Welcome to our in-depth Milgard Windows Warranty guide. Whether you’re a homeowner, contractor, or a potential buyer of Milgard products, understanding these warranties can help you make informed decisions and maintain your windows effectively. However, the language used in legal documents, like warranties, can be challenging to understand. This article will serve as a read-along guide for you to make sense of your new window warranty. It will also help if you are considering purchasing Milgard replacement windows and want to learn more about their industry-leading warranties.
Of the Milgard replacement windows we carry, the Full Lifetime Warranty covers our vinyl replacement windows: the Milgard Tuscany Series V400 and Trinsic Series V300 product lines. You’re entitled to this warranty if you are the original owner of an owner-occupied residential dwelling within the service territory. Outside this territory, you receive a Lifetime Limited Warranty, while all other owners of the covered product get a 10-year Limited Warranty. The following is our section-by-section interpretation of Milgard’s Full Lifetime Warranty.
Read-Along Guide for Milgard’s Full Lifetime Warranty
Coverage: Which Milgard Windows Are Protected by the Full Lifetime Warranty?
The Full Lifetime Warranty specifically covers Milgard-labeled windows and doors sold after October 4, 2021, in the United States or Canada. If a significant problem arises due to material or workmanship affecting usage or vision through the insulated glass unit, Milgard will provide replacement parts. The V450 and Style Line Series | V250 are included in the Full Lifetime Warranty only if the lifetime warranty upgrade is purchased at sale and documented in the order.
Full Lifetime Warranty: Are Your Replacement Windows Really Protected for Life?
If you buy Milgard windows for your house (a single-family home, townhouse, or condo) and are the first to live there with those new windows, Milgard has you covered. If you live there, they’ll fix any significant problems with the windows for free. However, this offer is good only if your house is in Milgard’s Service Territory.
Also, if you have Tuscany Series windows and the glass breaks, don’t worry. You have glass breakage coverage. Milgard will replace the glass for free if you live there. If you have Trinsic Series windows, this applies too, but only if you bought the extra glass breakage coverage when you purchased the windows. Remember, this doesn’t cover glass that breaks due to bad installation, natural disasters (like fires or earthquakes), riots, the house settling, or problems with the walls or foundation. It also doesn’t cover special types of glass, like V-Groove, laminated glass, windows with blinds inside them, or glass in garden windows.
Lifetime Limited Warranty: What Happens If You Aren’t in Milgard’s Service Territory?
If you’re the original owner of a residential dwelling outside the Service Territory, Milgard will provide parts to correct any significant issues for as long as you live there. However, you’ll be responsible for inspection, labor, and shipping costs. Read our Milgard window troubleshooting guide to make sure it’s an issue you can’t easily fix yourself before contacting Milgard.
10-Year Limited Warranty: What if You Sell Your Home?
Milgard offers a 10-year limited warranty for buildings that aren’t just regular homes where the owner lives. It includes offices or buildings with renters, homes sold to new owners, or properties not owned by individuals. This warranty covers problems with their windows or doors (called a “Nonconformity”). If a nonconformity occurs, Milgard will give you the parts to fix it for free, as long as you ask within ten years from the date they were made.
If your building is in Milgard’s Service Territory, they’ll even send someone skilled to do the repair work for free, as long as it’s within ten years of when the windows or doors were made. Check out the detailed part of the warranty for more on what counts as skilled labor.
Modified Coverages: Are There Any Special Conditions?
For certain issues, Milgard offers modified coverages, different than the standard coverage outlined in the warranty. These modified coverages include:
- Capstock frames: 10-year coverage for color change or deterioration.
- Painted & fiberglass frames: 10 years for excessive wear signs.
- Blinds and integral shades: 10 years for significant issues.
- Stress cracks, weatherstripping, and insect screens: One-year coverage.
- Stainless steel hardware: One year for corrosion.
- Laminated and impact IGU: Five-year coverage under the 10-Year Limited Warranty; simulated divided light: 10 years.
Disclaimers & Limitation of Remedies: Understanding the Legal Side of Things
This section essentially states that the remedies provided in Milgard’s warranty are the only options available to the product owner for any issues. No additional legal claims are possible. Milgard states it is not liable for indirect damages, such as personal injury, lost profits, or decreased product value. The warranty doesn’t guarantee the product’s suitability for a specific purpose or its longevity. Also, Milgard will not provide compensation that exceeds the cost of fulfilling the applicable warranty terms. While some states may not allow certain limitations in this warranty, it still grants specific legal rights that can vary by state. Finally, it explains that changes to the warranty must be in writing from an authorized Milgard representative, and the validity of one part of the warranty doesn’t affect the rest.
Skilled Labor for 10-Year Limited Warranty: What if You Can’t Fix Your Replacement Window Yourself?
This section is for complex repairs requiring expert skills (skilled labor). Milgard defines skilled labor as jobs requiring specific expertise or special tools you might not have. However, simple tasks, like replacing a window sash or a lock, don’t need skilled labor and can be managed without specialist help. In these cases, Milgard will only cover the cost of shipping the required parts.
It’s also stated that Milgard won’t pay for any work needed beyond fixing their product, like repairing your wall or trim, nor will they cover the labor cost if the entire window or door needs to be replaced. If you miss a scheduled repair appointment, Milgard might leave the parts with you and could charge a fee for returning to complete the service. Finally, if you live outside Milgard’s service territory, costs related to inspections, repairs, and shipping will be your responsibility.
Excluded Conditions: What Milgard’s Full Lifetime Warranty Will Not Cover
Excluded conditions are things that are not covered by the warranty. Remember, Milgard’s warranty only covers problems that are definitely due to a fault in the product. If there’s field testing, they must know about it and agree to it beforehand. They’re not responsible if the windows don’t work well with the rest of your building or its design.
