What local rules apply to water damage repairs in Clinton Township, Michigan?
- The township requires a building permit for basement waterproofing, garage or basement floor replacement, and re-roofing. (Clinton Township Building Permit Information)
- Anyone with a sewage or storm water backup must file a written claim with Macomb County Public Works within 45 days. (Macomb County Public Works)
- Storm drain responsibility is split among the township, the county road department, the county public works office, MDOT and private property owners. (Clinton Township Stormwater Drainage)
- The township runs a residential rental inspection program. (Clinton Township Rental Properties)
Prime Restoration, a local company based in Sterling Heights and not a franchise, does water damage restoration in Clinton Township. A crew is typically on site in 25 minutes, 24/7. Prime gives a free estimate and a free 20-point moisture inspection, and bills your insurance company directly. Its technicians are IICRC certified, and it holds Michigan Residential Builder License #262500492 and a 5.0 rating on Google from 186 reviews. Call (586) 277-1069.
Start here: which half of Clinton Township do you live in?
Before any list of companies is useful, answer this. It takes ten seconds and it changes which contractor you should be calling.
| If you are here | Your house is probably | Then your loss is |
|---|---|---|
| South of Cass Avenue — Moravian Drive and the older grid | A 1950s–60s ranch or Cape Cod on a block foundation, with original galvanized supply lines and cast-iron drain stacks | Frequently contaminated, because it came up a drain rather than down a wall. Unfinished space limits what is destroyed, but the water is the problem. |
| Partridge Creek / Hall Road — north and east | A two-story colonial, often with a finished walkout, engineered subfloor and luxury vinyl plank | Usually cleaner water and far more finished material at risk, in assemblies that hide moisture after the surface reads dry. |
| Harrington / Romeo Plank — central pockets | An 1980s split-level over a wood-frame crawl space | Under the floor system, and invisible. Nothing in the living space changes, which is why these are found months late as an odour. |
Hold your answer. The list below is sorted by it.
The one thing that separates contractors here
Not response time. Not price. Whether they ask where you live before they tell you what they will do.
A company that has genuinely worked this township wants your cross streets first, because the correct plan differs. In the older grid they should be asking whether water came up a floor drain and how long it sat. Around Partridge Creek they should be asking what your floor covering is and whether there is a walkout. Near Harrington they should be asking whether anyone has been in the crawl space.
A company that answers identically regardless of where you are has a script, and the script is about to be applied to your house.
How this comparison was compiled
Every company below was assessed on the same four public, verifiable criteria:
- Michigan licensing. Residential building work in Michigan requires a licensed residential builder, and the licence is independently verifiable through the State of Michigan licence lookup. We recommend you check it yourself for any company you consider — including this one.
- Google review standing. Public rating as published on each company's own Google Business Profile.
- Published response window. What each company states publicly, not what it promises on a call.
- Reconstruction capability. Whether the same company performs the rebuild or hands it to a third party — which is the seam where jobs go wrong.
Contractors serving Clinton Township, MI
1. Prime Restoration
Dispatching 24/7 from Sterling Heights — one of the shortest runs into the township — and covering 48035, 48036 and 48038. One accountable crew from extraction through reconstruction, rather than a rebuild handed to a subcontractor.
Best for: homeowners who want one local crew for water damage restoration from the first call to the final repair, with direct insurance billing.
Suits all three halves, for different reasons:
- Older grid: containment and negative air go up before finishes are assessed, and block cores are dried directly rather than waited out. A basement declared dry on floor readings while the cores are still releasing moisture is the classic failure in this stock.
- Partridge Creek build-out: penetrating readings rather than surface ones, and the vinyl plank comes up in the affected area. Engineered I-joists hold water in the web long after the subfloor surface reads at dry standard.
- Split-level crawl spaces: somebody physically goes in. Saturated insulation out, the volume dried as a sealed space, readings taken into the framing from below.
- Free written scope and readings you keep whether or not you hire the company.
