Providence, RI
NEW ADDITIONS ESTIMATING.

## Addition Estimating in Providence Is Not Simple Work Providence sits on some of the oldest residential stock in the country. Colonial, Federal, and Victorian-era homes dominate the East Side and Federal Hill neighborhoods. When you're adding square footage to a 140-year-old house, you're not bidding a standard box — you're negotiating foundation differences, balloon-frame tie-ins, lead paint abatement staging, and historic district approval in the same proposal. That complexity is exactly where bids fall apart. A number pulled from memory or a square-foot rule of thumb doesn't account for the soil conditions near the Providence River, the cost of a structural engineer stamping drawings for a cantilevered addition, or the Rhode Island State Building Code requirements under the 2018 IBC as locally adopted. Estimate.Pro builds the scope before it builds the number. ## What the 8-Minute Bid Actually Looks Like You walk the job. You use the Estimate.Pro walkthrough on your phone. The AR measurement tool — running ONNX-assisted detection on supported devices — captures wall runs, ceiling heights, and openings as you move through the space. Camera or photo captures are flagged as estimates, so your bid reflects what you actually know versus what you approximated. The AI scope-of-work engine translates your walkthrough into line items: footings, framing, sheathing, windows, insulation, drywall, exterior finish, roofing tie-in, electrical rough-in, and finish work. You review, adjust for site-specific conditions — say, a ledger connection into an existing masonry wall or a sump requirement the Providence lot drainage demands — and send. Median time from first step inside to sendable bid: 8 minutes. ## Rhode Island Code and Permit Reality Providence enforces the 2018 International Building Code as adopted by Rhode Island, with amendments including Rhode Island's specific energy code requirements under ASHRAE 90.1. Additions over a certain square footage trigger a full energy compliance review. Your estimate needs to account for blower door testing, continuous insulation requirements on the new envelope, and window U-factor compliance — not just the sticks and bricks. The Providence Inspections and Standards office requires a building permit for any addition regardless of size. Electrical work on the addition requires a separate RI electrical permit, pulled by a licensed RI electrician. Plumbing follows the same pattern. Your bid has to carry the right permit line items or you're absorbing that cost later. If the property sits in a Providence Historic District — College Hill, Benefit Street corridor, or a locally designated zone — the Providence Historic District Commission review adds time and potentially design constraints. That's a line item in your project schedule, and a risk factor in your margin. ## Material Cost Management for Providence Jobs Lumber pricing swings hit Providence contractors the same as anywhere, but regional supply chain from regional yards in Cranston and Warwick means your actual cost is not the national average. Estimate.Pro lets you save your own material cost workspace — the prices you're actually paying at your supplier, not a national index that doesn't reflect your market. When OSB moves up 12% at your yard, you update the workspace. Every future bid pulls that number. You're not re-entering costs job by job. ## Pricing That Fits a Small Shop Estimate.Pro is free to start — no credit card, no time limit on the free tier. Pro runs $39 per seat per month. Elite is $79 per seat per month and adds Stripe Connect with zero platform fee on payments, plus invoice exports for your accounting workflow. Crew is a flat $399 per month for larger operations. For a one- or two-person addition shop doing six to twelve projects a year in Providence, Pro covers the core workflow. If you're processing payments through the platform, Elite pays for itself fast given the 3% fee on Free versus 0% on Pro+. ## Built for 25 Trades, Including Additions Estimate.Pro supports 25 trades in a single platform. If your addition work touches electrical, HVAC, or tile — and it usually does — your subs can be using the same system. Scopes don't get lost in email chains. Your bid reflects what actually goes into the job. Providence's housing stock will keep addition contractors busy for years. The city's density means homeowners expand rather than move. The age of the structures means every project has a hidden condition waiting. Your bid needs to account for both the known scope and the contingency, and it needs to get out the door before your competitor's does. Estimate.Pro is how you get there.