What a “lifetime” shingle warranty covers, according to the warranty document

In the manufacturer's warranty opened for this page, “lifetime” names an owner rather than a number of years, the full-value window is ten years, and after it the most the manufacturer will contribute falls by one six-hundredth for every month the roof has been on the building.

Richmond County Roofing · Published 2026-08-06 · Last substantively updated 2026-08-06 · Decision piece · 10 sources · 6 items not established

Applies to

Key figures

“Lifetime,” as the warranty document defines the word

1 owner for as long as the original individual property owner owns the property

Definition of Lifetime CertainTeed, Asphalt Shingle Residential Products, 2026 Limited Warranty VERBATIM [CertainTeed 2026]

Non-prorated window, during which defective shingles are repaired or replaced at no charge

10 yr 5 years on XT 25

SureStart period, Table 1 CertainTeed, 2026 Limited Warranty VERBATIM [CertainTeed 2026]

Reduction in the maximum contribution, per month elapsed, after that window

1/600 1/300 on XT 25

Reduction Figure Per Month CertainTeed, 2026 Limited Warranty VERBATIM [CertainTeed 2026]

Duration of the upgraded 130 mph or 160 mph wind term

15 yr and only where the shingles are not applied over existing shingles

Wind warranty upgrade CertainTeed, 2026 Limited Warranty VERBATIM [CertainTeed 2026]

Coverage on a non-ventilated or inadequately ventilated deck

10 yr reduced 1/120 per month, no labor, tear-off, metal work, flashing or disposal

Ventilation provision CertainTeed, 2026 Limited Warranty VERBATIM [CertainTeed 2026]

Net free ventilating area required of an enclosed attic or rafter space in New York City

1/150 of the area of the space ventilated, with an airspace of not less than 1 inch

§ 1503.5 → § 1203.2 2022 NYC Building Code VERBATIM [BC 1203.2]

1 2 3

1. The granule surface — the part a warranty tier is sold on, and the part a homeowner can see from the ground
2. The reinforcing mat in the torn section — the material the prorated remedy is measured against, since the contribution is set by the cost of comparable replacement shingles and not by the cost of the roof
3. The factory sealant band — the bond that has to hold for the wind term to mean anything, and the component a research institute names as critical to wind performance IBHS, Asphalt Shingle Durability

“Lifetime” is the name of an owner, not a length of time

The word is defined inside the document that uses it. In CertainTeed's Asphalt Shingle Residential Products, 2026 Limited Warranty, a lifetime product is warranted “for as long as the original individual property owner owns the property”[CertainTeed 2026]. The measure is a person's ownership of a house, not the service life of a material, and it ends when the house changes hands.

The same document names the owners the definition does not reach. Where the property is owned by a corporation, a government, a partnership, a religious organization, a school, an apartment building, a condominium, a property owner association or a cooperative housing arrangement, the term is capped: 50 years on the products the table calls Lifetime A and 40 years on those it calls Lifetime B[CertainTeed 2026]. Which of those two groups a product sits in is printed in the document's own table, and it decides more than the cap — it also decides what the first ten years cover, which is the subject of the next two sections.

Transfer has its own rule. A transfer during the non-prorated period caps the new owner at 50 years on Lifetime A products and 40 years on Lifetime B[CertainTeed 2026]. That is worth reading against the stock this survey covers, where 82.2% of housing units are in one- and two-family buildings and the median unit was built in 1974[ACS 2024]: a house of that vintage has usually been sold at least once since it was built, and a roof put on before the last sale is not on the term the brochure describes.

The full-value window is ten years, and after it the maximum contribution falls by one six-hundredth a month

The document divides the term in two. The first part, which it calls the SureStart period, is non-prorated: defective shingles are repaired or replaced at no charge. It runs 10 years on the lifetime products and 5 years on XT 25[CertainTeed 2026]. After it, the remedy becomes a maximum contribution — the reasonable cost of comparable replacement shingles, less a Reduction Figure Per Month of 1/600 multiplied by the months elapsed since the warranty period began[CertainTeed 2026].

One six-hundredth a month is fifty years of months, which is where the shape of the number comes from and why the arithmetic is worth printing rather than describing. The table below is that arithmetic and nothing else.

Maximum contribution remaining under the prorated remedy, by age of the roof, at a Reduction Figure Per Month of 1/600

Age of the roof	Months elapsed	Reduction	Share of the maximum contribution remaining
10 years — the SureStart period ends	120	120/600 = 20%	80%
15 years — the upgraded wind term ends	180	180/600 = 30%	70%
20 years	240	240/600 = 40%	60%
30 years	360	360/600 = 60%	40%
40 years and beyond — the floor	480	480/600 = 80%	20%
Derived by multiplying the Reduction Figure Per Month stated in CertainTeed's Asphalt Shingle Residential Products, 2026 Limited Warranty by the months elapsed: reduction = months ÷ 600, floored at 480/600. DERIVED The 20% floor after year 40 is stated in the document; the intermediate rows are the same formula at other ages. XT 25 prorates at 1/300 instead, reaching zero at 300 months. Figures are shares of the maximum contribution, not dollars — no dollar figure appears here, because no shingle price from a non-marketing source was opened for this site.

