BigRentz Equipment Rental Service Areas in Michigan

From commercial buildings to residential properties, construction is going strong in Michigan. In fact, the Home Builders Association of Michigan expects to see an increase in building permits this year of around 25 percent. If you’re thinking about starting a building project in Michigan, now is a good time to do it. Just make sure you keep these three factors in mind.

Residential and commercial building requires different licenses and permits. In residential construction, anyone who contracts with a property owner to build or remodel a project with a total value of $600 or more, including labor and material, must be licensed as a maintenance and alteration contractor or residential builder. Maintenance and alteration contractors can only perform their licensed trades. Residential builders can build a new home and can do any repairs. They can contract for the entire job, but they will have to subcontract for electrical, plumbing, and mechanical work. On the other hand, Michigan doesn’t have a law regulating commercial builders. Licensing is only required for residential work, including work such as townhouses, condominiums, and apartments, that combine residential and commercial structures. However, you should always check with your local municipality for more information about specific requirements.

While Michigan is known as the Great Lakes State, you’re likely more concerned about the types of soil you might work on. Most of Michigan’s soil comes from glacial sediments deposited during the Ice Age. As these huge chunks of ice moved south, they picked up silt, gravel, rocks, and sand. When the glacier melted, whatever the ice picked up was left behind. As a result, there’s a great variety of soil in Michigan, and you might find dramatically different soil characteristics from region to region and even from field to field. For the most part, you can expect to find sandy soils in the northern and western portions of the Lower Peninsula and loams and clays in the southern Lower Peninsula. In the Upper Peninsula, you’re more likely to run into a coarse soil that’s rich in aluminum oxide, dark on the surface, and gray underneath. Additionally, in the Upper Peninsula, the closer to Lake Michigan you get, the more you’ll find a peaty soil that’s made up of a lot of organic material. Regardless of what type of soil you encounter, you need the right equipment to handle it. If you find you need aerial equipment such as forklifts, scissor lifts, boom lifts, and manlifts that can handle Michigan soil, consider renting this equipment to find out what works best in each region.

If you’re planning on building in Michigan, you want to make sure you pick the right region. Grand Rapids is enjoying historic levels of growth. While Detroit often gets a bad rap, even this city is starting to see an upswing in business activity. When you’re making plans to start building in Michigan, keep these important factors in mind so you can enjoy success with your projects.