How to Hire a Sewer Contractor in Michigan

Who licenses sewer contractors in Michigan

Plumbers in Michigan are licensed by the Bureau of Construction Codes within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs under the Skilled Trades Regulation Act. The classes are apprentice, journey plumber, master plumber and plumbing contractor, and a contractor must employ a full-time master who supervises each job. Here is the twist for sewer work. Section 1107 of that act exempts installing a building sewer or water service from the license requirement, provided the installer obtains a permit from the enforcing agency, calls for inspections, and builds to the state construction code. So excavating and sewer contractors, many without a plumber on staff, legally do lateral work across Michigan. The pipe inside the foundation remains plumbing. Some cities add a local registration or bond for sewer contractors, so ask. There is no Michigan utility contractor license either; work on public mains falls under municipal prequalification. Verify a plumber or plumbing contractor through the state's Verify a License search, and ask an unlicensed sewer firm for its liability certificate and a record of permits pulled.

Permits and inspections

Michigan plumbing permits go to whichever agency enforces the code at that address, which can be the state, a county or a city; most larger cities enforce for themselves. In Detroit the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department issues the sewer permit and the Department of Public Works permits any cut in the street or alley; the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department owns the main. Grand Rapids runs permits through its Development Center with Public Works handling the right-of-way. The inspector wants to see the open trench, bedding and connection before backfill, and a camera recording when a line is lined instead of dug. MISS DIG 811 notice must be filed three working days ahead. The contractor pulls the permit; a homeowner may pull one for a single-family house, but then carries the inspection.

Who owns the pipe under the street

The default across Michigan is that the private sewer lead belongs to the owner from the house to where it joins the public sewer, including the segment under the street or alley. Detroit states this plainly: the owner is responsible to the connection with the city sewer, which in older neighborhoods sits in the alley behind the lot. The city is funding repairs of thousands of alley connections through a federal grant, so a Detroit owner should ask whether the block is scheduled before paying. Smaller municipalities such as Pentwater spell out the same owner-to-the-main rule in their backup liability notices. A minority of Michigan communities maintain the part in the right-of-way, so confirm in writing. Michigan has no statewide point-of-sale sewer inspection, though a few cities require one.

What is under Michigan, and why it shapes the bid

Southeast Michigan is flat lake-plain clay that holds water, so Detroit, Warren and Dearborn trenches need good bedding and often pumps. West Michigan around Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo is sand and glacial outwash that digs easily but caves, so shoring matters more than rock. Frost runs about three and a half feet in the south and past four feet north of Saginaw, which is why leads sit deep. Detroit's housing boom of the 1910s through 1940s left vitrified clay leads with cement joints, often tied to combined sewers in the alley. Postwar suburbs installed clay and some Orangeburg; PVC became standard in the late 1970s. Tree roots and alley cave-ins are the complaints Michigan contractors hear most.

For the lining methods themselves, the Sewer Pipe Lining Michigan pipe lining guide goes into what fails in the ground here and which method fits.

What a Michigan sewer bid must include

• A Michigan plumbing contractor license number from the Bureau of Construction Codes, or a statement that the firm works under the building sewer exemption with a permit.
• The enforcing agency issuing the sewer permit and whether a Detroit alley or street right-of-way permit from Public Works is included.
• The MISS DIG 811 ticket number and the date the notice was filed.
• Trench shoring in West Michigan sand or dewatering in Detroit clay as line items, with the backfill specification.
• A before-and-after camera recording showing the lead to its connection at the municipal sewer.

The full checklist, for any state, is on what a sewer bid should include.

Red flags in Michigan

• A contractor who says no permit is needed because Michigan does not license sewer leads; the exemption exists only because a permit is pulled.
• A Detroit bid that excludes the alley segment or the connection, when the owner is responsible to the city sewer.
• No MISS DIG notice before excavation.
• No inspection scheduled before backfill.

Finding a sewer contractor in Michigan

Michigan does not yet have a verified contractor listed on this site, which is why the number on this page rings the national line. Call it or send the form with the property address and what the symptoms or the camera are showing, and we will locate a qualified sewer contractor near you, screen them the same way we screen every listing, and make the introduction. There is no charge for that. You can also search the CIPP Verified Installer directory yourself.

Estimates are free. Call now. (855) 804-1434

Where Michigan property owners ask for help most

The rules above apply statewide; the communities below are the ones that generate the most questions.

Michigan sewer contractor questions

Does a sewer contractor in Michigan need a plumbing license?

Not for the building sewer. Michigan's Skilled Trades Regulation Act exempts building sewer and water service installation from plumbing licensure when a permit is obtained and inspections pass. Work inside the foundation still needs a licensed plumber.

Who is responsible for the sewer lead under a Detroit alley?

The property owner, out to the connection with the city sewer. Detroit's Water and Sewerage Department maintains the main but the lead is private for its full length. Detroit is funding alley connection repairs across Michigan's largest city, so ask whether your block is scheduled.

Who issues a sewer repair permit in Michigan?

The enforcing agency for that address. Michigan lets the state, a county or a city enforce the plumbing code, and most larger cities enforce their own. Detroit uses its Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department; Grand Rapids its Development Center. The street cut is a separate permit.

How far ahead must MISS DIG be called in Michigan?

Three working days before excavation. MISS DIG 811 is Michigan's one-call center, and the contractor, not the homeowner, should file the ticket and have the number on the job. A bid that never mentions it is skipping a step.

Why are sewer leads buried so deep in Michigan?

Frost. Southern Michigan sees penetration around three and a half feet and the north sees more, so leads sit below it. Deeper trenches mean more spoil, more shoring in sand, and more pumping in Detroit clay, all of which belong in the bid.

The short version for Michigan

In Michigan the permit does the work the license does elsewhere. Camera the lead first and find where it meets the public sewer. Ask the city where its responsibility starts and whether a repair program covers your block. Verify a plumbing contractor through the state, or the permit history of an exempt firm. Then compare bids that name the enforcing agency and leave the trench open for the inspector.

Estimates are free. Call now. (855) 804-1434

Sources checked for this page: www.michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bcc/Sections/Permit-Sectio... · ombudsman.legislature.mi.gov/documents/mcl/pdf/MCL-339-6107.... · detroitmi.gov/index%2Ephp/departments/detroit-water-and-sewe... · pentwatervillage.org/documents/Sanitary_Sewer_Leads_Homeowne...