How long do the manufacturers' warranties on appliances and windows last?

Appliances typically ship with a one-year full manufacturer warranty with extended coverage available at purchase. Windows carry a ten- to twenty-year manufacturer warranty on the glass unit and frame components. Roofing runs ten to fifty years depending on the product. HVAC parts run five to ten years.

Custom Home Warranty in Florida: What Your One-Year Workmanship Guarantee Actually Covers

Most custom home buyers in Florida assume the builder hands over a ten-year structural warranty at closing the way a national tract builder might. That is not how it works in a hand-built custom home in St. Petersburg, and understanding the actual warranty structure before you sign the contract saves you from a common surprise about six months in when a nail pop or hairline drywall crack shows up and you are trying to figure out whose problem it is. Here is what a Florida custom home warranty typically covers, what layers on top from the manufacturers of your appliances and finishes, and where you have legal protection even after the written warranty runs out.

The One-Year Workmanship Warranty Is the Baseline

The industry-standard warranty that follows a custom home in Florida is a one-year workmanship warranty. Revolution offers a one-year bumper-to-bumper warranty on workmanship, which covers defects in labor and installation across everything the builder or its crews put in place — framing, drywall, tile, paint, trim, cabinet install, plumbing rough-in, electrical rough-in, and the transitions between all of those.

Jeremy Wharton describes what "workmanship" means in practice: "Clients get after the project — our warranties are a one-year warranty bumper-to-bumper. They are going to get warranty information on appliances, fixtures, and things like that saved into our database so they can access it whenever they need it."

The clock on that year starts at the certificate of occupancy, not the closing date or the day you move in. On a straightforward custom home, those three dates are close together. On a project where you take possession before final CO, the CO is still the anchor.

What a Workmanship Warranty Covers — and Doesn't

The warranty covers defects. It does not cover wear-and-tear, owner-caused damage, weather events, or the normal settling movement that every new house goes through in its first eighteen months. Hairline cracks in drywall where a header meets a stud bay — that is settling, not a defect. A door that binds after Florida's humid summer — that is seasonal wood movement, adjustable but not typically a warranty claim. A grout line that failed on a shower floor within six months — that is a defect.

The distinction matters because a lot of what looks like a warranty issue in the first year is actually settling that a builder will still come back and address as part of the relationship. Jeremy's framing: "If they were to find something beyond that year warranty that is clearly an issue that we caused, we're typically going to work with them to make it right as easily and quickly as we can with a minimum of expense to them, if any." That is an informal relationship-based approach, not a written warranty extension — worth knowing the difference when you evaluate builders.

Manufacturers' Warranties Layer on Top

The workmanship warranty covers installation. The manufacturers' warranties cover the products themselves, and those layer on top for years — sometimes decades — after the workmanship year ends.

A partial map of what a Pinellas County custom home typically ships with:

Roofing: material warranties from ten to fifty years depending on the product, plus a separate workmanship warranty from the roofing sub
HVAC equipment: five- to ten-year parts warranty from Carrier, Trane, or the equivalent, with a separate one-year labor warranty from the installer
Appliances: one-year full manufacturer warranty on most, with extended coverage available at purchase
Windows: ten- to twenty-year manufacturer warranty on the glass unit and frame components
Plumbing fixtures: often a lifetime warranty from Kohler or Delta on the fixture body, one year on the finish
Waterproofing systems: on the higher-end bathrooms Revolution builds, the Schluter Kerdi shower system carries a lifetime warranty when installed to spec

A good builder gives you a folder — physical or digital — with every one of these documented and organized by trade so you can find the coverage when you need it, not on the day something breaks.

The Ten-Year Structural Warranty Question

A lot of buyers ask about a ten-year structural warranty because they have heard about them from friends in other states or from tract-builder marketing. Florida does not require a builder to provide a ten-year structural warranty. Some builders buy third-party structural warranty products from companies like 2-10 Home Buyers Warranty and pass those through to buyers; others do not. Whether one is included is a contract-level question you should ask before you sign.

Not having one bundled does not mean you have no protection past year one. Florida law provides a statute of limitations for latent construction defects — issues that would not have been visible during a normal inspection at CO but that trace back to a construction problem. As of the 2023 amendments to Florida Statute 95.11, that limitation is four years from discovery, with a seven-year statute of repose that caps the outer window. Your rights under that statute exist whether or not the builder wrote a specific structural warranty into the contract. A Florida construction attorney is the right person to walk through the specifics before you rely on it.

Punch List and the Callback Process

The one thing custom home buyers routinely conflate with the warranty is the punch list. They are different phases.

The punch list is the finish-work list generated at the end of construction: the paint touch-ups, the last few trim adjustments, the loose cabinet knob, the outlet cover that did not get installed. Jeremy defines punch list as "productive last bits that are billable work — not warranty work or rework we would be undertaking on our own behalf." The superintendent walks the house with the client, generates the list, works through it, then Revolution's project manager walks the house separately for a fresh-eye pass before the final client walkthrough.

Warranty callbacks are anything that surfaces after the certificate of occupancy inside the one-year window. On a custom home you should expect a couple of them — something always shows up. A responsive builder handles those as part of the relationship, not as a friction point.

What to Ask the Builder Before You Sign

Before you sign the construction contract, ask the builder to walk you through: what the workmanship warranty covers and what it excludes, whether any third-party structural warranty is bundled in, how they document manufacturer warranties for hand-off, and what their typical response time is on a warranty callback. Those four answers tell you most of what you need to know about how they will behave in year two of your relationship with the house.

For further reading, see the custom home building process for what happens before CO, and questions to ask before hiring a contractor for the broader pre-signing checklist.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Does a One-Year Workmanship Warranty Cover?

Defects in labor and installation across everything the builder or its crews put in place — framing, drywall, tile, paint, trim, cabinet install, plumbing rough-in, electrical rough-in, and the transitions between those trades. It does not cover wear-and-tear, owner-caused damage, weather events, or normal settling movement.

Does Florida Require a Ten-Year Structural Warranty?

No. Florida does not require a builder to provide a ten-year structural warranty. Some builders buy third-party structural warranty products and pass those through to buyers; others do not. Ask before you sign.

What's the Difference Between the Punch List and the Warranty?

The punch list is the finish-work list generated at the end of construction. Warranty callbacks are anything that surfaces after the certificate of occupancy inside the one-year window.

How Long Do Manufacturer Warranties Last?

Appliances typically one year with extended options. Windows ten to twenty years. Roofing ten to fifty years depending on product. HVAC parts five to ten years. Plumbing fixtures often lifetime on the fixture body.

Ready to Talk Through a Custom Home Build in St. Petersburg?

Call (727) 888-6161 for a free 48-hour estimate, or visit our custom home page to start a scope conversation. Revolution coordinates the design work with independent architects, runs the permitting, and handles construction on Time & Materials open-book pricing.