Richmond, VA
DOORS ESTIMATING.

## Door Estimating in Richmond Built for the Way You Work Richmond's housing stock runs the full range — pre-Civil War rowhouses in Church Hill, postwar ranches in Henrico County, and new construction pushing out toward Short Pump and Chesterfield. Each job type demands a different scope. A historic renovation on Monument Avenue means measuring out-of-square openings, sourcing period-appropriate hardware, and documenting everything for the City of Richmond's Architectural Review Board. A track-home replacement in Midlothian is faster but carries its own pressure: tight margins, multiple units, and a GC watching the schedule. Estimate.Pro handles both without switching tools. ### From Walkthrough to Bid in 8 Minutes Open the app on-site. Walk the job. The AR measurement tool — powered by an on-device ONNX model on supported devices — captures opening dimensions live. On older phones or tablet cameras, measurements are flagged as estimates so you never send a bid built on data you can't defend. Either way, the scope-of-work draft is ready before you get back to the truck. The AI scope builder knows door work: pre-hung units, slab-only swaps, pocket doors, bi-folds, commercial hollow-metal frames, storefront aluminum, sliding patio doors, and barn door hardware. It pulls the correct line items for the job type — frame prep, shimming, weatherstripping, threshold, lockset, closer — and drops them into a priced estimate using your saved material cost workspace. ### Richmond-Specific Pressure on Door Jobs Richmond's climate sits in IECC Climate Zone 4A — mixed-humid. That matters for exterior door specs. Energy code compliance under the 2021 Virginia Construction Code (which Virginia adopted with state amendments effective 2023) requires exterior doors to meet specific U-factor and air leakage ratings. Estimate.Pro lets you note the product spec and U-factor on the estimate itself, so the customer and inspector see the same number. Permit requirements inside Richmond city limits differ from Henrico, Chesterfield, and Hanover County. The City of Richmond Department of Public Works issues building permits for door replacements that involve structural header work. A like-for-like residential exterior door swap in Richmond city typically does not require a permit, but any widening or structural modification does. Knowing this before you price the job keeps your bid honest and your schedule intact. Historic district work adds another layer. Richmond has seven local historic districts managed by the Commission of Architectural Review. Window and door replacements in these zones require a Certificate of Appropriateness before work starts. Your estimate should account for the lead time — COA review can run four to six weeks for full commission review — and any material upcharges for approved products. ### Pricing Accuracy Starts with Local Labor Rates Door installation labor in the Richmond metro averages $38–$52 per hour for skilled finish carpenters, depending on the scope and whether you're working union or open shop. Commercial hollow-metal frame and hardware installs on the higher end; residential prehung exterior doors on the lower end. Estimate.Pro stores your rates in your saved material cost workspace. Set them once. Every estimate that follows uses your numbers, not a national average that doesn't match your payroll. ### No Platform Fee on Pro and Above When you close a job and send an invoice through Stripe Connect, Estimate.Pro charges 0% platform fee on Pro and Elite plans. The Free tier carries a 3% fee — fair for getting started, but Pro at $39 per seat per month pays for itself on the first invoice of any size. Elite at $79 per seat per month adds invoice export workflows and the full Stripe Connect integration if you're running a crew across multiple job sites. Crew at $399 flat per month covers the whole team without counting heads. ### Start Free, No Credit Card Estimate.Pro has a free forever tier. Create an account, run a real estimate on your next Richmond door job, and see the 8-minute median hold up in practice. No credit card. No trial clock. Door contractors in Richmond are competing against big-box installers who undercut on price and miss on quality. Your edge is a faster, more accurate bid that shows the customer exactly what they're getting. That starts with the estimate.