Deck warranties

Material warranties come from the manufacturer and are specific to a product line. They typically require installation per the manufacturer's instructions. We won't restate any manufacturer's terms here because they differ by line and change over time — get the current PDF and read the exclusions section first, not the headline number.

Workmanship warranties come from your builder and are only as good as the builder's continued existence. A long workmanship warranty from a company with no track record is worth less than a short one from an established local firm. Ask how long they've operated under the current business name.

What is generally not covered: normal weathering and the maintenance you were supposed to do. On a wood deck that means restaining every two to three years at $2 to $5 per square foot. Neglect is the most common reason a claim fails on any building product.

Documentation is what makes a claim work. Keep the contract, the product line name, the permit and final inspection approval, and photographs of the framing before decking went down. A claim about a structural failure is much easier to make when you can show what was built.

How to choose

Read the exclusions before the coverage

Headline coverage lengths are marketing. The exclusions list is the actual product.

Ask if labor is covered

Material-only coverage means a replacement deck board arrives and you pay someone $10 to $35 per square foot to install it.

Confirm transferability if you might sell

Deck additions recoup roughly 63% to 65.8% at resale; a transferable warranty is a small but real part of the pitch.

Keep the maintenance receipts

Staining invoices at $2 to $5 per square foot are evidence you did what the warranty required.

Photograph the frame

Footings, ledger, flashing, guard post attachments. Ten minutes of photos before the boards go down.