What prorates is the shingle; tear-off, flashing, metal work and disposal sit outside it

The maximum contribution is measured against “the reasonable cost of comparable replacement shingles.” The rest of a roof is handled separately, and the separation is where a warranty stops resembling insurance. Labor, roof tear-off, metal work, flashing and disposal are not covered at all after the SureStart period, on any tier[CertainTeed 2026]. Inside the SureStart period they are covered only on Lifetime A products; on Lifetime B products the document is explicit.

“Roof tear-off, metal work, flashing and disposal expenses … are not covered or reimbursed.”

Standard Landmark is a Lifetime B product in the document's own table[CertainTeed 2026], so on that product the exclusion applies from the first day rather than from year eleven, while Landmark PRO, Landmark Premium and Landmark TL are Lifetime A and carry the work inside the window. Where the document does owe labor, it states how the amount is set: “CertainTeed will determine labor costs by Bluebook® or RS Means® data”[CertainTeed 2026] — a published cost database, not the price a contractor charged on a driveway in Richmond County. Removal and replacement of overburden — solar panels, satellite dishes, rooftop gardens — is “the sole responsibility of the property owner”[CertainTeed 2026], which is a sentence worth reading before, rather than after, an array goes on.

The mph figure on the bundle and the mph figure in the warranty are two different instruments

2022 ED. · CH. 15 AMENDED LL77/2023 One of the two numbers in “lifetime, 130 mph” is a warranty term. The other kind of wind number — the one the law cares about — is a classification. Section 1504.1.1 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires asphalt shingles to be tested in accordance with ASTM D7158, a test that measures whether a sealed shingle resists uplift and peeling in a wind tunnel, and to meet the classification in Table 1504.1.1 for the applicable wind speed. At the basic design wind speed for a one- or two-family house anywhere in the city, 117 mph at Risk Category II[BC 1609.3], that classification is Class G or H[BC 1504.1.1]. The same section requires the proof to be printed where a homeowner can read it.

“Asphalt shingle packaging shall bear a label to indicate compliance with ASTM D 7158 and the required classification in Table 1504.1.1 of this code.”

The warranty numbers are a different thing entirely, set by the manufacturer and conditioned by the manufacturer. In the 2026 document, the base wind term is 110 mph; the upgraded term of 130 mph or 160 mph, depending on the product, applies only for the first 15 years, and only where three conditions are met: the shingles are not applied over existing shingles, the manufacturer's specified hip and ridge accessories are used as cap shingles, and the manufacturer's specified starter shingles are installed along eaves and rakes[CertainTeed 2026]. XT 25 carries a wind term of 60 mph in the same table.

Two consequences follow for a decision made in a driveway. First, the roof-over that section 1511.3.1 of the 2022 New York City Building Code permits in certain cases[BC 1511.3.1] costs the upgraded wind term under this warranty, because the document conditions the upgrade on shingles not being applied over existing shingles. Second, starter course at the rakes and the manufacturer's own cap shingles are conditions of the number, so an estimate that prices neither is an estimate for a roof that will not carry the term it was sold with. Both are checkable on paper before any work starts.

An inadequately ventilated deck reduces the whole term to ten years, and New York City fixes the ventilation ratio at 1/150

The document ties its own term to a condition of the building. Shingles applied on non-ventilated or inadequately ventilated roof decks are covered for 10 years, with the maximum contribution reduced 1/120 per month and with no labor, tear-off, metal work, flashing or disposal at any point[CertainTeed 2026]. One hundred and twentieth a month is ten years of months, so on that clause the maximum contribution reaches zero at the end of the same ten years it runs for — 120 ÷ 120.

What counts as adequate is not left to opinion in this city. Section 1503.5 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires that “intake and exhaust vents shall be provided in accordance with Section 1203.2 and the vent product's manufacturer's instructions”[BC 1503.5], and section 1203.2 of the same edition states the quantity.

“Enclosed attics and enclosed rafter spaces formed where ceilings are applied directly to the underside of roof framing members shall have cross ventilation for each separate space by ventilation openings protected against the entrance of rain and snow. … An airspace of not less than 1 inch (25.4 mm) shall be provided between the insulation and the roof sheathing. The net free ventilating area shall be not less than 1/150 of the area of the space ventilated. Ventilators shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.”

