Warranties apply to building a home as well as buying a car

The Eastern Maine Chapter of the Home Builders Association of Maine is sponsoring a series of monthly articles that focus on the home-construction and -remodeling industry. This article, which is part of that series, provides you with specific information that will benefit you as you consider your home projects.

The Issue of Warranty

We’ve all heard about warranties on automobiles. There’s the basic manufacturer’s warranty, perhaps covering (almost) everything for the first 12,000 miles or 12 months, whichever comes first. Then there’s the extended warranty, where, for an escalating sum (depending on the length of coverage), the carbuyer can extend the warranty coverage on the vehicle.

Do warranties also apply in the construction industry? The answer’s a qualified “yes.”

Are warranties worth pursuing when building a home? This time, the answer’s a definite “yes.”

Reliable contractors guarantee their work. Of course, the smart homebuilder or -renovator obtains a signed contract that details the work and any penalties to be exacted for sloppy construction.

Is a guarantee the same as a warranty? No. A builder will guarantee construction quality, meaning that the workmanship will meet certain standards. However, there usually is no warranty covering the quality of construction materials (boards, nails, insulation, etc.). The best way to obtain quality construction materials is to specify in the written contract the types of materials to be used; this is not a warranty, but it’s still legal protection if slipshod material shows up in the house.

In the building industry, warranties typically cover components with moving parts. Items like fans, faucets, circuit boxes, refrigerators, stoves, and heating systems might be covered by warranties.

However, such warranties would not be issued by the builder, but by the manufacturer. Each device usually comes with a basic, explicit warranty (make sure that you read the fine print), and, just as do automakers, some manufacturers offer extended warranties at an additional cost.

No homebuilder should buy a stove, fridge, etc. that’s not covered at least by a basic warranty. This protects the buyer against initial problems (a Holden resident once bought a new dryer and saw its motor blow on the second use).

Extended warranties are another issue. If a warrantied fixture works fine until its basic coverage expires, odds are good that the device will work OK well into the future. Many manufacturers charge a stiff fee for extended warranties; in some cases, the homeowner would pay for the fixture twice over by extending the warranty a few years.

To warranty or not warranty, this is the question. The answer is, “basic coverage, yes; extended coverage, maybe, but only if