§ Why new additions pros in San Francisco use Estimate.Pro
THE BID ENGINE.
## Estimating additions in San Francisco is not like estimating anywhere else
You are working on a constrained grid. Lots are narrow. Rear yards are regulated. Neighbors share walls. The Planning Department has opinions on your roofline before the first shovel turns. And the Department of Building Inspection adds permit fees that would make a Phoenix contractor blink.
Most national estimating tools do not know that. Estimate.Pro does.
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## What makes addition work in San Francisco different
**CA Title 24 energy compliance is mandatory on every permitted addition.** The moment you add conditioned space, you trigger envelope, mechanical, and lighting compliance checks. Your bid needs to price in a HERS rater, blower-door testing, and any required insulation upgrades to the existing structure—not just the addition itself.
**Soft-story and seismic retrofit requirements intersect with addition permits.** If your client's building is on the Mandatory Soft-Story Retrofit Program list, DBI staff will flag it during addition permit review. You may be asked to address the lateral system as a condition of approval. That is a scope line most contractors miss in the first draft.
**ADU additions are their own category.** San Francisco's ADU program is one of the most active in California. Junior ADUs, attached ADUs, and vertical additions all carry different setback rules, owner-occupancy requirements, and utility connection fees. A single-rate square-footage formula will not hold up when a client asks for a line-item breakdown.
**Labor runs high.** San Francisco sits in one of the country's tightest construction labor markets. Prevailing wage rules apply to publicly assisted projects, and union scale sets the ceiling on what skilled trades expect even on private residential work.
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## How Estimate.Pro handles it
**Walkthrough to sendable bid in 8 minutes.** Open the app on a supported device, do a live AR measurement of the addition footprint and any existing rooms affected by the scope, and let the AI generate a scope-of-work draft. You review, adjust line items, and send—before you leave the driveway.
**AR measurement built for tight lots.** The ONNX-assisted live AR measurement engine works on supported devices and marks camera or photo measurements as estimates so you always know your confidence level. On a 25-foot-wide Sunset District lot with a garage below and bedrooms above, that matters.
**Your material cost workspace travels with you.** San Francisco material costs—framing lumber, Hardie siding, window units that meet the city's historic-compatibility guidelines—go into your saved material cost workspace. Every future bid pulls from your actual numbers, not a national average.
**25 trades in one platform.** Addition work rarely stops at framing. Electrical must comply with NEC 2023 as adopted by California. Mechanical must follow ASHRAE 62.2 for ventilation in new conditioned space. Plumbing triggers its own permit. Estimate.Pro supports all 25 trades, so when the scope bleeds into a sub's territory you can price it or carve it out cleanly.
**No platform fee on Pro+.** Stripe Connect is built into the Elite tier at 0% platform fee. Send the invoice from the same tool you used to write the estimate. The Free tier is free forever—no credit card required to start.
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## Pricing that fits where you are
| Plan | Cost | Right for |
|------|------|-----------|
| Free | $0 | Solo contractors testing the workflow |
| Pro | $39/seat/mo | One- to two-person operation running regular bids |
| Elite | $79/seat/mo | Stripe Connect invoicing + advanced exports |
| Crew | $399/mo flat | Multi-crew firm with multiple estimators |
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## Start with your next addition bid
Pull up the app, walk the site, and get a draft scope of work that reflects San Francisco permit realities—not a generic national template. The 8-minute median is a target, not a marketing claim. Test it on your next job and check the clock yourself.