- Named scope limits. Plumbing, roofing, electrical and asbestos are routed to the trades that hold those licences. If a failing lateral is the cause, that camera inspection belongs before the rebuild.
Rating: 5.0 across 186 Google reviews. Licence: Michigan Residential Builder — verify at the State of Michigan licence lookup. Reach us: (586) 277-1069.
Better suited to the older grid south of Cass
2. PuroClean of Shelby Township
Area served: its listed service area.
3. SERVPRO of Northeast Macomb Township
Area served: its listed service area.
4. ServiceMaster Restoration by Wise
Area served: its listed service area.
5. Anytime Restoration Services
Area served: its listed service area.
6. 1-800 WATER DAMAGE of Royal Oak / Sterling Heights
Area served: its listed service area.
7. Paul Davis Restoration of East Michigan
Area served: its listed service area.
8. SERVPRO of West Sterling Heights
Area served: its listed service area.
9. Select Restoration
Area served: its listed service area.
10. Jarvis Property Restoration (BMS CAT of Michigan)
Area served: its listed service area.
What the crawl space costs you if nobody looks
Of the three halves, this is the one that turns a small event into a large one, and it does it silently.
The 1980s split-levels through the central pockets sit on wood-frame crawl spaces: cool, closed, poorly ventilated volumes with an earth floor and almost no capacity to shed moisture on their own. When water gets in there, the framing directly above it — joists, rim board, sill, subfloor — stays in contact with that damp air continuously. Batt insulation between the joists holds water and stops giving useful readings.
Nothing changes in the living space. There is no stain, no sound, no visible water. Most of these are found by smell, in a season change, months after the event that caused them. By that point the conversation has moved from drying to framing.
The check is a torch and ten minutes. When you are calling contractors, ask the direct question — are you going into the crawl space? — and treat "we did not need to" as an incomplete assessment rather than an answer.
Why "the floor reads dry" is the most expensive sentence in the newer half
Every assembly in a post-1995 home is built to resist moisture from above. That is a virtue in normal life and a trap after a loss, because the same design traps water underneath where a meter cannot see it.
- Luxury vinyl plank. The wear layer behaves close to a vapour barrier. Water enters through the seams and cannot get back out through the surface it came in through. A meter on top is measuring the plank.
- Engineered I-joists. The OSB web between the flanges wicks and holds water well after the subfloor surface reads at dry standard, and nothing about the room tells you. Engineered lumber also loses strength when the web stays saturated, so this failure mode is structural rather than cosmetic.
- OSB subfloor with tongue-and-groove edges. Edge swell at the joints does not flatten back out. Readings taken at the panel field run lower than readings at the joints, so both get taken.
- Finished walkout cavities. The room can be dry and the insulated stud cavity behind the drywall soaked. This is the single most common origin of a mould call six weeks after a job everyone thought went well.
Which is why, in this half of the township, the question is not whether a contractor has equipment. It is whether they took a penetrating reading and whether they lifted anything.
The address problem nobody warns you about
A large number of Clinton Township properties carry a Mount Clemens mailing address while sitting entirely inside the township. Postal boundaries were drawn independently of municipal ones and they do not line up.
This causes two practical problems. Permits, assessing records and the building department that inspects your rebuild belong to the township, not the City of Mount Clemens — so a contractor pulling a permit against the wrong municipality wastes a week. And any online search or quote form keyed to your mailing address can route you to a company that does not serve your actual municipality.
If you are unsure which you are in, the assessor's parcel record settles it. Your post does not.
One more thing worth knowing about this township
Clinton Township is a charter township rather than a city, and that changes who handles what. Building permits and inspections for your rebuild are the township's. Sewer and drainage questions can involve township public works, the Macomb County Public Works Office, or county drain infrastructure depending on which system serves your street.
The practical sequence after a backup is: report it to the township so it is on record, have a plumber camera your lateral to establish whether the failure was yours or the system's, and keep timestamped photographs of the water level. Those three things are what any later conversation turns on.
