The 'Other Warranty'

The written warranty isn’t a facility executive’s only legal protection from problems with a roof. A roofing membrane, like other products, comes with an implied warranty. An implied warranty is something that is generally understood without being directly spelled out. Implied warranties cover the performance that can reasonably be expected from a material marketed for a specific purpose. This is also known as “merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.”
For instance, if a material is marketed as a roof membrane, there is an implied warranty that the material, if properly installed, will prevent water from passing through it. This is an implied warranty because that is what roof membranes are supposed to do. There is also an implied warranty that the material will continue to perform if properly maintained unless acted upon by an outside force — fire, bombings, winds higher than design values, for example — because it is generally understood that roof membranes are not intended to perform when subjected to these influences. Implied warranties can also be negated by information supplied by materials manufacturers properly warning the consumer ahead of time of defects that may occur.
For instance, roofing manufacturers warn that traffic over the roof can damage the membrane. If a facility executive is told this fact ahead of time, there can be no reasonable expectation that the problem will not occur. For example, there is no implied warranty that the membrane will not prematurely wear out at the roof access door where there is constant traffic.
One important implied warranty is that the material conforms to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). This code gives the consumer the right to expect that, when a product is sold, it will perform for its intended use, i.e., that a roof membrane material, if properly installed, will prevent liquid water from passing through it. All products are covered under the UCC, unless this implied warranty is contractually waived elsewhere, such as by clause in a written warranty.
If the written warranty includes language that excludes or is in lieu of implied warranties, it means that the UCC no longer applies. If this exclusion exists in a materials-only warranty, check with an attorney as it may be best to decline the warranty entirely.