Welcome to your daily briefing on construction developments in Maine. Today we're covering 8 key stories including updates on maine construction headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
5 stories
Getting a Maine contractor license can have different rules depending on what part of the state you're in — make sure you know what they are.
Relevant to construction professionals operating in ME.
General contractor insurance protects your business from financial losses that arise from claims of personal injury or property damage. Get a free quote.
Relevant to construction professionals operating in ME.
View a list of All Projects Under Construction (PDF) You can also read more about our upcoming work in the MaineDOT Work Plan.
Relevant to construction professionals operating in ME.
An interactive map from the MaineDOT which shows current and scheduled projects for the State of Maine.
Relevant to construction professionals operating in ME.
A variety of required permits are provided on this page.
Relevant to construction professionals operating in ME.
Connect with contractors and builders
3 stories
In most ME jurisdictions, the lien filing deadline runs from last day on the project OR last delivery of materials, whichever is later — but several states use a project-wide cutoff (substantial completion) regardless of when your specific work ended. Counting the wrong start date is the leading cause of waived liens.
A blown lien deadline drops your collateral down to a personal-guaranty claim, which often means recovery cents on the dollar. The window is short — 60 to 120 days in most states.
"Pay-when-paid" sets a timing condition only — the GC must still pay even if the owner never does. "Pay-if-paid" creates a true condition precedent — no owner payment, no GC payment to subs. Many states will not enforce pay-if-paid clauses without unmistakably clear language; ambiguity defaults to pay-when-paid.
The risk allocation between subcontractors and GCs hinges on this one phrase. Subs who sign pay-if-paid contracts effectively underwrite owner credit risk on top of project risk.
Most construction contracts require change orders to be in writing, but many states enforce an "oral modification" exception when the parties' conduct shows agreement — especially when the changed work is performed and accepted without protest. Continued performance without written change orders can waive the writing requirement entirely.
Contractors who do extra work hoping to "true it up later" routinely lose those claims because the conduct shows acceptance of the original scope. A signed change order before the work is the cleanest evidence of agreement.
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