Also, while Milgard tests their products in labs to ensure they perform well, they can’t guarantee that every single item will always match these test results exactly due to natural variations in materials and manufacturing. And for windows with special gases inside for better insulation, Milgard doesn’t guarantee that these gases will stay at a specific level or perform consistently.
Milgard’s warranty won’t cover problems or damage if they’re caused by:
- Installation Issues: If the windows or doors weren’t installed right, including not following building codes or plans, putting them in the wrong kind of openings, or if your building settles or has structural problems.
- Normal Aging: Things that naturally happen over time, like wear and tear, fading, getting chalky or darker, rusting (except for stainless steel parts), and not taking care of the windows or doors as you should. If you don’t use parts meant to move (like opening and closing windows), or if moisture inside your house causes problems.
- Glass Issues: Glass breakage (unless you’ve specifically purchased glass breakage coverage), small marks, scratches, or other minor flaws generally acceptable in glass quality, or damage from sunlight reflecting off the windows.
- Changes You Make: If you alter or modify the windows in any way, like adding tints, films, different paint, or attaching security systems or window coverings that affect their performance.
- Rough Treatment: Using too much force or harsh chemicals like power washing, acidic or abrasive cleaners, or damage from natural events or anything else out of Milgard’s control.
Warranty Claim Process: How Do You File a Claim?
This section explains the steps to take to make a warranty claim. Remember, Milgard reserves the right to discontinue or modify its products. When that occurs, they will substitute parts or products of equal value or quality. If they can’t provide a replacement or the repair is not commercially practicable or cannot be done promptly, they may elect to refund the purchase price of the affected product. Here’s what you need to do if you need to file a warranty claim:
- If you notice something wrong with your Milgard windows or doors, you must tell them immediately. You can do this by filling out a service request form or calling them at 1-800-MILGARD (1-800-645-4273).
- Make sure you report the problem while your warranty is still valid, and do it within 30 days of when you first noticed the issue.
- When you report the problem, you’ll need to give them your contact info, the order number of the product, and a clear description of what’s wrong. If you can, include photos to show the issue.
- After you report the problem, Milgard will check things out. They might even come to see the product themselves.
- Make sure they can easily get to the windows or doors that need fixing by removing curtains or blinds, turning off security alarms, moving furniture out of the way, or even setting up scaffolding or ladders if the product is hard to reach. Remember, this part is on you, including any costs involved.
- If Milgard can fix the issue, they’ll provide the necessary parts. These parts might look slightly different from the originals, but they’ll work just as well. If they can’t fix it, or if it’s too difficult or takes too long, they might choose to refund you the purchase price instead.
Requirements Before Initiating Legal Proceeding
This process is separate from standard warranty service requests. Before filing any legal claim, you must submit a Notice of Legal Claim form and wait 45 days for Milgard to respond and propose a resolution.
Window Safety: Milgard Can Provide Additional Safety Measures if Needed
This section states that Milgard screens are for insect prevention only, not for security or fall prevention, so if you need windows with fall prevention devices, consult Milgard for available options.
Read-Along Guide for Milgard’s Lifetime Limited Warranty
The Lifetime Limited Warranty covers our Milgard Ultra Series C650 Fiberglass Windows. It offers a lifetime warranty for the window mainframe for the original owner of an owner-occupied residential dwelling and 20 years of coverage for Insulated Glass Units (IGUs) and components, while commercial applications have a 10-year coverage for all parts.
This article section will only cover the sections unique to this warranty. All the other sections are the same as those in the Lifetime Warranty explained above.
Residential Dwelling: Types of Buildings Milgard’s Lifetime Limited Warranty Covers
For residential dwellings (single-family homes, townhouses, or condos), Milgard will provide parts to correct issues for the original owner, including free mainframe parts for life and IGU & components for 20 years from the manufacture date. Any subsequent owners are also covered for ten years.
Commercial Application: How the Lifetime Limited Warranty Applies to Businesses
Milgard will provide parts for mainframes, IGU, or components at no charge for claims within ten years of manufacture for commercial properties and non-residential structures.
Labor & Shipping: How to Get Your Replacement Parts
Milgard will cover skilled labor and shipping costs for claims within ten years of manufacture in their service territory. However, you are responsible for non-skilled labor costs and additional material or surface repairs. Also, labor costs are not covered for complete replacements. Finally, owners must provide access to the product, including any necessary setup for hard-to-reach areas.
Milgard Warranty Features Compared to Andersen & ProVia
Milgard vs. Andersen vs. ProVia Warranty
Milgard’s warranties are considered the best in the industry, primarily due to their inclusive and customer-centric approach. Compared to competitors like Andersen and ProVia, Milgard’s industry-leading warranty is more advantageous due to its inclusion of labor costs for repairs, a benefit not consistently offered by others. Plus, their warranty coverage extends across various product lines, offering a tailored approach that is more flexible than the limited, product-specific warranties of Andersen and ProVia. This combination of comprehensive coverage, transferability, and inclusive labor makes Milgard’s warranties stand out in the window manufacturing sector.
Milgard offers two main types of warranties: the Full Lifetime Warranty and the Lifetime Limited Warranty. The Full Lifetime Warranty primarily caters to the original owner within Milgard’s Service Territory, offering comprehensive coverage. At the same time, the Lifetime Limited Warranty applies to various Milgard products with specific terms for residential and commercial applications.
Let Us Know if You Have Any Questions About Milgard Window Warranties
That’s all for our warranty read-along. While we want to ensure you understand the warranty of your replacement windows, understand that Milgard’s award-winning windows are incredibly high quality. The likelihood that you will ever need to make a warranty claim is extremely low. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us, and we will do our best to provide the answers you need.
