You'd be surprised how many homeowners invest $400,000 or $500,000 in a renovation and never ask about the warranty. Or they ask, get a vague answer like "we stand behind our work," and leave it at that.
Here's what most people don't know: the standard warranty in residential construction is one year. That's it. One year of workmanship coverage on a project that took six months to build and is supposed to last decades. After twelve months, if something goes wrong with the installation, the craftsmanship, or the coordination between trades — you're on your own.
That never sat right with me.
Two Warranties You Need to Understand
There are actually two kinds of warranties at play in any renovation, and they cover completely different things.
Manufacturer warranties cover the products themselves. Your dishwasher, your faucet, your roofing shingles — the company that made them warrants that the product will perform as promised. These warranties vary wildly. Some appliances have one-year warranties. Some roofing materials carry 30-year or lifetime warranties. These are between you and the manufacturer, not you and your contractor.
Workmanship warranties cover how those products were installed and how the construction was executed. Did the tile setter properly waterproof the shower before tiling? Did the electrician wire the panel correctly? Did the framer build the wall plumb and true? This is what your contractor warrants — and this is where most contractors offer just one year.
Both matter. But the workmanship warranty is the one most homeowners overlook, and it's the one that makes the biggest difference when something goes wrong.
How Our 20-Year Warranty Works
We offer two warranty levels. Every SA&Co project gets our 3-Year Limited Warranty at minimum — already three times the industry standard. Projects that meet our quality thresholds qualify for our flagship 20-Year Workmanship Warranty, structured in three tiers:
Years 1 through 5: Comprehensive. Everything we built is covered. Framing, mechanical systems, drywall, tile, cabinetry installation, trim carpentry, paint — if our team did it, it's warranted.
Years 6 through 10: Major Systems. Coverage continues for plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and waterproofing — the systems that keep your home safe and functional.
Years 11 through 20: Structural. Foundation, framing, load-bearing elements, and roof structure. The bones of your home, protected for two decades.
What Makes a 20-Year Warranty Possible
You can't just slap a 20-year warranty on any project and hope for the best. The warranty is only as good as the systems behind it. Here's what makes ours real:
We vet every subcontractor in our network. We've spent years building relationships with trade partners who meet our quality standards. Not the cheapest guys — the best guys.
We control the materials. The 20-year warranty requires SA&Co-specified materials and fixtures. We need to know what's going into your walls because we're standing behind it for 20 years.
We document everything. Detailed scopes, signed selections, daily logs, inspection records. If something comes up in Year 8, we can pull the file and see exactly what was done, when, and by whom.
We come back. The warranty includes mandatory bi-annual inspections. Every two years, we walk through your home looking for issues before they become problems. Most contractors never come back after the final check is cashed.
Questions to Ask Any Contractor About Their Warranty
Is it in writing? If it's not a separate, signed document with specific terms, it doesn't exist.
What specifically is covered? "We stand behind our work" isn't a warranty. What systems? What timeframe? What's excluded?
How long does it last? And does coverage change over time, or is it the same for the entire period?
What triggers a claim? Is there a process? Who do you contact? What's the response timeline?
Are there inspections? A warranty without inspections is just a piece of paper. Regular inspections catch problems early.
What would void it? Unauthorized modifications? Lack of maintenance? Make sure you know the conditions.
Will the company still be around? This is the uncomfortable question. A 20-year warranty from a company that folds in three years isn't worth much. Ask about the company's track record, financial stability, and long-term plans.
Red Flags
Be cautious if a contractor won't put the warranty in writing, uses vague language like "reasonable" without defining it, has no inspection schedule, gets defensive when you ask for specifics, or offers a warranty that sounds too good with no explanation of how they back it up.
A warranty should make you feel more confident, not less. And the contractor offering it should be able to explain exactly how they deliver on that promise.
