Two Warranties, Not One
Every roof waterproofing job involves two separate warranties. The first is the material warranty, issued by the manufacturer of the membrane — Sika, BASF Master Builders, Mariseal, Conpro, and similar brands. The second is the workmanship warranty, issued by the contractor who applied it.
These two warranties cover completely different things. Material warranty covers product defects — say, the membrane delaminating because of a manufacturing flaw. Workmanship warranty covers installation errors — bad surface preparation, wrong thickness, missed details around drains. Most leaks in Singapore come from workmanship, not material failure.
Typical Warranty Lengths in Singapore
Workmanship warranties for residential roof waterproofing usually run between 5 and 10 years. Material warranties from major manufacturers can run 10 to 20 years on the membrane itself, but only if the system is installed exactly to specification and only on substrates the manufacturer approves.
Some contractors quote a single "10-year warranty" that bundles both. Read carefully — usually only the material side actually extends to 10 years, while the workmanship portion is shorter.
What Typically Voids a Warranty
Walking on an exposed membrane with heavy foot traffic, installing aircon condensers or solar panels without proper protection, repainting the surface with the wrong paint, and applying any kind of patch repair using a different product can all void the warranty. So can letting another contractor work on the roof during the warranty period.
Natural disasters and "acts of God" — extreme storm damage, structural movement, falling tree branches — are also usually excluded. So is any leak caused by a failure outside the waterproofed zone, like cracked tiles on a pitched roof feeding water behind a parapet.
What a Strong Warranty Should Contain
A good written warranty names the exact membrane system used, lists the area covered in square metres, states the warranty period clearly, names what is covered (typically water ingress through the waterproofed area), names what is excluded, and explains the claim process.
It should also name the legal entity issuing the warranty. A warranty from a sole proprietorship that may not exist in five years is worth less than one from an established Pte Ltd with a track record.
Documenting the Job for Future Claims
Ask the contractor for photos of every stage — surface preparation, primer coat, first coat of membrane, reinforcement at details, second coat, and final cured surface. Photos with timestamps protect both sides if a claim is ever needed.
Keep the original quote, the invoice, the warranty certificate, and any product datasheets together in a single folder. If you sell the home, hand the folder to the buyer. A documented waterproofing system is a selling point for landed property.
How DirectHome Handles Warranty
The waterproofing specialists we partner with issue both a workmanship warranty in writing and the corresponding material warranty from the system manufacturer. We hold copies on file so that if you misplace yours, we can retrieve them.
If you suspect a warranty issue, the first call is to us. We coordinate the inspection, the diagnosis, and the rectification work. You do not have to argue with a contractor or chase a manufacturer — that is what we are here for.
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