San Jose, CA
DOORS ESTIMATING.

## Door Estimating in San Jose Moves Fast — Your Bid Process Should Too San Jose's construction market is dense. New mixed-use builds in Diridon, commercial tenant improvements in North San Jose, and residential replacements across Willow Glen all land on your plate at the same time. When three GCs want bids by Friday, a slow estimate process costs you work. Estimate.Pro is built for door contractors who need accurate numbers fast — not spreadsheet guesswork. --- ## What Makes Door Estimating Different in San Jose **California Title 24 adds scope every time.** Door replacements in existing commercial buildings trigger Title 24 Part 6 (Energy Code) compliance checks on U-factor and air leakage. Exterior door swaps on residential jobs can require documentation for HERS rater sign-off. These aren't optional line items — they're scope that has to be priced or you absorb it. **ADA compliance is enforced.** Santa Clara County and the City of San Jose both require accessible door hardware, clearances, and threshold heights on any commercial permit pull. Maneuvering clearances under ANSI A117.1 need to be checked before you finalize hardware specs. Missing this at bid stage means change orders — or no change order and you eat it. **Labor runs high.** Bay Area union and non-union door installer rates are among the highest in California. Underbidding labor by even 10% on a 30-door commercial job is a five-figure mistake. **Material lead times are real.** Hollow metal frames, fire-rated assemblies, and hardware sets from Bay Area distributors can carry 6–12 week lead times. Your bid needs to account for storage, phased delivery, and the possibility of price lock clauses. Estimate.Pro's saved material cost workspace lets you lock in current pricing from your suppliers so you're not re-entering numbers job after job. --- ## How Estimate.Pro Works for Door Contractors **Walkthrough → scope → bid in 8 minutes.** You walk the job, the app builds the scope of work using AI, and you send a priced estimate before you've left the parking lot. The 8-minute median is the target — not a marketing line. **AR measurement on supported devices.** Estimate.Pro uses ONNX-assisted live AR measurement to capture rough opening dimensions, door widths, and frame conditions on supported devices. Camera and photo measurements are marked as estimates so you know exactly where to field-verify. **Line items that match real door work.** Your estimate includes door units, frames, hardware, threshold, weatherstripping, installation labor (by door type — hollow metal, wood, aluminum storefront, fire-rated), disposal, and permit allowance as a separate line. Nothing is bundled into a vague "installation" number that you have to unpack later. **Stripe Connect built in.** On Elite, you collect deposits and final payments through Stripe Connect with 0% platform fee. On Free, the fee is 3%. No chasing checks. --- ## Pricing That Matches How You Staff - **Free forever** — no credit card, no time limit. Good for solo operators testing the platform. - **Pro at $39/seat/month** — full estimating, saved material cost workspace, AR measurement. - **Elite at $79/seat/month** — adds Stripe Connect, invoice exports, advanced workflows. - **Crew at $399/month flat** — unlimited seats for larger door shops running multiple crews. No percentage of project value. No per-estimate fees. --- ## San Jose Permit Reality The City of San Jose Development Services Center processes door and window replacement permits as over-the-counter permits for like-for-like residential work, but commercial projects and any job changing the frame opening require plan check. Fire-rated door assemblies must list UL label documentation with the permit application. Budget time for that paperwork when you're building your schedule into the bid. If you're working in older building stock — and San Jose has plenty of it in the Japantown, Gardner, and Seven Trees neighborhoods — assume you'll find non-standard rough openings. Your estimate needs a scope-change allowance built in, not added as an afterthought. --- ## Start Free, Win the Next Bid Estimate.Pro supports 25 trades. Door contractors are one of them — not an afterthought bolted onto a general construction tool. The scope templates, line items, and code references are built for how door work actually gets priced in California. Create your free account. No credit card. Walk your next job with the app open and see what an 8-minute bid looks like.