The Brett Martin warranty is one of the strongest manufacturer guarantees in the UK rooflight market and one of the least understood by the homeowners and contractors who rely on it. Understanding the Brett Martin warranty in full - what it covers, what it excludes, and what installation practices protect or void it - is essential reading before any product leaves the box.
This guide covers every Brett Martin product category stocked at Skylights Roof Lanterns, explains the warranty terms applicable to each, and gives you the practical steps to ensure your cover remains valid from day one. Browse our full Brett Martin product range as you read.
1. Brett Martin Warranty Coverage by Product Category
Brett Martin manufactures across three distinct rooflight product categories, each with its own material specification and corresponding warranty terms. The warranty periods reflect both the expected service life of the materials and the manufacturer's confidence in their performance.
|
Product Category |
Key Products |
Warranty Period |
What Is Covered |
|
Polycarbonate dome rooflights |
Mardome Reflex, Mardome Trade, polycarbonate dome |
10 years |
UV yellowing, structural failure, impact resistance degradation |
|
Flat glass rooflights and skylights |
Brett Martin flat skylights, opening rooflights |
10 years |
Seal failure, glass breakage from manufacturing defect, frame corrosion |
|
Aluminium roof lanterns |
Brett Martin Roof Lantern |
10 years |
Frame integrity, glazing seal failure, powder coat adhesion |
|
Manual opening mechanisms |
Mardome Manual Opening |
5 years (mechanism) |
Worm gear failure, hinge failure, seal integrity |
|
Electric actuators |
Electric opening variants |
2–5 years (actuator) |
Motor failure, control failure, wiring defect |
The 10-year coverage across the core product range is among the longest in the UK rooflight market. It reflects Brett Martin's confidence in the material specifications — particularly the co-extruded UV-stabilised polycarbonate used in the Mardome range, which is engineered to resist yellowing and impact degradation for the full warranty period in UK climate conditions.
2. What the Brett Martin Polycarbonate Warranty Specifically Covers
The polycarbonate range - including the Mardome Reflex, Mardome Trade, and polycarbonate rooflight dome is where warranty understanding is most critical, because polycarbonate is a material that degrades visibly over time if not correctly specified and maintained.
UV stabilisation warranty
Brett Martin's polycarbonate dome products use a co-extruded UV-stabilised outer layer. The warranty guarantees that this layer will not cause yellowing, hazing, or significant light transmittance degradation beyond published thresholds for the full 10-year period under normal UK UV exposure conditions. This is the most commercially significant warranty term for polycarbonate rooflights - it directly addresses the most common failure mode of low-quality polycarbonate products, which yellow and cloud within three to five years of installation.
Impact resistance
The warranty covers structural failure of the polycarbonate dome under normal environmental loading - hail, wind, and snow loads within the design parameters published in the product datasheet. It does not cover damage from deliberate impact, falling objects such as tree branches of abnormal size, or point loading beyond the product's stated design load.
Seal integrity
The seal between the polycarbonate dome and its base frame is warranted against failure -specifically against water ingress at the dome-to-frame junction resulting from manufacturing or material defect rather than installation error.
3. What the Brett Martin Glass Rooflight and Roof Lantern Warranty Covers
The glass product warranty - covering the Brett Martin Roof Lantern, opening rooflights, and flat glass skylights operates differently from the polycarbonate warranty because glass itself does not degrade. The warranty focus shifts to the glazing seals, the powder-coated frame, and the integrity of the double or triple glazed unit.
Sealed unit failure (seal integrity)
The double or triple glazed unit is warranted against interstitial condensation — moisture appearing between the glass panes within the sealed unit cavity. This failure mode occurs when the perimeter seal of the glazing unit breaks down, allowing atmospheric moisture to enter the argon-filled cavity. It is immediately visible as permanent fogging between the panes that cannot be cleaned. Under the warranty, a failed sealed unit is replaced at no cost to the homeowner.
Sealed unit failure is almost always a manufacturing defect rather than an installation error — it results from inadequate sealant application or contamination of the seal at the factory. It typically manifests within the first two to five years. The 10-year warranty period provides substantial protection against this failure mode.
Powder coat adhesion
The powder-coated aluminium frame of the Brett Martin Roof Lantern is warranted against adhesion failure — specifically peeling, flaking, or delamination of the powder coat from the aluminium substrate. Normal chalking and minor colour fading associated with UV exposure over many years is not covered, as this is a characteristic of all organic coatings rather than a manufacturing defect.
Frame structural integrity
The aluminium extrusion forming the rafters, ridge, and eaves of the Brett Martin Roof Lantern is warranted against structural failure — cracking, buckling, or deformation under normal environmental loading.
4. Protecting Your Warranty: The Practical Checklist
Beyond avoiding the void triggers above, three proactive steps significantly strengthen your warranty position:
Document the installation
Photograph the product, kerb, and installation at each stage - before fitting, during fitting, and after completion. Time-stamped photographs showing a correctly constructed kerb, a correctly fitted product, and a correctly sealed perimeter are your strongest evidence in any future warranty dispute.
Keep all product documentation
The product datasheet, order confirmation, delivery note, and any installation instructions supplied with the product should be kept for the full 10-year warranty period. Store digital copies alongside the physical documents.
Follow the published maintenance schedule
Inspect seals and frame annually. Clean with pH-neutral products only. Address any seal deterioration at the first inspection before it progresses to water ingress. A warranty claim for water ingress that was preceded by visible seal deterioration which was not addressed is significantly weaker than a claim for sudden seal failure on an otherwise well-maintained product.
Conclusion:
A 10-year warranty on a rooflight is only meaningful if you know how to maintain it. At Skylights Roof Lanterns, we supply the full Brett Martin range and can advise on warranty terms, installation requirements, and maintenance schedules for every product we sell. Call 0204 538 3079 or email sales@skylights-rooflanterns.co.uk if you have a warranty question before or after your purchase.
