Your workmanship warranty: what to put in writing before the job

“We stand behind our work” is not a warranty

A spoken promise means different things to you and the customer.

You usually mean, “If my install fails, I fix it.” The customer may hear, “Anything that goes wrong with that room, forever.”

That gap creates warranty arguments. It also creates calls your office cannot answer the same way twice.

A written workmanship warranty turns the promise into a short list. It tells the customer what is covered, how long the coverage lasts, what is excluded, and how to report a problem.

Write it before the job starts. Hand it over with the contract. Do not wait until the customer calls with a complaint.

This article is about writing the warranty terms. It is not about handling an angry complaint call. That is a separate process covered here.

Your labor warranty is not the product warranty

Your workmanship warranty covers your labor and how the work was installed.

A product warranty covers the material. Shingles, faucets, flooring, windows, and appliances may each have a manufacturer warranty with its own terms.

Say both in writing.

Give the customer the manufacturer paperwork at closeout. If the product requires registration, tell the customer that registration exists and state who is responsible for doing it.

Your warranty should not make a manufacturer promise sound like your own promise. It should also not leave the customer guessing about which document applies when a faucet leaks or a window part fails.

Pick one warranty length and one start date

There is no single right warranty length for every trade or job. The length depends on the work.

The important part is that you choose a length and write it down.

Write the start date too. It could be the date of final payment or the date of the final walkthrough. Pick the point that fits your process, then use it consistently.

The warranty length should be the same on every job of that type. That gives your office one answer when a customer calls. It also keeps the written terms from changing based on who sold the job or who answers the phone.

Your warranty should say exactly when coverage starts and when it ends. Do not make the customer calculate it from a vague phrase such as “for a reasonable period.”

Cover defects in your workmanship

State the covered problem in plain English: defects in your workmanship.

Then give examples that match your trade.

A leaking joint you made is a workmanship problem. Trim that pulls loose because it was not fastened correctly is a workmanship problem. Flooring that lifts because of how it was installed is a workmanship problem.

The warranty covers the work you performed. It does not turn every later problem in the area into your responsibility.

That distinction belongs in the written terms, not in a debate after the customer has already called.

List the problems the warranty does not cover

Your exclusions list should be short and direct. Include:

• Normal wear and tear.
• Damage from misuse or accidents.
• Changes or repairs made by the customer.
• Work by other people after you leave, including the customer’s own repairs in that same area.
• Materials supplied by the customer. Explain that boundary in your material terms and point customers to your customer-supplied materials policy.
• Problems with existing work that was already there before you started. That includes conditions left by another contractor, including the situation covered in this article.

House movement needs its own line.

Small hairline cracks in drywall or caulk joints can appear as a house moves. Wood can develop seasonal gaps. Doors can stick a little when humidity changes.

A very common warranty call comes many months after the job, around the first big change of season. The customer says, “The door you hung is sticking,” or, “There is a crack above the doorway you framed.”

Without written terms, two people remember a handshake differently. With written terms, the office reads the line about seasonal movement and books the touch-up visit. The call takes a few minutes.

If you want to handle these items with a free touch-up visit within the warranty period, say that in writing. The customer should know what you will do before the issue appears.

Tell customers exactly how to report a problem

Your warranty should state who the customer calls and which number to use. It should say that a photo helps and how fast you will get back to them.

Separate urgent problems from routine ones.

An active water leak or a safety issue gets a same-day response. A hairline crack can wait for a scheduled visit.

That does not mean every urgent report is covered. It means your response time is clear.

A customer with water coming through a ceiling needs to know what happens next. A customer reporting a small finish crack needs a different expectation. Put both instructions in the warranty and give the office the same instructions.

Inspect before you decide what to do

Write this sentence into your terms: “We inspect before we decide.”

You look at the problem first. Then you decide whether the right action is repair, replacement, or a finding that the issue is not covered.

If it is not covered, give the reason.

This prevents a customer from treating a phone call as an instant approval. It also gives you room to review the job file, inspect the area, and compare the problem with the warranty terms.

Your receptionist can take the report. Your team makes the warranty decision.

Keep the promise in the job file

Write the warranty start date in the job file. Keep the before and after photos from the job. Use the same file process for a roof, a painted room, a deck, a plumbing repair, or an electrical installation.

Your job-site photos can answer basic questions when a warranty call comes in:

• When did we do the work?
• What did we do?
• What did we promise?

Give the warranty to the customer with the contract. Give it again with the final invoice or at the final walkthrough. The final payment process is another chance to put the terms in front of the customer, as covered in this payment guide.

Walk through the not-covered list in person. Use a calm voice. Do it before anyone needs the warranty.

Bella can take the call while you are working

Warranty calls often come in while you are on another job.

Bella, the Nail the Call receptionist, answers every call, day or night, including weekends and holidays. She asks what the problem is and where it is. She takes the details and texts you a summary right after the call with the customer’s name, number, address, and description.

She knows which calls are urgent. Water coming through a ceiling gets you a text right away. A small crack can wait.

On the Growth plan, Bella has full repeat-caller memory. A past customer does not have to explain who they are or what job you did.

Bella does not decide whether something is covered. She does not promise a repair. She does not guess at technical questions. She writes the details down for you. You make the warranty decision.

You can change what she tells callers at any time. Call (628) 895-9788. Pricing is flat per month: Starter is $95, Growth is $295, and Pro is $495. There are no per-call limits, no per-minute meter, and no overage fees.

Do not promise more than you can honor

Avoid “lifetime” and “guaranteed forever” unless you are prepared to honor those promises for as long as you are in business.

A shorter warranty that you always honor builds more trust than a large promise you argue about.

State law may give customers rights beyond what you write. Some states have implied warranty rules. Some trades and contract types have their own rules. A written warranty may not remove those rights.

Have a local lawyer review your warranty wording once. Then use the same wording on every job of that type.

Write these lines before the next job

Before you send the next contract, write down:

• The warranty length and start date.
• What workmanship is covered.
• The exclusions, including house movement.
• Who handles product warranty paperwork and registration.
• Who the customer calls, which number to use, and what response time applies.
• The difference between urgent and routine reports.
• “We inspect before we decide.”
• What goes into the job file, including the start date and before and after photos.
• That a local lawyer reviewed the wording.

Then attach the warranty to the contract and hand it over again at the final walkthrough or with the final invoice.