Owners assume a warranty means someone will come and fix it. The conditions, exclusions and notification requirements usually decide otherwise.
A warranty is a contractual promise with conditions attached, not an insurance policy against inconvenience. It usually covers the product rather than the consequences of its failure, it usually requires evidence that the item was maintained as specified, and it usually requires notification within a defined period. Owners lose valid claims for procedural reasons far more often than for technical ones.
How to test a claim like this
For any installed system, establish four things in writing before you need them. Who gives the warranty, the manufacturer or the installer, since they are different promises with different durations. What exactly is covered, parts alone or parts and labour and attendance. What conditions must be met, principally maintenance evidence and the use of approved parties. And how a claim is notified, to whom and within what period. A warranty document that nobody has read is a warranty you are unlikely to use successfully.
Myth 1: A warranty means the supplier will come and repair the problem.
Reality: Many product warranties cover the supply of a replacement part and nothing else. Attendance, labour, access equipment, removal of the failed item and any consequential damage sit with the owner unless the document says otherwise. The difference between a parts only warranty and a full labour inclusive one can be most of the cost of a repair.
How to check it yourself: Read what the document covers beyond the component itself, and price the gap.
Myth 2: The warranty starts when the equipment is handed over to me.
Reality: Warranty periods frequently run from delivery, from energisation or from the manufacturer invoice date rather than from practical completion. On a project where equipment sat in a store for months, a meaningful part of the period can expire before the building is occupied. The date that matters is written in the document, not assumed.
How to check it yourself: Record the warranty start date for every item in the asset register at handover.
Myth 3: Maintenance by anyone competent keeps the warranty valid.
Reality: Many warranties require servicing at defined intervals by an approved party, with records retained. Using a cheaper contractor, or servicing less often than the schedule requires, can discharge the obligation even if the work was done well. The evidence requirement is as strict as the technical one, and it is the part most often failed.
How to check it yourself: Confirm the required service interval and whether the servicing party must be approved.
Myth 4: If the equipment fails, I can claim whenever I get round to it.
Reality: Notification periods are common and short, sometimes measured in days from discovery. Continuing to operate failed equipment can also worsen damage and give the supplier grounds to argue that the extent of the loss resulted from use after the fault was known, rather than from the fault itself.
How to check it yourself: Note the notification period for each major item and notify in writing immediately on discovery.
Myth 5: A guarantee on waterproofing covers any leak in the building.
Reality: System guarantees typically cover the specific area installed under specific conditions, and they usually exclude damage caused by others, by subsequent penetrations, by movement in the structure, or by failure to maintain drainage. A leak entering through a later roof penetration for a cable or an aerial is rarely covered by the membrane guarantee.
How to check it yourself: Keep a record of every subsequent penetration through a guaranteed roof, with who made it.
Myth 6: The installer warranty and the manufacturer warranty are the same thing.
Reality: They are separate promises from separate parties with separate durations. The installer typically warrants workmanship for a shorter period, while the manufacturer warrants the product for longer. A failure caused by installation is an installer matter, and a defective component is a manufacturer matter, which is why a claim often begins with establishing which it was.
How to check it yourself: Record both warranties separately in the register, with the start date and duration of each.
What this changes in your decision
- Record every warranty in the asset register with its giver, its start date, its duration and its conditions.
- Confirm whether servicing must be performed by an approved party before appointing a maintenance contractor.
- Keep maintenance evidence in a form you can produce quickly, since it is the usual condition of a claim.
- Notify any failure in writing immediately on discovery rather than after investigating the cause yourself.
- Diarise warranty expiry dates so that systems are inspected before cover ends rather than after.
Domira works on buildings that already exist: surveying what is installed, specifying the systems that have to be replaced, and running maintenance and refurbishment work around the people using the property. Tell Domira which asset you are responsible for and we will say what we would inspect first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What usually voids a warranty on building equipment?
Missing or inadequate maintenance records, servicing by a party the warranty did not approve, modification of the equipment, operation outside the stated conditions, and late notification of a fault. Technical misuse features less often than these procedural failures. Keeping dated service reports and notifying promptly in writing addresses most of the risk.
Does a warranty cover damage caused by equipment failing?
Generally not. Most product warranties cover the item itself, while damage caused by its failure, such as water damage from a burst component or losses from a stoppage, is excluded and belongs to insurance. Read the exclusions and check that your insurance covers the gap, because assuming the warranty handles it is a common and expensive mistake.
How long should I keep maintenance records for warranty purposes?
At least for the full warranty period and for a reasonable time afterwards, since a claim may be examined some time after the work was done. Many owners keep the full life of the asset, because the same records support insurance, condition surveys and sale due diligence. Storage is cheap compared with losing a claim for want of a report.
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