Welcome to your daily briefing on construction developments in Michigan. Today we're covering 8 key stories including updates on michigan construction headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
5 stories
The Michigan State Contractors Board offers an online license lookup and verification service accessible by phone at (XXX-XXX-XXXX.
Construction professionals in MI can quickly verify their own credentials or confirm a competitor's licensing status before bidding on projects.
The city of Detroit, Michigan maintains an open data portal that publishes building permits summary information for public access.
MI construction professionals can track permit trends, identify active project types, and benchmark activity in the state's largest market.
A step-by-step video guide explains how to achieve licensing success for general contractors in Michigan.
Understanding Michigan's licensing requirements helps construction professionals avoid compliance pitfalls and operate legally in the state.
Builders Exchange offers a construction project database that reveals the expertise and hard work behind finished building projects.
MI construction professionals can leverage this database to identify upcoming projects and showcase their capabilities before ground breaks.
Procore's Michigan Contractor Licensing Guide outlines the licensing and registration requirements needed to legally do business as a contractor in the state.
Staying compliant with Michigan's contractor licensing rules protects your business from penalties and keeps your projects moving without regulatory interruptions.
Connect with contractors and builders
3 stories
A bid bond protects the owner if the bidder refuses to enter the contract; it pays the difference between the rejected bid and the next responsive bid. A performance bond covers contractor non-performance during the project. A payment bond protects unpaid subcontractors and suppliers. Each has different claimants and triggers.
Subs frequently file claims against the wrong bond and lose them on procedural grounds without ever reaching the merits. Knowing which bond covers your specific exposure is table stakes for collections.
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.
Foundation failures rarely originate at the slab; they originate in soil bearing capacity, drainage, or expansive-clay behavior that was either uninvestigated or not honored in the design. A geotechnical report that is older than the building's design or that did not sample at the actual building footprint is a red flag.
Foundation remediation costs typically exceed the original foundation cost by 5-10x. Investing in current, footprint-specific geotechnical work is the cheapest insurance a project carries.
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