Seattle, WA
HARDSCAPING / PAVERS ESTIMATING.

## Hardscape Estimating in Seattle Is Not Like Anywhere Else Seattle's climate and terrain create specific problems for hardscape contractors that generic estimating tools ignore. You are working with expansive soils in the Puget Sound basin, significant grade changes across the hill neighborhoods, and a rain season that runs roughly October through April. A patio job in Bellevue or a retaining wall in Capitol Hill requires proper base depth calculations, drainage planning, and realistic scheduling windows. Miss any of those in your bid and your margin disappears. Then there is the permit layer. Seattle DCI requires permits for retaining walls exceeding four feet in height and for any structural hardscape work. King County adds its own stormwater management requirements under the 2021 King County Surface Water Design Manual. Impervious surface coverage limits apply in many Seattle zoning districts, which means your clients may need a pervious paver system — ICPI-compliant interlocking concrete pavers with appropriate open-graded base — just to get permit approval. If you are not accounting for that in your scope of work, you are writing bids that get repriced mid-job. ## What Estimate.Pro Calculates for Hardscape Work Estimate.Pro supports hardscape as one of 25 built-in trades. The scope generator covers: - Excavation and grading depth by base course specification - Aggregate base and compaction layers per ICPI guidelines - Paver material takeoff by square footage with waste factor - Edge restraint linear footage - Polymeric sand quantities - Drainage structure counts and pipe runs - Retaining wall block courses with batter calculation - Geogrid reinforcement layers for segmental retaining walls per NCMA design standards You walk the site, use the AR measurement tool on a supported device to capture patio dimensions and wall runs, and Estimate.Pro generates a scope of work and priced estimate. Median time from walkthrough to sendable bid is 8 minutes. Camera or photo measurements are flagged as estimates, so you always know what was field-measured and what was approximated. ## Seattle-Specific Material and Labor Inputs Estimate.Pro uses a saved material cost workspace. You load your actual supplier pricing from vendors like Mutual Materials in Kent or Pacific Topsoils, not national averages that do not reflect Puget Sound logistics costs. Concrete pavers, natural stone, basalt, and manufactured wall block all carry a freight premium in the Pacific Northwest compared to inland markets. Your workspace holds those numbers and applies them consistently across every bid you generate. Labor rates in King County for hardscape work run higher than national benchmarks. Build your crew rates into the system once and every estimate reflects your actual cost structure. ## Permitting Context You Should Know Seattle DCI permit fees for hardscape and landscape projects are calculated on valuation. A mid-range patio and retaining wall project in the $25,000–$50,000 range typically triggers fees in the $500–$900 range depending on review type, though any project touching drainage or structural walls will add review time. Factor that into your project timeline and your bid. King County's stormwater requirements mean many residential projects need a site drainage plan showing that impervious surface runoff is managed on-site. Pervious paver systems satisfy that requirement in many cases. If you are not quoting pervious systems as an option, competitors who do will take those jobs. ## Seasonal Scheduling in Seattle Hardscape installation in Seattle has a real seasonality constraint. Concrete base work and paver setting require ground temperatures above 40°F for proper compaction and curing. The practical outdoor construction window for paving runs April through October. That means Q2 and Q3 are your revenue window and Q4 through Q1 are your bidding and planning season. Build your bid volume during the wet months so your install calendar is full when the ground dries out. Estimate.Pro's free tier lets you generate bids without a platform fee, so there is no cost to bidding aggressively during shoulder season. ## Pricing Estimate.Pro runs on three paid tiers: Pro at $39 per seat per month, Elite at $79 per seat per month, and Crew at $399 per month flat for unlimited seats. There is also a free forever tier with no credit card required. Elite adds Stripe Connect invoicing with 0% platform fee and invoice export workflows. Free tier carries a 3% Stripe Connect platform fee on collected payments. For a solo hardscape contractor doing 30–50 bids per season in Seattle, Pro is the right starting point. For a crew running multiple estimators across Eastside and South Sound markets, Crew eliminates per-seat cost entirely.