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City Departments

Building Department

Inspections
When a property owner obtains the necessary permit(s) to begin work, it also means that the Building Department now has been provided the appropriate documents to perform an inspection of the permitted construction project. This inspection process ensures that acceptable codes and standards are met and appropriate materials are used, and if all conditions are approved the inspection process culminates with the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

Depending on the scope of work being performed and the type of building, you may have one or more inspections. For buildings including single-family dwellings and duplexes, specialty inspectors will inspect the different aspects of the construction or improvement such as structure, plumbing, electrical, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), and fire suppression and alarm systems.

For more information, please call the Building Department at (248) 796-4100.
 

Did You Know?

  • Temperature of water and time until skin damage
  • 120°                        4 minutes and 50 seconds
  • 125°                        50 seconds
  • 130°                        15 seconds
  • 135°                        5.5 seconds
  • 140°                        2.6 seconds
  • Greater than 140°     Less than 1 second

  • Residential plans are required to be kept by the Building Department for 10 years. As a courtesy, the plans are returned to the property owner after that time period.

  • The required width of an exit door in a residential home is 3 feet. This dimension was based on the ability to get a coffin through the door.

  • It's OK to be square.....sometimes.
    When the top and bottom are the same length and the sides are identical the job should be square (90 degree angles).

  • The weight of one cubic foot of concrete weighs 150 pounds.

  • The weight of the average house is 40 pounds per square foot.

  • The Building Code of Hammurabi, King of the Babylonian Empire, is the earliest known written Building Code of Law, written in 2200 B.C. It is noted that exact requirements for construction are not given; rather, the code assesses penalties if the building is not properly constructed. An example: In Hammurabi’s kingdom the ultimate penalty for unsafe construction was death.