Warranties for products are simple to understand, most people might think.  

 You go to the store, buy a computer or a DVD player or a TV, or even a larger  appliance like a refrigerator, and you get a piece of paper describing a  one-year or two-year warranty, and what’s covered. Sometimes, for some extra money, you can get an extended warranty for  another year or so.  

 But what if the item in question is not a personal appliance, but a huge  building component that you’re purchasing, at great expense, from a contractor? What if you’re purchasing, for your co-op or condo, a roof tank, pumps, a new roof, a new  series of convectors for a central HVAC system, a boiler or an elevator?  

 More Complex

 Surely, the technology in items like these is more complex than your laptop.  Also, in addition to the manufacturer, there is usually now a third party—the contractor. Still, a warranty must be given. How do warranties work for such  large items, and what do you, as a co-op or condo board member, committee  member or manager, need to know?  

 Greg Laufersweiler, sales and marketing manager for Stanley Elevator Company in  Merrimack, New Hampshire, says one difference between the warranties on small,  personal items like the aforementioned laptop versus much bigger components  like an elevator system is warranty service.