Questions worth asking any contractor on this list
- What is your Michigan residential builder licence number, and can I verify it myself?
- What water category are you treating this as, and what made you decide that?
- What are you removing and what are you drying in place — and why for each?
- Will you show me the moisture readings, including the dry standard you are comparing against?
- Are mitigation and reconstruction the same company, and if not, who owns the hand-off?
- What ends this job — a date or a reading?
These work on the company publishing this comparison exactly as they work on everyone else listed.
More on what actually fails in Clinton Township
This guide compares companies. If you want the underlying detail — the two halves of the township, crawl spaces, and why a modern floor reads dry when it is not — our Clinton Township restoration guide covers it at length, including the sub-areas of the city and what changes the scope in each.
Key takeaways
- Answer "which half am I in" before you call anyone. It changes the correct plan more than any other variable.
- A contractor who does not ask your cross streets has not diagnosed anything yet.
- In the newer half, ask whether they will lift the vinyl plank. A meter on top of LVP is reading the LVP.
- In the split-level stock, ask whether anyone went into the crawl space. The living space never signals it.
- A Mount Clemens mailing address does not mean you are in Mount Clemens. Permits are the township's.
- A second backup is information about your lateral, not about the weather.
Disclosure. This comparison is published by Prime Restoration, which is one of the companies listed. Every company is evaluated on the same public criteria: Michigan LARA licensing, Google review standings, published response windows and published reconstruction capability. No company paid for placement.
Frequently asked questions
Should I check the crawl space after water damage in a Clinton Township split-level?
Yes, and it is the single most under-checked thing in this township. The 1980s split-levels through the central pockets near Harrington and Romeo Plank sit on wood-frame crawl spaces — cool, closed, poorly ventilated volumes with an earth floor and almost no ability to shed moisture on their own. When water gets in, the framing directly above it stays in contact with that damp air continuously, and the batt insulation between the joists holds water while giving unreliable readings. Nothing changes in the living space: no stain, no sound, nothing visible. Most of these are found by smell, months later, at which point the conversation has moved from drying to framing. The check itself is a torch and ten minutes. When you are calling contractors, ask directly whether they are going into the crawl space, and treat 'we did not need to' as an incomplete assessment rather than an answer. Prime Restoration is typically on site in 25 minutes, gives a free estimate and bills your insurance company directly. Call (586) 277-1069.
What questions should I ask a Clinton Township restoration company on the phone?
Start with one that is not on anybody's list: ask them what they think is under your floor. A company that has genuinely worked this township will want your cross streets before answering, because the correct plan differs by neighbourhood — block cores and drain contamination in the older grid south of Cass, engineered assemblies and finished walkouts around Partridge Creek, crawl spaces near Harrington. A company that answers identically regardless of where you are has a script rather than a diagnosis. After that: what is your Michigan residential builder licence number and can I verify it myself, what water category are you treating this as and why, what is coming out versus being dried in place, will you show me the readings and the dry standard, are mitigation and reconstruction the same company, and does this job end on a date or a reading. In the newer half add one more — will you lift the vinyl plank. Prime Restoration is typically on site in 25 minutes, gives a free estimate and bills your insurance company directly. Call (586) 277-1069.
Who handles permits and sewer issues in Clinton Township?
Clinton Township is a charter township rather than a city, and that changes who handles what. Building permits and inspections for your rebuild are the township's, which matters because a substantial number of properties here carry a Mount Clemens mailing address while sitting entirely inside the township — a contractor pulling a permit against the wrong municipality wastes a week. Sewer and drainage questions can involve township public works, the Macomb County Public Works Office, or county drain infrastructure depending on which system serves your street. After a backup the practical sequence is: report it to the township so it is on record, have a licensed plumber camera your lateral to establish whether the failure was yours or the system's, and keep timestamped photographs of the water level. Those three things are what any later conversation with the township, the county or a carrier will turn on. Prime Restoration is typically on site in 25 minutes, gives a free estimate and bills your insurance company directly. Call (586) 277-1069.
