| Author |
Message |
Bruce Konschuh
Senior Member
Username: brucek
Post Number: 8
Registered: 08-2014
| | Posted on Thursday, January 29, 2015 - 11:42 am: |    |
We have a waterproofing spec that calls for a joint warranty between the manufacturer and the installer. After bid and award, the GC is trying to submit warranty info, and the WP mfr is saying they only warrant their product/system, there are too many variables to include the installer's work.
Have you had this happen? What did you do? I assume we just have to revise the spec?
I did some checking of some other WP specs and company master spec, and both ways are specified (master spec calls for 2 warranties; 1 from mfr and 1 from installer).
I've seen joint mfr/installer warranties called for in several, if not many sections, and I have never seen this happen. |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 861
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, January 30, 2015 - 05:00 pm: | |
I've gotten them for roofing warranties and, under very special conditions, managed to get whole building envelope warranties when the requirement stated that roof and vapor retarder, above-grade vertical weather barrier, and below grade waterproofing (including blind side and underslab) were all to be by a single manufacturer and that the Installers had to have manufacturer's authorization to provide warranted work. That last bit may be what you want to look for, manufacturers who have Installers who are authorized to perform warranted work. It will possibly take some time to chase those down as it differs in various locations. There are some locations where those Installers don't exist. Is it worth your client's money to pay for an Installer from out-of-town to come in and do the work? It may be more economical to get your preferred manufacturer to come to the site and train a local Installer. It will still hit the project in the pocketbook but it may be worth the client's piece of mind. You may just make friends with a local Installer who can become your go-to company. |
Sheldon Wolfe
Senior Member
Username: sheldon_wolfe
Post Number: 821
Registered: 01-2003
| | Posted on Friday, January 30, 2015 - 06:39 pm: | |
Just like specifying a product that doesn't exist, we can't just specify a warranty that you can't get. Locally, a short joint warranty for roofing appears to be common, but venturing even a hundred miles away with the same warranty requirement gets a lot of kickback, on the order of, "Ain't gonna happen." |
Steven Bruneel, AIA, CSI-CDT, LEED-AP, EDAC
Senior Member
Username: redseca2
Post Number: 465
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Monday, February 02, 2015 - 01:25 pm: | |
My designers don't seem to understand why I can't specify a product that doesn't exist when they have no trouble drawing a product that doesn't exist. |
Sheldon Wolfe
Senior Member
Username: sheldon_wolfe
Post Number: 824
Registered: 01-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 03, 2015 - 11:03 am: | |
Well, there is that problem... |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 864
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 03, 2015 - 07:10 pm: | |
Yes, always one of my favorite CA calls from the GC was any of the many variations on "Mr. Escher, could you please show us how to build this in three dimensions?"
I never understood why they kept calling me. I didn't draft it. |
Louis Medcalf, FCSI, CCS
Senior Member
Username: louis_medcalf
Post Number: 47
Registered: 11-2010
| | Posted on Friday, February 06, 2015 - 01:43 pm: | |
If a specified warranty is shorter than the statute of repose for the GC's general warranty under A201, how good is it? Does it really give the Owner more protection than the GC's general warranty? |
ken hercenberg
Senior Member
Username: khercenberg
Post Number: 868
Registered: 12-2006
| | Posted on Friday, February 06, 2015 - 03:42 pm: | |
Sorry, but I have yet to see a piece of paper keep a building dry.
Most often extended warranties are for "smart" owners who believe they're getting an insurance policy by buying a warranty. Some people think that a 20-year warranty means that the product or system will actually last 20 years. Too often it just means that maybe someone will keep coming back and more-or-less fix problems for 20 years.
Since most owners violate the terms of the warranty in the first year (cleaning out drains 4 times a year, notifying the manufacturer within 30 days of the first occurrence of a problem, etc.), manufacturers can usually make a case to wiggle out of obligations but come out and fix the problem a few times because they're such nice people.
Warranties are written for the benefit of the manufacturer, not the Owner. The Owner should invest in a good maintenance program and develop a relationship with a good roofer (yes, they exist), preferably one who is authorized to perform warranty work on the Owner's roof. Makes it a lot easier to cash in on the warranty if there is a failure. |
Sheldon Wolfe
Senior Member
Username: sheldon_wolfe
Post Number: 826
Registered: 01-2003
| | Posted on Friday, February 06, 2015 - 10:29 pm: | |
Assuming the typical one-year correction period, do not specify or accept a one-year warranty. Consider increasing the correction period to two years; if you do, don't specify or accept a two-year warranty. |
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