The warranty
Fifty years, held by the manufacturer
The warranty on most of our roofs is CertainTeed’s SureStart PLUS 4-Star. If a manufacturing defect shows up any time in fifty years, CertainTeed pays for the materials, the labor, the tear-off and the disposal, in full, for all fifty years. For the first fifteen it covers our workmanship too.
CertainTeed holds it. We plan on being here the whole time, and your roof is covered either way. That’s the point.
What it covers, in four numbers
- 50
- years: materials, labor, tear-off and disposal
- 15
- years: our workmanship
- 20
- years: time to transfer it to the next owner
- 100%
- coverage, in year one and in year fifty
If there’s a manufacturing defect, it covers
- the shingles;
- the rest of the roof system that goes with them: the waterproofing underlayment at the eaves and valleys, the underlayment over the deck, the starter strip, the ridge vent and the hip and ridge caps;
- the labor to put it right;
- tearing off the old roof and disposing of it.
So it pays for the work as well as the shingles. And for the first fifteen years, if something goes wrong because of how the roof was put on, CertainTeed covers that too. Mike puts it plainly: if the crew put the shingles on upside down, you’d be covered.
Full coverage for fifty years, and what that means in money
Most shingle warranties are prorated. After the first ten years or so they cover the shingles only, and a little less every year.
This one stays whole. If a defect shows up in year forty-nine, CertainTeed covers the materials and the labor to put the roof on again, at what a roof costs that year. A roof will cost a lot more in thirty years than it does today, and the coverage keeps up with it.
If you sell the house
The average family moves every seven years. The warranty goes with the house once, to the first person who buys it from you, any time in the first twenty years after the roof goes on.
Why we’re able to offer it
CertainTeed offers this warranty only through contractors who hold one of its two top credentials. Ours is ShingleMaster PREMIER. We’ve been ShingleMaster contractors since 2002, and we earned PREMIER in 2026. CertainTeed describes PREMIER contractors as the top 1% of the profession.
To keep it, a company has to:
- carry workers’ compensation and liability insurance;
- have most of its installers pass CertainTeed’s Master Craftsman exam, and keep re-testing;
- have its owner pass CertainTeed’s business finance exam;
- keep a customer satisfaction score of 4 out of 5 or better on CertainTeed’s own survey of our customers.
The standard went up in 2026, and it took us a month or two of work to earn it.
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Why it matters to us
We put the same warranty on our own house, and on Sarah’s parents’ farmhouse, a farm that’s been in the family for generations. We wanted our family to have it.
Common questions
- What does it apply to?
The fifty-year coverage applies to a single-family house that you own and live in; other buildings get thirty years. Storm and hail damage goes through your insurance, and we help with that too. The full terms are in CertainTeed’s limited warranty, and Andy will give you a copy.
- Do I have to register it?
We register it for you when the job is done.
- What if I sell the house?
It transfers once, to the first buyer, within twenty years of when the roof went on.
- What if Katz is ever gone?
CertainTeed holds the warranty, so your roof stays covered either way. That’s the reason we offer it.
- Is it included, or extra?
It’s the first option on our estimates. If you’d rather have a standard warranty, say so; some people do, and we’ll price it that way.
- Is there anything beyond the 4-Star?
CertainTeed’s 5-Star adds thirty years of workmanship coverage and calls for every piece of metal flashing on the roof to be replaced. It also asks the crew to record the installation on camera, and we’re setting that up now. Ask Andy where it stands at your estimate.
- My shingles are dropping granules. Is something wrong?
A new roof sheds some loose granules in the first months. That’s normal.
- What if I want a different shingle brand?
We install other brands. They carry their own manufacturer’s warranty, and we add our own twenty-year labor warranty.
Want to read the warranty itself? Ask Andy at the estimate and he’ll go through it with you.