Chicago, IL
DOORS ESTIMATING.

## Door Estimating in Chicago Moves Fast — Your Bids Need to Keep Up Chicago's construction market doesn't slow down. Between gut rehabs in Pilsen, high-rise retrofits in the Loop, and new-build single-families in the northwest suburbs, door contractors here are juggling commercial hollow metal, residential prehung units, and specialty fire-rated assemblies — sometimes on the same week's schedule. Writing bids on paper or in a spreadsheet means you're already behind the GC who got the scope to ownership by 8 AM. ## What Makes Door Estimating Different in Chicago **Fire-rated door requirements are strict and inspected.** Chicago enforces the International Building Code with local amendments, and IBC Chapter 7 fire-resistance requirements apply to most multi-unit and commercial work. Stairwell doors, corridor doors, and tenant separation doors each carry different label requirements. Your estimate needs to reflect the door schedule accurately — wrong fire rating = failed inspection = your callback. **Weather infiltration is a line item, not an afterthought.** With average January lows around 18°F, Chicago clients ask about weatherstripping, threshold seals, and storm doors. If your bid doesn't break those out, a competitor's will. **Permit fees and timelines add real cost.** Chicago Department of Buildings permit fees are calculated on project valuation. A standard residential door replacement permit runs under $100, but commercial storefront or rated-assembly work ties to the building permit and can add meaningful cost and schedule time. You need that in the bid before you submit, not after. **Union labor rates matter on commercial jobs.** If you're bidding prevailing-wage work — CTA stations, Chicago Housing Authority properties, city facilities — you're working under Illinois Prevailing Wage Act rates. Carpenters Local 13 sets the area standard. Misquoting labor on a union job is an expensive mistake. ## How Estimate.Pro Works for Door Contractors You do a site walkthrough. You record door counts, frame conditions, hardware specs, and rough opening dimensions on your phone. Estimate.Pro's AR measurement tool runs ONNX-assisted live detection on supported devices — dimensions flagged as estimates on camera or photo measurements, so you always know what's verified versus approximated. The AI scope-of-work engine turns your walkthrough notes into a line-item draft. Door type, frame type, hardware set, installation labor, threshold, weatherstripping, disposal. Eight minutes from walkthrough to a sendable bid is the median. You review, adjust for your material costs in the saved workspace, and send. **Your material cost workspace stays with you.** You've negotiated pricing with your lumber yard on Elston or your millwork supplier in Elk Grove Village. Enter those numbers once. Every future estimate pulls them automatically. ## Pricing That Fits Where You Are If you're running a two-person crew doing residential replacements, the free tier costs you nothing — no credit card, no trial expiration. If you're scaling up and need Stripe Connect invoicing and export workflows, Pro runs $39 per seat per month. Elite is $79 per seat and adds invoice exports and 0% platform fee on payments through Stripe Connect. The Crew plan at $399 flat covers your whole shop regardless of head count. On the Free plan, Stripe Connect charges a 3% platform fee on collected payments. On Pro and above, that drops to 0%. ## Chicago-Specific Details You Can't Ignore The Chicago Department of Buildings requires separate permits for certain door work that other municipalities fold into a general contractor's permit. Commercial storefronts, fire-rated assemblies, and accessibility-related door upgrades under ADA Title III each have specific documentation requirements. If you're the door sub, confirm who's pulling the permit before you price the job. For high-rise work, Chicago's high-rise ordinance (Municipal Code Title 13, Chapter 13-76) imposes additional requirements on fire door maintenance and inspection that can create recurring service-call revenue if you position your business for it. Accessibility work under the Illinois Accessibility Code (which runs parallel to ADA and IBC) sets maneuvering clearances, hardware height, and opening-force maximums. If a client is doing an ADA upgrade, your bid should call those specs out explicitly — it protects you and signals to the GC that you know the code. ## Get Your First Estimate Out Today Create a free account. No credit card. Walk your next job, let the scope build itself, and send a bid that reflects actual Chicago costs — labor, materials, permits, and all.