products, but that warranty only covers the replacement of the product. The big bucks are spent on labor, which they fail to address. Most warranties will have exclusions, or things they don’t cover. Things like damage by a client, acts of God, and the like. Find out exactly what a contractor’s warranty does and does not cover. If the warranty is not in writing, available for your review, you should pass on that contractor.

Asking the question “how is your warranty program funded?” will probably get you some puzzled responses. The responses are puzzled because most contractors don’t have any idea what you are talking about. The fact is, most have never even considered how to pay the expenses associated with warranty callbacks. Have you ever heard someone talk about a job they had completed, and complain the contractor was nowhere to be found when a problem arose? As we mentioned, it is no wonder contracting is the #2, most complained about industry in Illinois. The last thing an unprepared contractor wants to do is take his crew away from a paying job to fix a problem they were already paid for. Since many contractors use the deposit from your job to pay expenses from the job they just completed, you can see how a warranty callback would disrupt their delicate cash flow situation. A contractor should be preparing for callbacks (they will happen, even to the best contractors) by including a line item in their budget for warranty work. Ask the question and see what kind of response you get. Sometimes, how the question is answered is more important than the answer itself!

The Smoke and Mirror Tricks

First of all, as we mentioned above, the biggest trick is an unrealistically long warranty, usually coupled with the “deal of the century”. If you like the “super basement bargain deal”, don’t rely on the warranty, and plan on doing any warranty work yourself. Never accept an unwritten warranty, or just a line or two in a contractor’s proposal. Most warranties won’t cover everything, so be very wary of a warranty that does not list exclusions. If you’re just not sure, ask the contractor to talk with a few of his or her customers that have had recent warranty work completed. If they are doing any business at all, they will have completed warranty jobs (unless they are ignoring them). Talk with the past customer and find out how the warranty service was. Was it timely, did it take care of the problem, was it a hassle? Once again, common sense and your instincts will alert you to any funny business.

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