Our five-year workmanship warranty and what it actually covers
I’m going to be specific about what our warranty covers because vague warranty promises are one of the biggest problems in the renovation industry. A contractor tells you “we warranty our work” but never defines what that means, how long it lasts, or what the process looks like if something goes wrong. Then when a tile cracks six months later, you’re stuck in a back-and-forth about whether it’s a workmanship defect or normal settling. That’s the situation I want to prevent.
Wright’s Renovations includes a five-year craftsmanship warranty on every project we complete. Here’s exactly what that means, what it covers, what it doesn’t cover, and how to use it if you need it.
What the five-year warranty covers
The warranty covers defects in workmanship performed by our crews and the subcontractors we manage. Workmanship means the labor and technique used to install materials. If a cabinet door starts sagging because a hinge was mounted into particleboard instead of the solid wood rail, that’s a workmanship defect and we fix it at no cost to you. If a countertop seam separates because the adhesive wasn’t applied properly, that’s workmanship and we fix it. If shower tile pops off the wall because the substrate wasn’t prepared correctly, that’s workmanship and we fix it.
The warranty also covers structural work. If a load-bearing beam we installed develops deflection beyond acceptable tolerances, we address it. If the framing for a home addition shows signs of moisture intrusion because the flashing wasn’t detailed properly, we come back and make it right. If basement waterproofing we installed fails and water comes through, that’s on us.
In practice, warranty claims are uncommon. Over the last three years, we’ve completed more than 300 projects and received fewer than 20 warranty claims. Most were minor: a paint touch-up where drywall mud shrank and cracked, a faucet connection that developed a slow drip, a door that started sticking as the house settled through its first winter after a second-story addition. Each one was resolved within two weeks of the initial call.
What the warranty does not cover
The warranty does not cover defects in the materials themselves. If a hardwood floor develops a manufacturing defect in the finish, that falls under the flooring manufacturer’s warranty, not ours. If a faucet cartridge fails, that’s the faucet manufacturer’s warranty. We help you navigate manufacturer warranties when these issues come up, but the claim process goes through the manufacturer, not through us.
The warranty does not cover damage caused by homeowner modifications or neglect. If you hang a 60-pound TV on drywall without hitting a stud and the wall tears, that’s not a workmanship issue. If you don’t maintain the caulk around your bathroom vanity and water seeps behind the backsplash, the resulting damage isn’t covered because proper maintenance is the homeowner’s responsibility. We give you a maintenance guide at project completion that specifies what needs attention and how often.
The warranty does not cover normal wear and tear. Paint scuffs. Minor grout discoloration in high-traffic areas. Hairline cracks in drywall along seams during the first year as the house settles around new framing. These are normal and expected in any renovation. The distinction we draw is between a defect (something we did wrong) and a natural outcome (something that happens regardless of workmanship quality).
How to make a warranty claim
Call us or send us a message through our project management platform. We keep your project file active for the full five years, so when you call, we already have your plans, your material specs, and your project photos. Our project manager reviews the issue, usually asks for a photo, and schedules a site visit within one to two weeks. Most warranty repairs are completed within 30 days of the initial contact.
There’s no deductible, no service fee, and no fine print that lets us decline a legitimate claim. If we built it and it’s defective, we fix it. The cost comes out of our operating budget, not yours. We budget for warranty work as a line item in our annual operations because we know some percentage of projects will need follow-up. Building that expectation into our business model means we never have a financial incentive to deny a claim.
Why five years and not one year
Michigan’s implied warranty on construction work is typically one year for most defects and six years for latent defects (defects that aren’t immediately discoverable). Most contractors offer a one-year warranty that matches the minimum implied warranty and call it a day. We go to five years because we believe in our work and because some defects take time to appear.
A basement finish might look perfect at the one-year mark but develop a moisture issue in year two when an unusually wet spring raises the water table. A roof tie-in on an addition might be fine through three winters but show a flashing failure in the fourth when ice dams form in a pattern the first three years didn’t produce. Five years gives us enough time to stand behind the work through multiple seasonal cycles, which in Michigan means multiple freeze-thaw events, multiple spring floods, and multiple summers of heat and humidity.
The five-year term also reflects confidence. If we were cutting corners on materials or rushing through installations, a five-year warranty would bankrupt us. The fact that we can offer it and maintain it across hundreds of active warranties at any given time tells you something about how we build.
How our warranty compares to industry standard
Most renovation contractors in Southeast Michigan offer a one-year workmanship warranty. Some larger firms offer two years. National franchises sometimes offer “lifetime” warranties that are loaded with exclusions and tied to the franchise location staying in business. Our five-year warranty is clear and specific: five years, no exclusions beyond the ones listed above, backed by a company with a physical office at 7101 Platt Rd in Ypsilanti that isn’t going anywhere.
When you’re comparing contractors for a kitchen renovation, bathroom remodel, basement project, or deck build, ask each one to put their warranty in writing. Ask what it covers and what it excludes. Ask how many warranty claims they’ve processed in the last year and what the average resolution time was. A warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it.
