When you purchase a new garage door, it comes with two warranties: an installation warranty and a manufacturer’s warranty. Very often, customers aren’t sure how the two differ, and if they become aware of defects in their garage door, they don’t always know whether to bring up the issue with the installation company or with the manufacturer. This is perfectly understandable. Legal documents are often confusing, and warranty certificates are no exception.

In this article, the team at Creative Door Services breaks down the Creative Door installation warranty and various manufacturer warranties. We tell you how they differ, what’s covered by a Creative Door installation warranty, and how to navigate the manufacturer’s warranties from the leading garage door brands we carry: Wayne Dalton, Richards-Wilcox, and Martin Door. 

Understanding the difference between installation and manufacturer’s warranties

It’s easy to differentiate between the two types of garage door warranties. An installation warranty covers garage door defects and issues resulting from installation and repair work: it guarantees the quality of the labour for a specific timeframe. A manufacturer’s warranty covers defects and issues in the materials and workmanship of the garage door itself, including hardware, so it guarantees the quality of the product for a specific timeframe.

Installation Warranties–What’s Covered?

Companies like Creative Door who sell, install, and repair garage doors provide installation warranties. No matter what garage door you purchase from us, you get the same installation warranty, which covers the following:

• Installation defects. This comprises defects resulting from a garage door installation and is valid for one year after installation.
• Service or repair defects. This comprises defects resulting from maintenance or repair work done by a Creative Door technician and is valid for 30 days following the work.
• Garage door part defects. Service and repair parts supplied by Creative Door are warranted against defects for 90 days, starting on the date of purchase.
• Missing parts or hardware. If there are missing parts or hardware in an order, Creative Door will replace them within five business days of the receipt of the order.

The warranty doesn’t cover normal wear and tear or damage resulting from improper use, modifications, paint applied by the customer, corrosive airborne substances, and failure to perform routine maintenance. To understand the full terms and conditions, consult the Creative Door Services Ltd. Limited Warranty. If you have any questions, please direct them to our team.

Manufacturer’s Warranties

Brands such as Wayne Dalton, Richards-Wilcox, and Martin Door provide manufacturer warranties for their garage doors, but no two brands offer the same terms and conditions. Moreover, warranties often differ from product to product. This is because different models are made of different materials and use different components. Warranties for steel garage doors, for instance, generally cover issues resulting from rust formation on the door. This isn’t covered by warranties for wood garage doors, as rust isn’t a problem with wood. However, wooden doors may be covered for rotting, which isn’t an issue for steel.

 For example, Wayne Dalton provides the same warranty for most of its classic steel garage doors (Models 8000, 8100, 8200, etc.). Among other issues, the owner is covered for 10 years against a number of defects including rust, cracking, splitting, peeling paint, degradation of the foam insulation, and defects in the hardware and tracks. For Models 8300 and 8500, however, all these defects are covered by a lifetime limited warranty. Please remember that conditions, like annual planned maintenance, apply for most manufacturer warranties.

On our Creative Door Services website, the product page for nearly every garage door includes a direct link to the manufacturer’s warranty for that model. In addition, many of the warranties are conveniently collected on a single page on our website.

Note that the warranties for all Martin Door garage doors are conveniently gathered together in a single document. This text outlines what is and isn’t covered in a Martin Door garage door warranty. There’s also a chart that indicates for how long the different parts of the door, such as the hardware, section, or paint are covered, depending on the model.

Manufacturer’s Warranty – What Isn’t Covered

Keep in mind that manufacturer’s warranties don’t cover defects for which the fault lies with the owner. For example, they don’t cover damage caused by abuse, accidents, misuse of the product, or by failure to provide necessary maintenance. Moreover, they don’t cover damage caused by acts of nature such as wind, hail, flood, or fire. All such information can be found in the terms and conditions of a manufacturer’s warranty.

Still have questions about your garage door warranties?

To get more information about the warranties you received with your purchase and installation of a garage door from Creative Door, reach out to us. Our team is happy to help!