I have to hire a roofer, I have narrowed it down to two choices.  Both have good ratings with the BBB.  The first one is 800.00 cheaper, but offers a one year warranty.  The second one offers a ten year warranty.  Which would you choose?  Thanks Brenda

 

What is the warranty for?   Workmanship? the shingles?   the tarpaper?      

 

chocolatechic:

 

What is the warranty for?   Workmanship? the shingles?   the tarpaper?      

 

 

 

Exactly!  What does the warranty cover??

There should be a warranty on workmanship and a warranty on products.

A year warranty on workmanship is good.  A ten year warranty on workmanship is EXCELLENT.

A 10 year warranty on shingles is OK but I prefer to go 20 or even 30 if I am paying out that much. 

Are you purchasing the materials and just hiring the labor? The warranty should be for the labor/workmanship. If the roofer is buying the shingles for you, make sure you know what you are getting--not some cheap shingles that will need to be replaced soon. The shingles should come with their own warranty. I would take the 10 year warranty--you may not have a bad winter or terrible rain for 2 years.

Both  roofers are  providing shingles 30 year shingles , and the warranty is for workmanship.

Brenda,

Sometimes shingles are differing grades and therefore carry different warranties.  I would choose the longest warranty I could afford.  When I first bought my house, roofing was one of the first things I had to do.  All the shingle layers had to be removed, and some rotted boards had to be replaced.  I went with a top of the line shingle.  It wasn't cheap, but it was a 30 year warranty.  After all, how many times do you want to do this?  I have now been in my house twenty years, so have to consider being able to afford this again in maybe another ten years.

My $0.02!

I would go with the longer warranty. did you get references?   I am in the same boat. need to call a few roofers for quotes.

A ten year warranty on workmanship is an EXCELLENT warranty and that would be the one I would go with. 

Shellia

From personal experience I would go with the longer warranty.  I replaced my roof two years ago and because I live in a high wind area (we get several storms every winter with wind speeds a hundred miles and hour or more) I went with the best materials and the best warranty and I have no regrets after I watched my neighbors metal sheet roof peel off and fly away last winter in winds packing 120+ MPH gusts.  Now, you may not be dealing with weather extremes, but you COULD be...you just never know.  So, unless you want to be replacing that roof again in 3 years with no warranty to help cover costs...I'd go with the best material and the best warranty.  Besides, its a house, its literally money in the bank if you were to need to sell it next year and improvements like new roofs increase the value of your home and the curb appeal. 

All other things being equal I'd pay the extra $800. That said, I'd also look - hard - at how long the higher-priced roofer has been in business and consider how long that company will be around. The longer warranty from an out-of-business company is worthless.