My client asked me this and I had no answer. Why does MasterSpec refer to warranties as “special warranties”?
Agree that term is a bit vague. MasterSpec does distinguish “special” warranty from “manufacturer’s” warranty (016000):
- Manufacturer’s Warranty: Written warranty furnished by individual manufacturer for a particular product and specifically endorsed by manufacturer to Owner.
- Special Warranty: Written warranty required by the Contract Documents to provide specific rights for Owner.
I’ve reviewed and researched this topic over and over, but I can never remember anything when the topic comes up. There’s got to be a better approach.
…here is a more up to date version:
- Manufacturer’s Warranty: Written standard warranty form furnished by individual manufacturer for a particular product and issued in the name of the Owner or endorsed by manufacturer to Owner.
- Special Warranty: Written warranty required by the Contract Documents to provide specific rights for Owner and issued in the name of the Owner or endorsed by manufacturer to Owner.
This qauestion came up on Section 084113 Aluminum Entrances and Storefronts. In this section there are three warranties. “Special Warranty” covers failures of the aluminum parts. There are then two finish warranties, “Special Finish Warranty, Factory-Applied Finishes” and “Special Finish Warranty, Anodized Finishes”.
It used to be in SectionFormat, defined as “Include statements specific to this Section that supplement or extend warranties contained in the Contracting Requirements”. It was at the end of Part 1 under the Warranties Article after Manufacturer’s Warranty.
Is that no longer current?
A one year “correction after completion” period is included in AIA Document A201, hence a one year warranty is not necessary to describe (only if A201 is used).
Specifying extended (special) warranties may limit the Owner’s ability to collect under state and federal statutes including the Uniform Commercial Code.
To answer your question, I don’t know why special warranty term is used throughout MasterSpec.
See CSI CSPG, Second Edition and SectionFormat, page SF.19
I could be wrong, but have always understood the distinction to be that a Special Warranty is written specifically for the project, as opposed to manufacturer’s standard published warranty. The Special Warranty might very well include the same language as the standard warranty, although requirements can be modified by provisions in the spec. From a (legal) layman’s perspective, there doesn’t seem to be a significant difference between the two unless the spec substantially alters the requirements.
Jeffrey’s understanding aligns with mine, too. Which means that they may not be possible to get from many manufacturers.