How should you handle a warranty callback?
Short answer. Promptly and in full. Your workmanship warranty is a binding obligation, so a defect from your installation within the warranty period is yours to fix, not the manufacturer's and not billable work.
Work it through
You're the contractor. Pick what you'd do, then see how each choice plays out.
Sarah Mitchell
First-time homeowner who wants a kitchen renovation
Sarah calls six months after her kitchen renovation was completed. The cabinet doors are sagging and one drawer won't close properly.
"Your contract said one-year warranty on workmanship. I need this fixed."
- Correct
Honoring your warranty is both legally and ethically required. Cabinet sag within 6 months strongly suggests installation error (insufficient screwing into studs, wrong hardware, or misalignment). Your contract warranty is a binding obligation. Responding promptly prevents an MHIC complaint and builds the kind of reputation that generates referrals. Cost of a warranty visit: a few hours. Value of a happy client telling 10 friends: priceless.
- Wrong
Cabinets don't sag in 6 months from normal use. This is a workmanship issue — likely improper mounting. Your contract explicitly warranties workmanship for one year. Deflecting to the manufacturer when the installation is the problem is both dishonest and a contract breach. This is exactly the kind of complaint that ends up in front of the MHIC.
- Deceptive
Sagging doors and non-closing drawers are defects, not 'adjustments.' Attempting to recharacterize warranty-covered work as billable maintenance is the kind of practice that generates MHIC complaints. Your warranty language matters — but no reasonable reading of 'workmanship warranty' excludes improperly installed cabinets that fail within months.
All 15 complaints, warranties & the guaranty fund questions
- What is the MHIC Guaranty Fund?
- What happens if you ignore an MHIC complaint letter?
- Can a homeowner file an MHIC complaint after your warranty ends?
- Is a two-day delay grounds for an MHIC complaint?
- How should you prepare for an MHIC disciplinary hearing?
- What counts as project abandonment?
- How do you respond to an MHIC abandonment complaint?
- What documentation defends you against an MHIC complaint?
- How should you handle a warranty callback?
- Does your warranty cover damage the homeowner caused?
- What do you owe a client in an after-hours warranty emergency?
- How do you run a final walkthrough and punch list?
- What should a project completion package include?
- How do you handle a client disappointed with finished work?
- Who is liable when a flip buyer finds unpermitted work?