Where to find drywall & framing bids in Michigan: plan rooms and bid sources

Short answer: there is no single place to find drywall and framing bids in Michigan. Detroit posts bids on Bonfire, Grand Rapids runs bids through the MITN Purchasing Group, and the Construction Association of Michigan lists a virtual planroom for members. Several state and university pages blocked our check, so this is a short list. Private work mostly comes by invitation from general contractors. This page lists the sources we could confirm, with how each one describes its own access.

Neighboring states: Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin

How public and private bids work in Michigan

Public projects are advertised by the owner: a state agency, a city or county, a university or a school district. The bid notice, plans, specifications and addenda are normally posted on the owner's own site, bidding platform or plan room, and every project shows its bid date. Read each notice for bonding and prequalification terms.

Private projects are usually bid by invitation. A general contractor or owner decides who receives the documents, and the plans typically sit in a regional plan room, a bid service, or the GC's own portal. As a drywall, framing, insulation or CMU sub you usually price your scope to the GCs who are bidding, so being on the right planholder list matters.

Michigan bid sources by type and region

Regions are listed where the source states one. Use the access column as a starting point, not a guarantee.

Michigan is thinly covered here. The State of Michigan procurement and MDOT bid letting pages, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University procurement pages, and the AGC Michigan site either blocked our automated check or returned nothing usable, so they are left out rather than guessed at. Check them directly if you bid for those owners. MDOT lettings are highway and bridge work and rarely include drywall or framing scopes.

Tips for subs

• Register as a planholder through the official channel. That is how you receive addenda, and some owners publish planholder lists that GCs use to find subs. Where a portal offers alerts by category or code, turn them on.
• Go to the pre-bid meeting when there is one. Whether a meeting exists, and whether attendance is mandatory, is stated project by project in the notice. Read how scope is split between trades while you are there.
• Track addenda until bid day. Wall types, ceiling heights and scope can change, so reprice from the final set and re-check the day before the bid is due.
• Get the official set. Bid notices say which source holds the controlling documents. Plans from another source may be incomplete.
• Check plan quality before you commit. Open the PDF and try to select a line or text. If you can, it is a vector file that can be measured exactly. If the page behaves like one picture, it is a scan and will take longer by hand. Also confirm the wall type legend is on the set; see what happens when it is missing.
• Check bonding and licensing before you price. Public notices often call for bid security and proof of licensing. Read the notice for the exact form.

Once you have the plans

ReadMyBlueprint is takeoff software, not a bid board. It reads vector plan sets for drywall, metal framing, wood framing, insulation and CMU. In our Freeport Square test (21 pages), 68.9% of walls were auto-matched and 99.8% after one "Confirm all." That was one plan set, so treat it as a single data point, and see the tour for how the review step works.

FAQ

Where do I find public construction bids in Michigan?

There is no single place. The City of Detroit posts open bids on Bonfire, the City of Grand Rapids posts them through the MITN Purchasing Group, and the Construction Association of Michigan lists a virtual planroom. We could not check the State of Michigan or university bid pages. The table above lists each source and how it describes its access.

Do I need to register to see City of Grand Rapids bids?

Yes. The city's Purchasing page says you must be a registered MITN vendor and log in to view current bids. It describes a free registration without automatic notifications and a paid one with notifications. Vendors who are paid by the city also register separately in VSS.

Is there one statewide plan room or builders exchange for Michigan?

Our check did not confirm a statewide plan room we could read. The Construction Association of Michigan's homepage lists a Virtual Planroom under Resources, but it does not describe access or terms.

Can a subcontractor bid on Michigan public projects?

Public owners advertise the prime contract, so subs normally price their scope to the general contractors who are bidding it. Read each bid notice for the owner's own rules, including any prequalification, certification or bonding terms.

What is a planholder and why register as one?

A planholder is a firm that has officially requested the bid documents for a project. Registering usually puts you on the list that receives addenda, and some owners publish planholder lists that general contractors use to find subs. Download plans through the official channel, not from a forwarded link.

How are private bids different from public bids?

Public projects are advertised openly and the documents are usually posted on the owner's site or platform. Private work is usually bid by invitation from a general contractor or owner, and documents come through a regional plan room, a bid service, or the GC directly. Access differs by source.

Does a scanned plan set matter when pricing a bid?

Yes. A vector PDF exported from CAD can be measured exactly, while a scanned plan is only a picture and has to be traced by hand or estimated. Check whether your plans are vector or scanned before you commit to a bid deadline.

Does ReadMyBlueprint list or sell bids?

No. ReadMyBlueprint is takeoff software, not a bid board. Once you have a plan set from any source above, you can upload it and review the takeoff yourself before the bid goes out.