Washington, DC
HARDSCAPING / PAVERS ESTIMATING.

## Hardscape Estimating in Washington, DC DC hardscape work is not like working in the suburbs. You are pricing jobs in a city where historic preservation overlays, DDOT right-of-way permits, and tight alley access all hit the same estimate. A patio in Capitol Hill might require a separate public space permit from the District Department of Transportation before a shovel goes in the ground. A driveway in Chevy Chase DC triggers different review than the same driveway across Western Avenue in Maryland. Your estimate has to reflect that cost — or you eat it. Estimate.Pro is built for exactly this kind of job. You walk the site, capture measurements using live AR on supported devices, and the app builds a scope-of-work draft. Median time from walkthrough to sendable bid: 8 minutes. --- ### What Makes DC Hardscape Bids Different **Public space permits add cost and lead time.** Any hardscape work that touches a sidewalk, tree box, or public alley in DC requires a Public Space Permit from DDOT. That permit pulls in DDOT review, often a fee based on square footage of impact, and can add two to four weeks to a project start. Your estimate needs a line item for it — and a note to the client explaining the timeline. **Soil conditions vary by neighborhood.** Much of DC east of the Anacostia sits on fill or low-lying soils with drainage issues. A paver patio bid in Brookland or Deanwood that does not account for base depth correction or geotextile fabric is a bid that will cost you money on the job. Estimate.Pro lets you save material cost workspaces so your base course assumptions are consistent job to job. **Historic district rules affect material selection.** Large portions of the District — Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Capitol Hill, LeDroit Park — fall under Historic District review. That review can dictate paver color, pattern, and even joint width. If your estimate spec'd standard grey concrete pavers and the Historic Preservation Review Board requires clay brick to match the streetscape, you have a change order problem. Build the right material into the estimate from the start. **Labor costs are real.** DC-area hardscape labor runs higher than most mid-Atlantic markets. Prevailing wage rules apply to any work on District-owned property. For private residential and commercial jobs, market rates for skilled paver installers in the DC metro reflect the cost of working in a high-density urban environment. --- ### ICPI Standards in Your Estimates Estimate.Pro references ICPI (Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute) installation standards by name in the scope-of-work output. When you send a bid that cites ICPI base preparation specs, you are signaling to a commercial property manager or GC that you work to a documented standard — not a guess. That matters in a market where DC commercial clients often require contractor credentials and methodology statements. --- ### AR Measurement on DC Job Sites Tight rowhouse yards, L-shaped alley patios, and multi-level rear decks with paver surrounds are common in DC. On supported devices, Estimate.Pro uses ONNX-assisted live AR to measure irregular shapes in the field. Photos and camera-based measurements are marked as estimates in the output — you know exactly which figures need a field verify before the bid goes final. --- ### Pricing That Works for DC Hardscape Contractors Estimate.Pro's Free tier costs nothing and requires no credit card. Pro is $39 per seat per month. Elite is $79 per seat per month and adds Stripe Connect invoicing and invoice exports — useful when you are collecting deposits on larger patio or driveway projects. Crew runs $399 per month flat for the whole team. On Pro and above, the Stripe Connect platform fee is 0%. If you are running two or three crews across DC and the close-in Maryland and Virginia suburbs, Crew pricing lets every estimator work from the same material cost workspace without per-seat math eating into margin. --- ### Get Your First DC Hardscape Estimate Out Today Sign up on the Free tier. Walk a job. Let the app build the scope. Review the ICPI-referenced line items, add your DDOT public space permit allowance, and send the bid. No credit card. No setup fee. 25 trades supported, hardscape included.