Basement Waterproofing FAQ for Lansing, MI
Own a home with a basement in Lansing, MI, Michigan's capital city? Here are short answers on licenses, sewer backups, cancel rights, the City's backup program and coverage, each tied to a law or public office you can check.
Answers Homeowners Look For
This is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Basement Waterproofing Lansing MI refers and advertises; it does no basement work, visits no homes and carries no Michigan builder, maintenance and alteration or plumbing license. Contractors may pay it a flat advertising fee; you pay nothing.
Is basement waterproofing a licensed trade in Michigan?
It is. LARA licenses residential builders and maintenance and alteration contractors, and that law names waterproofing a basement among its trades. The Attorney General tells homeowners to request the 10-digit number, which you enter in LARA's online license lookup yourself. Any tie-in to a drain or sewer is a job for a licensed plumbing contractor holding a plumbing permit.
Are Lansing's sewers still combined, and where do backups get reported?
Sections of the older city were built so storm runoff and household sewage shared one pipe. Starting in 1992, the City has been splitting those lines with state clean-water loans, and an EPA case study notes that many original overflow points are now closed. At a City of Lansing address, report a backup to the Operations and Maintenance Division, whose (517) 483-4161 line the City labels a 24-hour help line. Dial 911 for emergencies.
Who owns the pipe running from my house to the street?
According to the City's basement-flooding guide, the lateral leaving your house belongs to you, while the main below the street is the City's. A lateral repair is the owner's to arrange with a licensed plumbing contractor under a permit. In East Lansing, Okemos, Holt, Grand Ledge or DeWitt, MI, ask your own community's public works office.
What if I believe a City sewer backed up into my basement?
That process runs between you and the City. Its guide says to get the City's claim form from the Public Service Department and turn it in no more than 45 days after you find the damage; the Claims Coordinator, (517) 483-4818, fields questions. Michigan's Public Act 222 of 2001 separately expects written notice to the sewer's agency inside that same 45-day window from discovery. The site has no hand in either.
Does BWL deal with sewer backups?
No. The Lansing Board of Water & Light provides water and electric service, and a sewer charge may appear on its bill, yet the City's Public Service Department runs the sewers. A backup at a City address goes to the Operations and Maintenance Division line mentioned above, never to the utility that mails the bill.
Is there a way out of a contract signed at home?
There may be. Under Michigan's Home Solicitation Sales Act, a buyer can generally undo a sale above $25 that was solicited and signed at home, up to midnight of the third business day after signing. Whether a visit you requested online counts is unsettled. Your contract should say how to cancel; do it in writing and keep a copy. Contract questions: the Attorney General's Consumer Protection team, reachable at 517-335-7599 or 877-765-8388.
Can the City help with the cost of a backflow valve?
Only at City of Lansing addresses. As local news describes it, the City's Basement Backup Protection Program (B2P2) can reimburse a share of a backflow-prevention valve or sump pump system once the owner has hired a licensed plumber, had a permit issued, passed a City inspection and paid the bill. Root damage and broken laterals sit outside it. Confirm the terms with the City's Public Service Department before anyone starts; no comparable program turned up nearby.
How does a homeowners policy treat basement water?
Your own policy is the only real answer. Plenty of policies exclude slow seepage and groundwater, and protection against sewer backups is commonly a separate add-on. Read what yours says about water and backups, then take the questions to your insurer or agent. Insurance is something this site never touches.
Why won't this site tell me the contractor's name?
Naming a business could suggest an endorsement, and the Michigan Consumer Protection Act forbids confusing people about who sponsors or approves a service. Michigan also expects a licensee's ads to carry its licensed name, number and real business address. So the contractor introduces itself when it gets in touch, and you look up its license and ask for insurance certificates and local references.
Your Question, Answered
Questions about your own walls need someone who has stood in the basement; this site answers none about a particular home. Send the short form, and one independent contractor will get in touch; whatever happens after that is your decision.