A note on material warranties
In addition to our workmanship warranty, the materials in your renovation carry their own manufacturer warranties. Kitchen cabinets typically carry a limited lifetime warranty from the cabinet maker. Quartz countertops carry 10 to 15-year warranties. Engineered hardwood flooring carries 20 to 25-year warranties. Porcelain tile carries limited lifetime warranties on structural integrity. We track every material warranty for your project and hand you a consolidated warranty binder at completion. If you need to make a material warranty claim during or after our five-year period, we’ll help you initiate the process with the manufacturer.
Between our five-year workmanship warranty and the manufacturer warranties on your materials, a Wright’s Renovations project is covered for years after we leave. That’s the peace of mind you get from working with a licensed, insured Michigan design-build firm with W-2 crews, a permanent office, and a reputation we intend to keep for a very long time.
Ready to talk about your project? Schedule a consultation or browse our portfolio to see what five-year-warranty-quality work looks like when it’s finished.
The maintenance responsibilities that keep your warranty valid
Like any warranty, ours requires reasonable maintenance on your part. We provide a maintenance guide at project completion that spells out exactly what needs attention. For kitchen projects, that means keeping countertop surfaces clean and resealing natural stone annually. For bathroom projects, it means running the ventilation fan during and after every shower to prevent moisture buildup, and recaulking the shower-to-wall joint every two to three years.
For basement finishes, maintenance means monitoring humidity levels (we recommend keeping basement humidity below 50% year-round) and checking the perimeter drainage after heavy rains. For decks and outdoor structures, it means annual cleaning and resealing or restaining on the manufacturer’s recommended schedule.
None of these maintenance items are unusual or burdensome. They’re the same things any responsible homeowner would do regardless of warranty. We include them in the warranty documentation so there’s no ambiguity about what’s expected.
Emergency warranty situations and our response time
Some warranty situations are more urgent than others. A cabinet door that won’t close properly can wait a few weeks for service. A plumbing joint that’s leaking into the ceiling below cannot. For emergency situations involving active water intrusion, structural concerns, or electrical issues, we aim for same-day or next-business-day response. Our project managers carry their phones, and our office number connects to a real person during business hours.
In three years of operating the warranty program, we’ve had four calls that qualified as emergencies. Two were plumbing-related (a supply line connection that wasn’t tightened to spec during a vanity installation), one was a basement window well that wasn’t draining properly during a heavy rain, and one was a recessed light that started flickering due to a loose wire nut. All four were resolved within 24 hours because we keep a service crew available for warranty work and don’t make you schedule around a two-week backlog.
Why the warranty matters more than you think
A renovation is one of the largest investments you’ll make in your home. A $100,000 kitchen renovation should last 20 to 30 years. A $60,000 basement finish should last the life of the house. Our five-year warranty means we’re accountable for the critical first years when defects are most likely to surface, and it means you have a financial safety net during that period.
When you’re comparing renovation contractors across Southeast Michigan, the warranty is one of the clearest signals of how much confidence a company has in its own work. One-year warranties are the minimum. Two-year warranties are common among mid-tier firms. Five-year warranties, with clear documentation and a track record of honoring claims, are rare. We offer ours because we build to a standard that earns it.
Want to see what five-year-warranty-quality work looks like? Browse our completed projects across Washtenaw, Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties. When you’re ready to talk about your project, schedule a free consultation with our team.
How the warranty transfers if you sell
If you sell your home during the warranty period, the remaining warranty transfers to the new owner. The new homeowner calls us, we verify the project in our records, and they pick up the warranty for the remainder of the five-year term. No paperwork, no transfer fee. The warranty is attached to the work, not to the original client. Your real estate agent can include the warranty documentation in the listing package as proof the renovation was done right.
What sets our approach apart from the industry
Most warranty claims in the renovation industry go like this: the homeowner calls, leaves a voicemail, waits three days, calls again, gets told to send photos, sends photos, waits a week, gets told someone will come look at it, waits two more weeks. By the time someone shows up, a month has passed and the homeowner is frustrated before the repair even starts.
Our process is different because we assign warranty work to the same project manager who ran the original job. That PM already knows your house, your project, and your expectations. When you call about a tile concern in the master bath, the PM doesn’t need to research what tile was used or how the substrate was prepared. They were there when it was installed. That continuity cuts the diagnosis time in half and gets the repair done faster.
We also track warranty data to improve our construction practices. If we see a pattern of countertop seam issues with a specific adhesive product, we switch adhesives. If we notice waterproofing callbacks in a particular soil type, we upgrade our drainage spec for that condition. The warranty isn’t just protection for you. It’s a feedback loop that makes our work better over time.
The renovation industry has a reputation problem with warranty service, and we know it. That’s why we over-invest in this area. When a homeowner in Ann Arbor or Birmingham or Canton tells their neighbor about their renovation, the warranty experience is part of the story. A clean, fast, no-hassle warranty claim turns a satisfied client into an advocate. That’s worth more to us than the cost of the repair.
We track every warranty claim in our project management system, and our average resolution time from first call to completed repair is 11 business days. For emergency situations involving water or electrical issues, we respond within 24 hours. That response time is possible because we keep a service crew on standby specifically for warranty and callback work, rather than pulling production crews off active projects.
Five years is a long time in the construction industry. Companies close, owners retire, crews turn over. Our warranty outlasts the average lifespan of a Michigan renovation contractor because we built this company to last. The office at 7101 Platt Rd in Ypsilanti isn’t going anywhere, and neither is our commitment to the work we’ve done for homeowners across all six counties in our service area.
