New building construction of any kind is a significant investment. A warranty helps protect that investment in the future. In many cases, builders provide pass-through warranties, which means they obtain a warranty from a supplier and pass that benefit through to you. In essence, it’s a third-party warranty. This is not the case for your warranty with Morton Buildings. Our warranties are handled in-house, include materials and labor, and are not pro-rated.
Before you make your next building investment, here are the top five things to ask about your building warranty:
1. Before I buy, can I have a written copy of the complete warranty? Before you decide on any new structure, ask for a written copy of the complete warranty. This will allow you to fully compare the complete picture of the cost of the building -- not only for original construction, but also potential maintenance or life-cycle costs -- and give you time to ask your potential builder any questions before you commit. It may also be in your best interest to ask to speak to previous customers who have had to use the warranty and what their experience was like. At Morton, we’re proud of our level of customer care and warranty support, and we’ve written many blog posts on the subject, as well as will happily connect you with past customers who’ve utilized it.
2. Who is the contact for your warranty claim? It is not uncommon for other building companies to provide pass-through warranties from their steel supplier. Morton manufactures its own industry-leading Hi-Rib steel and also directly warranties it. What does this mean for you? If you have an issue, you call us and we take care of you. You will not have to make phone call after phone call to collect on your coverage, which is common when trying to track down the right contact through a third-party supplier. We’ve heard the horror stories on how challenging it can be to make a claim on a pass-through warranty.
3. Is the warranty pro-rated and will it include labor? When you are learning about your builder’s coverage, make sure to find out if it is for material-only after a certain timeframe, and if the coverage is pro-rated, which could provide very little real protection for you based on the timeframe that has expired since your purchase. Also ask if labor is included in the warranty. It’s a frustrating experience to have a load of replacement steel dropped off at your location without labor included to fix the issue. Morton’s protection includes all materials and LABOR for the full-life of the warranty.
4. What, if anything, is included in the warranty for the paint? Paint failure is not covered by many contractors’ warranties in the marketplace today. Most warranties are provided by the material supplier and not the contractor. This leaves you pretty much unprotected within just a few short years and isn’t much of a warranty. Morton operates in a much different way and is the exception when it comes to standing by its product. Several paint warranties exist based on paint type, building type, and use. But generally, most of our buildings come with a 35-YEAR warranty that includes:
- Morton will repaint/replace exterior FLUOROFLEX® metal roof or siding panels manufactured by Morton where the paint has separated from the panels due to flaking or peeling
- Morton will repaint/replace exterior FLUOROFLEX® metal roof or siding panels manufactured by Morton that exhibit chalking
In addition, we offer a 20-YEAR warranty that includes:
- Morton will repaint/replace exterior FLUOROFLEX® metal roof and siding panels manufactured by Morton which exhibit corrosion resulting in red rust, which is clearly visible in casual observation
5. What wind loads are covered? No matter where you live, the threat of damage to your building from high winds is realistic. Our unequalled five-year wind warranty is not a pass-through one, and protects against wind load damage to the structure with no wind velocity limit. We’re able to offer this due to our 15 ½” bolted heel connection, with our trusses setting in a saddle formed by the upper column. This provides superior resistance during high winds. Other builders claim strength by placing smaller trusses 4’ apart, but setting these trusses on top of the wall places all of the uplift resistance on that small wall-to-roof connection, leading to the wall being separated from the roof at this critical connection. Plus, they do not ship their trusses standing up, which may work the truss plates loose during transit. Simply put, ask your builder, “If my building is damaged by high winds—will it be repaired or replaced at no cost to me?”
6. Bonus Question (for those customers in our snow-laden areas!) -- What is the snow load warranty? Many of our competitors’ warranties have weight limits, but Morton offers a 50-year snow warranty for most buildings with no weight limit. This provides the best protection in those years with record-breaking snowfall!
For more information on the Morton advantage, click here!
