# What is your typical labor warranty?



## rtztgue (Jul 9, 2010)

Our Typical warranty is 90 days labor and then manufacturers warranty on parts. So if a part breaks in 9 months then we will certainly warranty the part but the customer must pay the labor to R&R. 

I now have a client that wants me to sign a contract with 2 year warranty on labor. This is a simple wiring job (no parts) but I am curious how common that is. I have seen 1 year to be much more common. 

My initial thought is to strike it out and either put 90 days or 1 year, but I figured I would ask other contractors what is most common.


So, What is your typical labor warranty?


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## CQC (Aug 5, 2013)

We take a bit of a different approach with clients. If anything should ever go awry, with any of our work, we want to know about whenever it occurs. Whether it is 90 days or 9 years, it doesn't matter. We will come take care of it. That's why we call it a Lifetime Warranty.


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## Jason Abbott (Feb 11, 2011)

CQC said:


> Whether is is 90 days 9 years, it doesn't matter. We will come take care of it.


That is exactly how we feel too. 
funny how the only call backs we seem to get are for more work. :thumbup:


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## CQC (Aug 5, 2013)

Jason Abbott said:


> That is exactly how we feel too.
> funny how the only call backs we seem to get are for more work. :thumbup:



Same here!


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## blacktop (Oct 28, 2012)

Jason Abbott said:


> That is exactly how we feel too.
> funny how the only call backs we seem to get are for more work. :thumbup:





CQC said:


> We take a bit of a different approach with clients. If anything should ever go awry, with any of our work, we want to know about whenever it occurs. Whether it is 90 days or 9 years, it doesn't matter. We will come take care of it. That's why we call it a Lifetime Warranty.


SAME HERE! It never really amounts to much .Best to keep a good name .


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## go dart (Dec 6, 2005)

rtztgue said:


> Our Typical warranty is 90 days labor and then manufacturers warranty on parts. So if a part breaks in 9 months then we will certainly warranty the part but the customer must pay the labor to R&R.
> 
> I now have a client that wants me to sign a contract with 2 year warranty on labor. This is a simple wiring job (no parts) but I am curious how common that is. I have seen 1 year to be much more common.
> 
> ...


Actually you're not providing a warrenty on anything after 90 days so your statement "we will certainly warrenty the part" is incorrect.


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## rtztgue (Jul 9, 2010)

go dart said:


> Actually you're not providing a warrenty on anything after 90 days so your statement "we will certainly warrenty the part" is incorrect.


You lost me on that one. What we do is replace the part and not charge for it. Here is an example.

We install a part and two years later is goes bad. If the part has a 3 year warranty on it then we return to site, replace the part, and leave. We charge a trip charge and the labor but we do not charge for the part. Now, some of these parts have several years or even lifetime warranties. I am not about to give free labor for that. To be honest though, it never really comes up. 

At the moment I am just curious to know if a 2 year warranty on labor is standard for a contract. In this case I don't really see it being an issue since we are only running wire. That rarely fails. If anything will be warrantied it will be the equipment tied to the wires. And we are not installing that.


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## FSCROB (Aug 5, 2013)

The short answer is No. Most warranties are only 1 year on labor. The only time I have seen a 2+ year warranty is for government work.


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## rtztgue (Jul 9, 2010)

Ah, that may explain this contract. This is for a city building. Okay, so one year standard and two can be seen for government. That is why I have one year stuck in my head as standard. Most our work is service and repair. we come across new job construction which is how I heard of the one year.

Thanks for the help


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## CarpenterSFO (Dec 12, 2012)

5 years


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

1 Year.


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## Oconomowoc (Oct 13, 2011)

5 years parts and labor. Unconditional.


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## TBFGhost (Oct 9, 2008)

NJ state law requires 1 year. I state 1 year on contracts but if they called me 10 years from now and something fails that wasn't front wear and tear I would fix it.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Guys you can't compare a security/electronics company's labour warranty to that of construction. We have to deal with a massive amount of failures and we are responsible for paying the shipping on sending back the replacement and the labour.


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## Oconomowoc (Oct 13, 2011)

Inner10 said:


> Guys you can't compare a security/electronics company's labour warranty to that of construction. We have to deal with a massive amount of failures and we are responsible for paying the shipping on sending back the replacement and the labour.


You have massive amounts of failures?

(Pats self on back. Takes a bow)


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Oconomowoc said:


> You have massive amounts of failures?
> 
> (Pats self on back. Takes a bow)


Compared to your ball valves and elbows....sh!t yes.


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## FSCROB (Aug 5, 2013)

Speaking of security I need a good source for cameras. Can anyone point me in the right direction.
I am looking a cellular camera that is motion activated. I have seen these at Cabella's for tracking game. I like these because I can monitor it from my phone.