Two things in that text bear directly on a warranty claim. Net free ventilating area is a rated property of a vent product, printed by its manufacturer, and it is a fraction of the opening's face area — so the quantity is read off the vent's own literature, not measured with a tape. And because section 1503.5 imports the vent product's printed instructions, those instructions are part of what the code requires, which puts the same document in front of both the building official and the warranty administrator.

The tier being sold is a row in a table, and the row states what it buys

The decision a homeowner is actually offered is between product groups with different letters attached to the same word. The document sets them out in a table; the columns that matter are not the tier name but the four terms below, each of which changes what is owed and when.

Warranty terms by product group, as stated in Table 1 of CertainTeed's Asphalt Shingle Residential Products, 2026 Limited Warranty

Product group	Term	SureStart	Tear-off, metal work, flashing, disposal inside SureStart	Reduction per month	Wind term, base / upgraded	Algae
Landmark	Lifetime B	10 yr	Not covered or reimbursed	1/600	110 / 160 mph	25 yr
Landmark PRO, Landmark Premium, Landmark TL	Lifetime A	10 yr	Included	1/600	110 / 160 mph	30 yr
Grand Manor, Presidential, Carriage House, Belmont, Highland Slate	Lifetime A	10 yr	Included	1/600	110 / 130 mph	30 yr
Patriot, Patriot XL	Lifetime B	10 yr	Not covered or reimbursed	1/600	110 / 130 mph	10 yr
XT 25	25 years	5 yr	Not covered or reimbursed	1/300	60 mph	—— no figure: the transcription of Table 1 held for this page records none
One manufacturer's current document, transcribed from its own table. VERBATIM The cell marked —— had no figure in the transcription opened for this page and is left empty rather than filled by inference. Lifetime A and Lifetime B are the document's own labels; they cap a non-individual owner at 50 and 40 years respectively and they decide whether tear-off, metal work, flashing and disposal are covered during the SureStart period. Algae terms prorate before they expire: 30-year algae products after 15 years, 25-year after 10.

Read down the columns rather than across the row and the trade-offs separate. Where the decision is about the first ten years — a roof going onto a house the owner intends to keep, where a manufacturing defect would otherwise mean paying twice for tear-off and disposal — the Lifetime A groups are the ones whose SureStart period includes that work, and the Landmark name alone does not settle which group applies. Where the decision is about wind on an exposed site, the upgraded term is the same 160 mph on Landmark and Landmark PRO and lasts fifteen years on both, so the difference between them is not the wind figure. And where the decision is about a short holding period, XT 25's five-year non-prorated window and 1/300 reduction reach zero at twenty-five years, which is a shorter instrument that is at least described as one.

The document's own first remedy is a repair, not a roof

During the SureStart period the stated remedy is that the manufacturer repairs or replaces defective shingles at no charge[CertainTeed 2026]. That is a materials remedy for a materials defect, and it is worth separating from the two failures a homeowner is more likely to meet. A tab that blows off is usually a bond failure, and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety states the mechanism in one line: “sealant strength is a critical factor in resisting wind damage, particularly after hail impact,” and reports that wind and hail performance decreases as shingles age[IBHS]. A leak at a chimney, a valley or a vent boot is a flashing failure, and flashing is not a shingle — it is outside the prorated remedy on every tier, and section 1511.6 of the 2022 New York City Building Code separately requires that flashings “shall be reconstructed” in accordance with the manufacturer's installation instructions[BC 1511.6].

Neither of those is a reason to replace a roof plane, and neither is a warranty claim on the shingle. Sealant that failed on one slope can be hand-sealed; a valley or a boot can be rebuilt without touching the rest of the covering; and a repair keeps the existing warranty term running rather than starting a new instrument whose clock begins again.

The only third-party service-life figure held here says twenty years for asphalt

A warranty term is not a service life, and the two are routinely quoted as though they were the same measurement. One named third-party table exists in the material assembled for this site: the National Association of Home Builders' Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, § 21, which gives asphalt 20 years, modified bitumen 20, fiber cement 25, wood 30, simulated slate 50, slate 50+, and copper and clay or concrete tile “Lifetime”[NAHB 2007]. Its own narrative qualifies every row: “The life of a roof depends on local weather conditions, proper building and design, material quality, and adequate maintenance.”

The caveats on that table are not decoration and are stated here rather than buried. It is dated February 2007 and predates the current generation of sealants and SBS-modified shingles; it is national, with no coastal or New York City adjustment; TPO, EPDM and standing-seam metal have no row in it at all; its own source line names manufacturers and trade associations; and whether a more recent edition exists was not established. What survives all of that is the shape of the comparison: a document that calls a product “lifetime” and a document that gives the material twenty years are measuring different things, and only one of them is a promise.

What to put in writing before the tier is chosen for you

Every item below is answerable from paper, before any work starts, and none of them requires a homeowner to get on a roof. The city's own model estimate already contains the line that forces the first one: under warranties it directs the contractor to state them, and, in its own words, “If none, state none”[DCWP].

