In plain words
What a workmanship guarantee is
Workmanship is the way a job was carried out: how the tiles were laid, how a flashing was dressed into a wall, how a flat roof was bonded and finished. A workmanship guarantee is a written promise from the contractor about that work. Ours runs for 10 years and is given to you in writing, and the wording that applies to your job is in the paperwork you receive with it.
It is worth separating three things that people often run together: the guarantee on the work, the warranty on the materials, and how long a roof covering can be expected to last.
Three different things
Workmanship, materials and lifespan
Workmanship is what this page is about, and it concerns the quality of the installation.
Materials carry their own manufacturer warranties, which are separate documents with their own terms. A tile, a membrane or a roof window can have a manufacturer warranty whether or not the installer gives one.
Lifespan figures are typical ranges, not promises. HomeBuilding gives Welsh slate as 100+ years, and MyJobQuote reports that lead flashing may last over 80 years. A guarantee is a different thing: a stated period during which a stated kind of fault will be put right.
The guarantee period and the lifespan are separate numbers, and a long guarantee says nothing on its own about how long a covering will last. When you compare roofers, ask what each document actually covers.
Making a claim
What to do if there is a problem
If something goes wrong with work we carried out, contact us as soon as you notice it. Email or phone us using the details at the foot of this page, give us the address and the date of the job, and send photographs if you can, showing where the problem is and what it looks like. Photographs taken at the time are useful because they show how the problem developed.
We will arrange to look at the roof, tell you what we find, and explain whether it falls within the written guarantee for your job. Where it does, we put it right.
Your legal rights
How the guarantee sits with the law
A guarantee adds to your rights and never reduces them. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says services are performed with reasonable care and skill. Sections 54 and 57 deal with your remedies if it is not, and a trader's liability for that cannot be excluded. Those rights apply to you as a consumer whether or not any guarantee exists, and they remain in place alongside it.
If you need independent advice about a dispute with any trader, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133.
Before you rely on any guarantee
Questions worth asking any roofer
The same questions are useful whoever you choose.
- Is the guarantee in writing, and do you receive it before or after the work is finished?
- Who gives it, and what does it say it covers?
- How long does it run, and from what date?
- What does it exclude, for example work by other people or storm damage?
- What do you have to do to make a claim?
If you would like to see the paperwork before you commit, ask for it when you get your free roof quote.
Storms and insurance
When the cause is the weather
Damage caused by a storm is a different question from the quality of a past installation, and it normally goes to your home insurer. Contact the insurer first, make a temporary repair where it is safe to do so, and keep photographs and receipts. The Financial Ombudsman Service explains that a storm typically means violent winds accompanied by rain, hail or snow, and that insurers apply their own wording, so read your policy's own storm definition. Nothing on this page promises that an insurer will pay.
If you are unsure whether a fault comes from the original work or from later weather, send us photographs and we will tell you what we can see.