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## CompleteW&D (May 28, 2011)

On paper, we warranty all of our workmanship for five years. But, honestly.... if we get a call after that and it's a failure due to installation, we're gonna take care of it no questions asked.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

FSCROB said:


> Speaking of security I need a good source for cameras. Can anyone point me in the right direction.
> I am looking a cellular camera that is motion activated. I have seen these at Cabella's for tracking game. I like these because I can monitor it from my phone.


Soooo many options...what's the budget?


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Oconomowoc said:


> You have massive amounts of failures?
> 
> (Pats self on back. Takes a bow)


Mike one thing about plumbing is workmanship is almost everything. If you crimp pex crooked or ring solder a pipe you can have a ticking time bomb. Us electronics workers encounter vastly more equipment failures which are not the result of the installation but we are left holding the bag.

I'm pretty lenient about my warranty...but for instance in the time span of 2 months I had 3 controllers die...each one took almost 2 days to replace and reprogram the clients custom settings. I paid 100 bucks shipping, gas for my truck and a solid week of working for free...and to top it off angry clients who couldn't use their lights, tv, audio etc...all because of a manufacturer defect that turned into a time bomb 8 months down the road.

Needless to say I don't sell that brand anymore...but it still happens...and price of products has nothing to do with it.


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## FSCROB (Aug 5, 2013)

Inner10 said:


> Soooo many options...what's the budget?


Like every client my budget is small.:laughing: 
Just kidding the cameras I saw cost about $300
I actually have no idea what I should expect to spend. I just know retail is more then wholesale.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

FSCROB said:


> Like every client my budget is small.:laughing:
> Just kidding the cameras I saw cost about $300
> I actually have no idea what I should expect to spend. I just know retail is more then wholesale.


Many factors to consider, but if you want a day/night camera with ir, sd card for storage, outdoor ip66, power injector, variable zoom and focus etc. You are looking at about 5-6 hundred bucks...and you have to run a network cable to it.

If you want fixed focus and record to an external nas or nvr they start around 200.


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## FSCROB (Aug 5, 2013)

Inner10 said:


> Many factors to consider, but if you want a day/night camera with ir, sd card for storage, outdoor ip66, power injector, variable zoom and focus etc. You are looking at about 5-6 hundred bucks...and you have to run a network cable to it.
> 
> If you want fixed focus and record to an external nas or nvr they start around 200.


Thanks for the info. I need something that has it's own Internet since it will be on sites without Internet. I will most likely get the tracking cameras and add them to my cell phone plan.


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## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

FSCROB said:


> Thanks for the info. I need something that has it's own Internet since it will be on sites without Internet. I will most likely get the tracking cameras and add them to my cell phone plan.


Those are few and far between. Look up e-line for a cellular cloud based camera.


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## FSCROB (Aug 5, 2013)

Inner10 said:


> Those are few and far between. Look up e-line for a cellular cloud based camera.


Thanks


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## Eric K (Nov 24, 2005)

I have the 15/51 warranty. 15 min after I leave or by the time I hit route 51 whichever comes first. My Pittsburgh friends will get it. Haha


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## Fine Edge (Jul 13, 2013)

10 years on all of our hardscape installations. But, I tell people that if anything ever goes wrong, give me a call. 

I also tell them if they want me to write a longer warranty in the contract, I will. Nobody ever mentions the warranty again.
A lot of it has to do with the knowledge, experience and confidence you portray to the client.

I'd hate to be in a business where you have to rely on malfunction prone items ( ie: the electrical field)!


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## philcav7 (Jan 15, 2009)

FSCROB said:


> Thanks for the info. I need something that has it's own Internet since it will be on sites without Internet. I will most likely get the tracking cameras and add them to my cell phone plan.


My buddy just put one up at his hunting camp and it's outstanding image quality for a trail cam. 8MP, I belive it looked great. 

Just be sure you can control delay. I think his has 30 seconds before it snaps a pic not sure if his is adjustable or what brand it is.


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## FSCROB (Aug 5, 2013)

Thanks I was wondering if they worked. I am going to get some next time I am at Cabella's.


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## renov8r (Feb 16, 2013)

I've only had a few people ask about warranty. Non for work I've done. Only on products, but I tell them straight up the warranty for products is with the manufacturer not me, which is the truth. If something was installed incorrectly, then I will gladly come by and address the situation. However, if I mount a TV on the wall and the TV stops working a year later its not my fault its the cheap tv company. 

I always give my customers reassurance, that if anything goes wrong give me a polite call first and I can diagnose the situation first.


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## Randy Bush (Mar 7, 2011)

Eric K said:


> I have the 15/51 warranty. 15 min after I leave or by the time I hit route 51 whichever comes first. My Pittsburgh friends will get it. Haha


Tail light warranty is a good one too. :thumbup:


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