• The exact product name and the warranty document's title and year — not the tier word. Landmark and Landmark PRO carry different letters in the same table.
• Whether the product is Lifetime A or Lifetime B in that table, since the letter decides whether tear-off, metal work, flashing and disposal are covered during the non-prorated period.
• A priced line for the manufacturer's own starter shingles at eaves and rakes and for its specified hip and ridge accessories, both of which are conditions of the upgraded wind term.
• The ASTM D7158 classification printed on the bundle wrapper, which section 1504.1.1 of the 2022 New York City Building Code requires the packaging to bear, and which can be read on the driveway on the morning of the job.
• The net free ventilating area of the vents being installed, from the vent manufacturer's literature, against the 1/150 that section 1203.2 of the same edition requires — the condition on which the warranty's own ten-year ventilation clause turns.
• Whether the work is a replacement or a recover, in the words of section 1511 of that edition, since applying shingles over existing shingles forfeits the upgraded wind term.

Sources

[CertainTeed 2026]

CertainTeed. Asphalt Shingle Residential Products, 2026 Limited Warranty. Manufacturer document; Table 1 product terms, the definition of “Lifetime,” the SureStart period and its exclusions, the Reduction Figure Per Month and its floor, the ventilation provision, the wind warranty upgrade conditions, the labor-valuation clause and the overburden clause. Applies to CertainTeed products only. buildsite.com PDF · Retrieved 2026-08-06

[BC 1504.1.1]

New York City Department of Buildings. 2022 New York City Building Code, Chapter 15 — Roof Assemblies and Rooftop Structures, as amended by Local Law 77 of 2023 (eff. 2023-06-10), § 1504.1.1 and Table 1504.1.1, wind resistance and classification of asphalt shingles, including the packaging-label requirement. nyc.gov PDF

[BC 1503.5]

New York City Department of Buildings. 2022 New York City Building Code, Chapter 15, § 1503.5, Attic and rafter ventilation — intake and exhaust vents in accordance with § 1203.2 and the vent product's manufacturer's instructions. nyc.gov PDF

[BC 1511.3]

New York City Department of Buildings. 2022 New York City Building Code, Chapter 15, § 1511.3 and § 1511.3.1, roof replacement and the cases in which a roof recover is permitted, and § 1511.6, Flashings. The same subject matter is at § 1510 in the 2014 edition. nyc.gov PDF

[BC 1203.2]

New York City Department of Buildings. 2022 New York City Building Code, Chapter 12 — Interior Environment, § 1203.2, Attic spaces — cross ventilation, the 1-inch airspace and net free ventilating area of not less than 1/150 of the area of the space ventilated. No 1/300 reduction option appears in the section. nyc.gov PDF

[BC 1609.3]

New York City Department of Buildings. 2022 New York City Building Code, Chapter 16 — Structural Design, § 1609.3 and Table 1609.3, basic design wind speed; 117 mph at Risk Category II, an ultimate 3-second gust at 33 feet for Exposure Category C. nyc.gov PDF

[NAHB 2007]

National Association of Home Builders. Study of Life Expectancy of Home Components, February 2007, § 21 Roofing. National scope, no coastal or New York City adjustment; source line names NRCA, ARMA, GAF and Johns Manville. Mirror copy. PDF · Retrieved 2026-08-06

[IBHS]

Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. Asphalt Shingle Durability, on sealant strength as a factor in wind damage resistance and on wind and hail performance decreasing as shingles age. Research institution, national scope. ibhs.org · Retrieved 2026-08-06

[DCWP]

New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Home Improvement Sample Estimate, the warranties line — “If none, state none.” nyc.gov PDF · Retrieved 2026-08-06

[ACS 2024]

U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey, 2024 1-year estimates, Richmond County, New York (FIPS 36085), tables B25024 and B25037, units in structure and median year structure built, retrieved through the Census Reporter API. censusreporter.org · Retrieved 2026-08-06

Related

• At 117 mph the code requires ASTM D7158 Class G or H, printed on the bundle — because the classification on the wrapper is the wind number the code requires, as against the wind number the warranty offers.
• When the 2022 New York City Building Code forbids shingling over an existing roof — because applying shingles over existing shingles forfeits the upgraded wind term, and the code separately decides when a recover is permitted at all.
• The ice barrier is measured 24 inches inside the wall line, not up from the eave — because the ventilation the warranty conditions itself on is the same ventilation that governs the cold eave where ice forms.
• What is known about roof cost here, and how to read the estimate you were handed — because the lines this warranty excludes, tear-off and disposal and flashing, are lines on the estimate that pays for them.
• The checks that decide whether a New York City homeowner ever recovers money — because a manufacturer's warranty covers the shingle and not the installation, and the installer side is a different set of documents.