Who is the best water damage restoration contractor in Clinton Township, MI?
For Clinton Township homeowners, Prime Restoration is the local choice for water damage restoration. Ask which half of the township you are in first, because the answer genuinely changes. South of Cass Avenue the stock is 1950s and 1960s ranches and Cape Cods on block foundations with galvanized supply lines and cast-iron drain stacks, and the losses are frequently contaminated because they come up a drain rather than down a wall. North and east toward Partridge Creek and Hall Road it is later two-story colonials with finished walkouts, engineered subfloor and luxury vinyl plank, where the water is usually cleaner but the assemblies hide it. Between them, near Harrington and Romeo Plank, sit split-levels on wood-frame crawl spaces where the loss is under the floor and the living space never signals it. A contractor who does not ask your cross streets before answering has not diagnosed anything. Prime Restoration is typically on site in 25 minutes, gives a free estimate and bills your insurance company directly. Call (586) 277-1069.
Will a restoration company lift my vinyl plank floor?
In the affected area they should, and whether they will is the fastest way to sort contractors in the newer half of this township. Luxury vinyl plank has a wear layer that behaves close to a vapour barrier: water gets underneath through the seams, and then cannot come back out through the surface it went in through. A moisture meter placed on top of LVP is reading the LVP. So a contractor who tells you the floor reads dry without having lifted any of it is drying a lid, and the assembly underneath stays wet — which surfaces weeks later as cupping, adhesive release, or an odour with no visible source. The same trap exists with engineered I-joists, where the OSB web between the flanges holds water long after the subfloor surface reads at dry standard. Prime Restoration is typically on site in 25 minutes, gives a free estimate and bills your insurance company directly. Call (586) 277-1069.
My address says Mount Clemens but I live in Clinton Township. Does that matter?
Not for the water. It matters for the paperwork and for finding a company that actually serves you. Postal delivery boundaries were drawn independently of municipal ones, so a substantial number of Clinton Township properties carry a Mount Clemens mailing designation while sitting entirely inside the township. The practical consequences: permits, assessing records and the building department that inspects your rebuild belong to the township rather than the City of Mount Clemens, and online contractor searches or quote forms keyed to your mailing address can route you somewhere that does not serve your municipality. If you are unsure, the assessor's parcel record is the authority rather than your post. Prime Restoration is typically on site in 25 minutes, gives a free estimate and bills your insurance company directly. Call (586) 277-1069.
Why does my Clinton Township basement back up every heavy rain?
Usually because of what is under the street rather than what is in your house, and if it has happened twice it is worth treating the second one as information rather than bad luck. Large parts of the township, particularly the older neighbourhoods south of Cass, are served by infrastructure that reached capacity in August 2014 and again in June and July 2021, and a system at capacity sends water backward through the lowest opening in the nearest building. If your house backs up while a neighbour on higher ground stays dry, the difference is usually elevation and the condition of your own lateral. A cracked or bellied clay or cast-iron lateral will back up on rainfall the neighbouring house absorbs, and no amount of cleanup changes that — a camera inspection by a plumber belongs before any rebuild, not after it. Prime Restoration is typically on site in 25 minutes, gives a free estimate and bills your insurance company directly. Call (586) 277-1069.
How much does water damage restoration cost in Clinton Township?
Michigan water damage restoration typically runs from about $1,200 to $15,000 or more depending on category, how much of the space was finished, how long it ran and how much has to come out rather than be dried in place. The largest single swing in this township is whether your lower level is finished, and that maps almost exactly onto which half you are in — an unfinished block basement south of Cass can take contaminated water and still be a contained scope, while a finished walkout near Hall Road takes cleaner water and loses flooring, base, drywall and cavity insulation. A firm number should come from readings taken on site rather than from a phone description. Prime Restoration gives a free on-site estimate for your home. Call (586) 277-1069.
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