New Orleans, LA
HARDSCAPING / PAVERS ESTIMATING.

## Hardscape Estimating in New Orleans Has Its Own Set of Problems The soil in the New Orleans metro is some of the most challenging in the country. You are building on saturated, highly compressible alluvial clay that shifts with every heavy rain cycle. What that means for your estimates: base depth calculations matter more here than almost anywhere else in the South. A standard 4-inch compacted limestone base that works fine in Baton Rouge can fail under a New Orleans courtyard patio within two seasons. Your bids need to reflect actual site conditions, not national averages. Then there is the permitting layer. The City of New Orleans requires a Right-of-Way permit for any hardscape work that touches the public neutral ground or sidewalk — a common scope item in the French Quarter, Uptown, and Mid-City neighborhoods where contractors are constantly working up against historic streetscapes. Missing that line item in a bid is a real-money mistake. And the humidity. Above-grade wood deck replacements with concrete or permeable pavers are a growing category here precisely because of rot and termite pressure. Permeable paver systems installed to ICPI (Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute) specifications are increasingly specified by local landscape architects who need to satisfy FEMA flood zone drainage requirements. If you are pricing these jobs without a calculator that handles bedding sand depth, joint sand type, and edge restraint footage, you are guessing. ## What Estimate.Pro Does for Hardscape Contractors Estimate.Pro is built around the full ICPI specification stack — base course, bedding course, surface unit layout, and edge restraints — so your material takeoffs match what the job actually requires. When you do a walkthrough with the app, the AR measurement tool uses ONNX-assisted live detection on supported devices to capture patio dimensions, wall footprints, and step runs directly from your phone camera. On devices without AR support, camera and photo measurements are clearly flagged as estimates so you know exactly where to verify before you send the bid. From that walkthrough, the app generates a structured scope of work and a priced estimate. Median time from arriving on site to a sendable bid: 8 minutes. You maintain your own saved material cost workspace, so your preferred paver supplier pricing in the Gulf South market stays locked in rather than pulling from generic national indices that do not reflect actual New Orleans-area lumber yard and hardscape supply costs. ## The French Quarter and Historic District Reality A large portion of hardscape work in New Orleans happens inside or adjacent to historic district boundaries regulated by the Vieux Carré Commission or the Historic District Landmarks Commission. That adds a review layer that some out-of-town GCs do not anticipate. When you are bidding these jobs, your scope-of-work documentation needs to be precise enough to support a permit application, not just good enough to get a signature on a contract. Estimate.Pro's AI-generated scopes name materials, dimensions, ICPI or ANSI references, and installation methods explicitly. That specificity helps when you are submitting drawings or supporting documents to a review board. ## Pricing Tiers Estimate.Pro runs on a free forever tier — no credit card required, no time limit. If you want to invoice through the platform, the Pro plan is $39 per seat per month. Elite, at $79 per seat per month, adds Stripe Connect payments and invoice exports. The Crew plan at $399 per month flat covers multi-seat shops. On the Free tier, Stripe Connect transactions carry a 3% platform fee. On Pro and above, that fee drops to 0%. ## Start With One Bid If you have a patio, pool deck, or driveway job on your schedule this week, run it through Estimate.Pro before you build your usual spreadsheet. The 8-minute target is not a marketing claim — it is the median across real jobs in the field. New Orleans conditions, your local material costs, ICPI specs included.