Welcome to your daily briefing on construction developments in Rhode Island. Today we're covering 6 key stories including updates on rhode island construction headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
3 stories
Levelset provides tools and services to help contractors resolve payment problems and streamline their payment processes.
For RI construction professionals, getting paid on time and managing payment disputes is critical to maintaining cash flow and project momentum.
ConstructConnect now offers quick, comprehensive access to new commercial construction projects in Rhode Island for bid, including exclusive projects, plans, specs, bidder lists, and detailed project information.
Rhode Island construction professionals gain a centralized resource to identify and compete for local commercial projects with full documentation and bidder intelligence.
RI Builders has published information about contractor licenses and registration requirements in Rhode Island.
Construction professionals in RI need current licensing and registration details to maintain compliance and bid legally on projects.
Connect with contractors and builders
3 stories
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.
"Substantial completion" is achieved when the owner can occupy the project for its intended use — not when a punch list is finished or a percentage is hit. The status starts warranty clocks, transfers risk of loss, and triggers retention release in most contracts. Disputes over whether SC has been achieved are common at month-end.
Premature certification of substantial completion commits the contractor to warranty coverage on incomplete work; delayed certification gives the owner leverage to extend retention. The legal definition controls, not the status meeting.
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.
Get Rhode Island construction intelligence delivered to your inbox every morning.
Subscribe FreeView all past issues
Feature your brand across the U.S., Canada, and select international markets and 10 industry verticals.
Become a National Partner