When is a waterproofing guarantee not a guarantee?
What is the biggest issue with structural waterproofing?
Designers and clients always ask for manufacturer or supplier guarantees.
Manufacturers offer long term overarching guarantees.
Most guarantees offered by any manufacturer / supplier are not guarantees for waterproofing.
For the most part these guarantees do not offer any real benefit to the client and can leave the client and or the design team with financial loss, a delayed program or much worse.
It’s worse for the design and build contractor
When a basement leaks the contractor turns to the waterproofing company. If they are not suitably insured, they will not, and cannot help. Nobody will be able to claim off a manufacturer guarantee. It is normally the building contractor or client who must pay for the remedial works, which can be hugely expensive and disruptive.
Insurance companies deal with many millions of pounds worth of claims with regards to basement flooding. Most are covered by worthless guarantees.
A guarantee is only a proper guarantee if it comes from one company covering design, materials and installation.
Manufacturer guarantees only cover materials and specifically exclude design and installation.
Waterproofing failures are nearly always design or installation issues and therefore not covered.
The client will always want a meaningful guarantee, but most fall well short of meaningful. If it does not cover design, supply and installation it is not going to protect the client, the main contractor or the design team.
In nearly every instance of a failure, it is the main contractor or client who ends up with the liability and the costs unless they have a guarantee from the installing contractor, and that guarantee is covered by insurance.
The biggest cause of ongoing, expensive & disruptive problems is the manufacturer guarantee. They look reasonable on the face of it and they will claim they cover everything.
THEY DO NOT
The terms will explicitly limit the guarantee to the cost of replacing the materials. They will not cover investigations, remediations and loss.
The manufacturer will offer design and details but will not accept any liability for installation.
The manufacturer may offer to carry out inspections and even on site training, but in the event of a problem they will be very clear that they do not have any liability for remediation.
They might have an arrangement with an approved contractor but then you need to be in contract with the contractor and they need to have insurance to cover their guarantees, Most do not.
Before relying on a manufacturer guarantee, Ask:
- If we have an issue, who investigates? The manufacturer will not pay to investigate
- If we have an issue who pays for remediation? it will not be the manufacturer
- Are there any limitations or caveats? All manufacturer guarantees have caveats excluding the workmanship and design.
You need the answers in writing.
Beware of the Insurance Backed Guarentee
Most contractors only offer IBG and manufacturer guarantees. Insurance backed guarantees only come into effect if the contractor has ceased to trade.
Insurance backed guarantees are limited to the cost of the original contract or 100k whichever is the lowest figure.
This is never enough to service a claim.
To claim, you have to pay for investigations to prove liability.
MacLennan guarantees are insured product warranties.
They cover design, supply and installation.
All design is covered by our 10 million PI.
No split responsibility, no argument no risk to client or design team.
To protect the client and all other stake holders from split responsibility insist on an insured product warranty from MacLennan.
Our product is not the materials used. Our product is a permanently dry basement. That is guaranteed.
The MacLennan warranty is the best available in the industry. It is your USP.
Our guarantees cover all work carried out by MacLennan including design, materials and installation.
MacLennan take the risk out of waterproofing.
Ian MacLennan CSRT \ CSSW \ WDS \ ACABE
Comapny Chairmam