AskRealtorSteve about Your New Home Warranty, Home Repair / Maintenance, Real Estate in general or issues you’re experiencing with your home.
This Week’s Question:
Hi Steve, we bought a brand new home from a builder in Bradford. Last year, after they shingled the house (sometime in February), we noticed that many shingles had come off. We came back a week later and it was fixed but it concerned us. During the PDI [Pre-Delivery Inspection] we asked about it and they said that it must have been the wind but not to worry, it is fixed now and it should not happen again. Is what happened to us normal? How do we know that it won’t happen again? What protections do we have?
Response: In 2009 /2010 we had a number of days with high wind gusts (over 100 km/hr). While that doesn’t happen often, it does occur from time to time. If the wind is able to get under the shingles, the nails that hold the asphalt shingles may not be able to keep them in place and they can come off. To avoid this problem, asphalt shingle manufactures put a bead of tar on the back side of the shingles. On a hot day, the tar melts and sticks the shingles together. That prevents the wind from getting under and lifting up the shingles. So shingles laid in place are vulnerable until they experience a hot day. As you can imagine, homes that are built and shingled in the winter have longer periods of exposure to wind damage. I suspect that is what happened in your case. So yes, what happened could be considered normal and by now they have experienced a hot day so it shouldn’t happen again. By the way, shingles installed under cold conditions don’t need to stick together to keep water out. Roof shingles shed water, the seal is there to protect against wind not water.
Under the New Home Warranty, you have protection that changes over time. Prior to possession, any shingles blown off would have to be repaired by the builder. Once possession was taken by the buyer, the builder will warranty Defects in Workmanship and Ontario Building Code Violations in the first year. The warranty does not protect you from an event considered to be clearly unavoidable and uncontrollable. Asphalt shingle manufacturers take into account winds that shingles would typically experience during their lifetime, so unless the wind was extreme I would consider visibly loose or missing shingles a defect.
Also, in first two years, the builder will warranty any water penetration though the building envelope. So in general, the builder will repair any roof leaks for two years, assuming the home owner did not cause the roof leak through action or inaction. In order for the owner to ensure warranty protection, defects should be reported to the builder through the Tarion Warranty Corporation as outlined in your New Home Owners Package.
You can continue this discussion by leaving comments on AskStevenSilva.ca or if you have a question please send it to AskStevenSilva@gmail.com
Written By: Steven Silva Sales Representative with Royal LePage Your Community Realty
Also Published in the Bradford Times (Article ID# 2991300 24-Feb-2011).
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