Boston, MA
HARDSCAPING / PAVERS ESTIMATING.

## Hardscape Estimating in Boston Moves at a Different Pace Boston's frost line sits at 48 inches. That single number changes every base preparation bid you write. If your estimate doesn't account for proper sub-base depth under paver driveways, patios, and retaining walls, you're either losing margin or losing jobs to contractors who cut corners and underbid you. Estimate.Pro is built around the way hardscape contractors actually work — walking a site, measuring, then pricing. The app takes you from jobsite walkthrough to a sendable bid in a median of 8 minutes. --- ## What Makes Boston Hardscape Bidding Different **Frost heave is non-negotiable.** Massachusetts building practice and ICPI guidelines require deeper aggregate base installation than most Sun Belt competitors account for. Your bids need to reflect that cost honestly, or you end up eating compaction material on every job. **Permit requirements vary by municipality.** The City of Boston requires a Street Occupancy Permit any time a driveway apron connects to a public way. Brookline, Cambridge, and Newton each have their own paving and drainage review processes. Estimate.Pro lets you store permit line items in your saved material cost workspace so they appear automatically when you build a bid. **Labor rates are among the highest in New England.** Journeyman hardscape labor in the Greater Boston area runs $65–$85/hr depending on the scope and crew. Misquoting labor by even 10% on a $40,000 bluestone patio job leaves $4,000 on the table. The app's cost workspace holds your actual rates, not generic national averages. **Historic districts add scope.** Boston Landmarks Commission and neighborhood architectural review boards cover significant portions of the South End, Beacon Hill, and Back Bay. Jobs in those zones may require material approval before work begins. That's a pre-construction line item. It needs to be in your proposal. **Drainage is a compliance issue.** Massachusetts Stormwater Management Standards and local MS4 permits mean that any impervious paver installation above a certain square footage threshold may trigger review. Permeable paver systems are increasingly specified as a mitigation strategy. If you install ICPI-spec permeable interlocking concrete pavers, your bid structure differs from a standard base installation — different aggregate gradation, different geotextile, different inspection hold points. --- ## How Estimate.Pro Works for Hardscape Contractors Open a job. Walk the site with your phone. On supported devices, the ONNX-assisted live AR measurement tool captures dimensions in real time. On any device, photo measurements are clearly marked as estimates so you know what to verify before you sign. The app generates a scope of work automatically from your walkthrough inputs. You review it, adjust line items, apply your saved material costs — bluestone pricing, Techo-Bloc or EP Henry unit costs, compaction gravel, edge restraint, polymeric sand — and send the bid. Eight minutes median. Not a marketing number. A measured target. **Calculators relevant to hardscape jobs:** - Square footage and linear footage from AR or photo capture - Sub-base volume by depth (critical for Boston frost-depth compliance) - Material quantity take-off for pavers, base aggregate, and bedding sand - Slope and drainage grade calculations - Retaining wall block count with batter estimation All output ties to your stored cost workspace, so markup and labor burden apply consistently across every bid. --- ## Pricing Built for the Trades Estimate.Pro runs on a free forever tier — no credit card, no trial clock. When your volume justifies it, Pro is $39/seat/month. Elite is $79/seat/month and adds Stripe Connect invoicing (0% platform fee on Pro+) and invoice exports. Crew is $399/month flat for the whole company. No per-bid fees. No percentage of contract value taken by the platform. --- ## Boston Hardscape Contractors Work Differently. Your Software Should Too. You're not bidding pool decks in Phoenix. You're quoting granite curbing replacements in Newton, bluestone patios in Wellesley, and permeable driveway systems in Somerville where the Conservation Commission is watching runoff. The estimate has to be right the first time. Estimate.Pro is the field operating system built for contractors who work in specific places with specific codes. Start free. No credit card.