Your warranty, in plain English
Most pool builders will tell you they offer a lifetime warranty and stop there. That is where the trouble starts — because "lifetime" covers less than almost anyone assumes. Here is exactly what is covered, exactly what is not, and what you have to do to keep it.
What's covered
Two separate warranties protect your pool: the manufacturer's, which covers the shell they built, and ours, which covers the work we did.
| Component | What's covered | How long — and by who |
|---|---|---|
| Fiberglass shell | Leaking caused by a manufacturing defect | Limited lifetime — Latham |
| Shell surface finish | Osmotic blistering | Limited lifetime — Latham |
| Factory-installed tile | Shipping damage and Latham's tile work | 3 years — Latham |
| Our workmanship | Decking, coping, tile setting, plumbing, equipment set and finish | 1 year — NPS |
| Equipment | Pumps, heaters, cleaners, lights and automation | Manufacturer's term, plus our labor for 1 year |
| Automatic cover | Eclipse mechanism | 20 years — Coverstar |
| Automatic cover | CS3000 mechanism | 10 years — Coverstar |
| Automatic cover | Fabric | 7 years — Coverstar |
| Automatic cover | Motor | 5 years — Coverstar |
About transferring your warranty
The manufacturer warranties above cover the original owner of a residential pool and are not transferable when the home sells. That is true of every Latham and Coverstar dealer in the country, not just us. If a builder tells you a manufacturer's fiberglass warranty transfers to the next owner, ask to see it in the document.
What's not covered — by anyone
This is the section other builders leave off their websites. We would rather you read it now than discover it during a claim.
- Cosmetic surface conditions. Hairline cracking, fading, staining and discoloration of the shell finish are excluded by the manufacturer, and we do not add coverage on top. Only osmotic blistering is covered.
- The beam — the coping edge around the pool. Crazing, spider cracks, chips and color variance in the beam are excluded by the manufacturer. This is why we cover the beam with cantilever deck, stone or pavers on every build.
- Soil movement, settlement and ground water, including anything caused by hydrostatic pressure underneath the shell.
- Water chemistry damage. Etching, scaling and staining caused by unbalanced water. This voids finish coverage from every manufacturer in the industry.
- Cosmetic cracking in concrete decking. Hairline and shrinkage cracking is inherent to concrete. No honest builder warrants a deck against ever cracking.
- Acts of nature, and work performed by others — freeze, flood, fire and earthquake, along with any alteration or repair done by another contractor.
The part nobody tells you about
If your fiberglass shell ever fails a covered structural claim, Latham will repair or replace the shell. They do not pay for removing the old one, or for the excavation, plumbing and deck restoration needed to put the new one in. Their warranty says so in writing, and it is the same for every Latham dealer in the country.
That is a real cost to the homeowner, and it is the most common surprise in this industry. We will not pretend otherwise. We warranty the work we perform — we install every pool to the manufacturer's specification and we hold ourselves accountable to that. What we will not do is quietly promise you coverage that belongs to someone else.
Ask any builder quoting you a "lifetime warranty" whether they cover reinstallation. Get the answer in writing.
What you need to do to keep it
Manufacturer warranties come with conditions. Miss one and coverage can be denied — so we hand you this list the day we finish, not buried in a packet.
- Register your pool. It takes a few minutes on the manufacturer's site, and we walk you through it on your final day.
- Keep the pool full, always. The water level must stay above the skimmer. A fiberglass shell is engineered to hold water — draining it, or letting the level drop, can void coverage outright.
- Have the water tested weekly by a pool professional, and keep the printouts. The manufacturer can request your test records when a claim is filed. If you would rather not track it, we can handle it on a service plan.
- Keep runoff and ground water away from the pool. Deck drainage must not run into the pool, and water must not be allowed to collect underneath it.
- Call us the day you notice a problem. The manufacturer requires written notice within 10 days of discovery — 5 days for shipping damage — or the claim is waived. Call us and we file it for you inside the window. This deadline is real, and it is the most common reason claims get denied.
Common questions
Does the warranty transfer if I sell my house?
The manufacturer warranties do not. They cover the original owner for as long as they own the pool. Any builder telling you a manufacturer's fiberglass warranty is transferable has not read the document.
Is it really a lifetime warranty?
It is a limited lifetime warranty, and the limit matters: it covers the shell against leaking caused by a manufacturing defect, for the original owner, on residential pools. A shell that is cracked but not leaking is not a covered claim. We would rather say that plainly than let you find out later.
What if a claim gets denied?
The manufacturer decides its own claims, including whether a failure came from their defect or from installation. If they determine it was installation, that lands on us — and if it was our work, we fix it. That is the whole point of the line between the two warranties.
Do you warranty commercial pools the same way?
No. Manufacturer fiberglass warranties are residential only and do not extend to commercial installations. On commercial work we write the warranty into the contract directly so there is no ambiguity.
Questions about any of this?
We will walk you through your warranty line by line before you sign anything — and hand you the manufacturer's own document so you can read it yourself. You can also read Latham's warranty and claim information directly.