Everything one should know about warranty for sandwich panels

Most suppliers have formal warranty, which allows them to avoid responsibility. Contrary to that, leading European manufacturers use warranties, which specify in detail a number of warranted characteristics.

A correctly prepared warranty means, first of all, confirmation by the manufacturer of the stated characteristics, which directly affect the durability of sandwich panels and their proper operation throughout the whole useful life of a building. Therefore, prior to buying sandwich panels, it is necessary to find out which characteristics of products are covered by the warranty.

How should a warranty be executed?

Warranty for sandwich panels has to be executed on the supplier’s company paper, be sealed and signed by the responsible official, with indication of the order number, date of manufacture and delivery of the products.

Which parameters of sandwich panels have to be specified in a warranty?

1. Insulation warranty.

Under DSTU EN 14509, during operation in normal conditions, sandwich panels must preserve their insulating capacity for at least 5 years. In this case, the useful life of insulation materials shall be at least 25 years.

2. Warranty for structural integrity.

Sandwich panels must preserve their mechanical properties in normal operation conditions without loss of their structural integrity for at least 5 years. Structural integrity means a condition, in which the lining does not peel off from the core.

3. Warranty for technical condition of the steel lining.

Depending on the type of lining polymer coating, the warranty period for the steel lining of a sandwich panel (absence of penetration corrosion) shall comprise:

n/a* – not applicable (-)* – not covered

4. Warranty for aesthetic appearance of steel facing.

This warranty covers cracking, peeling or separation of polymer coating from the surface of steel sheets, as well as substantial and uneven change of colour.

The warranty for aesthetic appearance shall be at least:

n/a* – not applicable (-)* – not covered

Exclusions and terms of warranty

It is very important to pay attention to the non-warranty cases, which occur more and more often due to incorrect assembly or operation. Such cases may include usage of unsuitable cutting tools, which burn the polymer coating; electrochemical corrosion caused by exposure of metals to different electrochemical activity; availability of unprotected cut edges; usage of unsuitable fixings or accessories; incorrect operation etc.

Actions in case of occurrence of a warranty case

Warranty claims shall be communicated to the supplier by phone and in writing via a registered letter, when a defect is discovered, but not later than expiry of the warranty period.

A claim shall include the following information:

• Contact details of the buyer’s responsible representative;
• Documents confirming purchase of the sandwich panels;
• Description of the nature of a defect and date of its discovery;
• Copy of a correctly filled warranty document.

Which documents is a warranty supplemented with?

To minimize occurrence of warranty cases, the leading sandwich panels manufacturers supplement delivery of their products with additional documents, which assist the buyer in safe usage of sandwich panels. Such documents include manuals on design, transportation, loading and unloading, assembly, and operation of sandwich panels.