What your warranty actually covers

A window seal fails after three years. You call a glazier and pay €450 for a repair. Later you discover the window had a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty on exactly this type of failure. You could have had it fixed for free.

This happens because most homeowners don’t know what warranties they hold, what those warranties cover, or who to contact when something goes wrong.

Four types of warranty

Most home components are covered by more than one warranty. They can overlap, and each covers something different.

1. Store / retailer warranty

Who provides it: The shop or supplier you bought from.

What it covers: The product as sold — defective on arrival, not as described, doesn’t work as advertised.

Typical duration: In the EEA, consumers have a minimum 2-year legal guarantee on goods. Some retailers extend this.

Key requirement: Keep proof of purchase.

2. Manufacturer’s warranty

Who provides it: The company that made the product.

What it covers: Material or manufacturing defects in the product itself. The compressor fails. The glass delaminates. The coating peels.

Typical duration: 2-10+ years depending on the product and manufacturer.

Key requirements: Often requires professional installation, product registration, and evidence of proper maintenance. Read the terms — a heat pump warranty that requires annual professional servicing is void if you skip it.

3. Product warranty

Who provides it: May be manufacturer or third-party.

What it covers: Specific performance characteristics. “Watertight for 15 years.” “Colour-fast for 10 years.” “Thermal performance maintained for 20 years.”

Typical duration: Often the longest warranty, but the narrowest in scope. It covers one specific claim, not general failure.

Key requirements: Highly conditional. These warranties often have fine print about installation conditions, maintenance schedules, and environmental exposure. A roof membrane warranty may be void if the wrong adhesive was used during installation.

4. Workmanship warranty

Who provides it: The contractor who did the installation.

What it covers: The quality of the work, not the materials. Leaks at joints. Incorrect fitting. Poor finish. Inadequate preparation.

Typical duration: 1-5 years, depending on trade and jurisdiction.

Key distinction: This is separate from the product. A good product badly installed is the contractor’s problem, not the manufacturer’s. If a window leaks because of poor sealing — not because the window is defective — that’s a workmanship claim.

The overlap that saves you money

Here’s what most people miss: on a single component, you might hold all four simultaneously.

Take a new boiler:

• Store warranty (2 years) — covers if the unit was defective when sold
• Manufacturer warranty (5 years) — covers manufacturing defects
• Product warranty (10 years on the heat exchanger) — covers specific component performance
• Workmanship warranty (2 years from installer) — covers installation quality

If the boiler fails in year 3, the store warranty has expired, but the manufacturer warranty and product warranty are both active. If it fails because of poor installation, the workmanship warranty is the one to claim against — even if it was the pipework, not the boiler itself, that failed.

Before a warranty expires

Set a reminder 90 days before each warranty expiry. Then:

1. Inspect the component. Look for early signs of failure — leaks, discolouration, noise, reduced performance.
2. Document its condition. Photos, dated notes. If something is starting to fail and the warranty is about to expire, you need evidence of when the problem began.
3. File the claim now. If you’ve been putting off a warranty claim, do it before the window closes.

When something fails: who to contact first

1. Is the defect related to the product itself? (Material failure, performance below spec) — Contact the manufacturer or retailer.
2. Is the defect related to installation? (Leaks at joints, incorrect fitting, poor finish) — Contact the installing contractor.
3. Is the defect from normal wear, user damage, or lack of maintenance? — Likely not covered. Proceed with normal repair workflow.
4. Not sure? — Get an independent inspection first. An inspector can determine the likely cause, which strengthens your position whether you’re claiming warranty or not.

The record that matters

For every component in your home, you should know:

• What warranties exist and when they expire
• What conditions must be met to keep them valid (maintenance schedules, professional servicing)
• Where the documentation is (certificates, invoices, terms)

This is exactly the kind of record that accumulates value over time. When you sell the property, a documented warranty history is worth real money to the buyer.