New York, NY
KITCHEN REMODEL ESTIMATING.
QUICK ANSWERS.
Do I need a permit for a kitchen remodel in New York City?
Most kitchen remodels in New York City require a DOB permit. If you are replacing cabinets and appliances in-kind without moving walls, plumbing, or gas lines, a permit may not be required. If you are relocating a sink, adding or moving a gas line, or altering any wall, you will need at minimum an Alteration Type 3 or Alteration Type 2 filing. Work in a co-op or condo also typically requires a board-approved alteration agreement before the DOB application is submitted.
What is the wet-over-dry rule and how does it affect my kitchen estimate?
New York City Building Code restricts placing a wet room (kitchen, bathroom) directly above a dry room in certain building types without specific waterproofing and structural compliance measures. In pre-war and many post-war buildings, moving a kitchen footprint can trigger a wet-over-dry review. This adds cost for membrane installation, structural consultation, and extended DOB review — all of which belong as line items in your estimate before you sign a contract.
LOCAL FACTS.
Union finish carpenter rates in New York City run approximately $95–$115/hour including benefits and burden under NYCDCC agreements, compared to a national median closer to $55–$65/hour for open-shop work.
A typical Alt-2 filing for a kitchen remodel involving gas line relocation in New York City carries a base DOB filing fee of roughly $1,200–$2,500 depending on job cost declared, plus PE or RA professional fees that commonly add $2,000–$5,000 before construction begins.
Approximately 75% of Manhattan residential units are in co-ops. Most co-op boards require contractor insurance certificates, alteration agreements, and board approval before demo can begin — a process that typically adds 4–10 weeks to the pre-construction timeline and must be reflected in project scheduling and deposit terms.
THE BID ENGINE.
Bid Kitchen Remodels in New York Without Losing Your Margin
New York kitchen remodels are not like kitchen remodels anywhere else. You are working around DOB permits, co-op board approval packets, wet-over-dry rules in pre-war buildings, and union labor rates that move independently of the national averages your competitors are still using. A flat national cost database will get you burned before the cabinets arrive.
Estimate.Pro is built for the field, not a spreadsheet warrior in a suburban office. You do a walkthrough, the AI generates a scope-of-work, and you have a sendable bid in 8 minutes. That matters in a market where a homeowner in Tribeca or Park Slope has three other quotes in their inbox by Tuesday morning.
What Makes NYC Kitchen Estimating Different
Permit complexity. The New York City Department of Buildings classifies most kitchen remodels as Alteration Type 2 or Alteration Type 3 filings, depending on scope. If you are moving a gas line or adding or removing a wall, you are in Alt-2 territory, which means a licensed PE or RA stamp and a longer filing timeline. Your estimate needs to carry those soft costs before you shake hands.
Building type mix. Pre-war co-ops, post-war condos, landmarked rowhouses, and new-construction high-rises each impose different constraints. Kitchens in pre-war buildings often run on knob-and-tube or early panel systems — you will flag an electrical upgrade in scope before the demo crew touches a single cabinet. Estimate.Pro lets you build trade-specific line items fast and notes assumptions inline so your client sees the logic, not just the number.
Material lead times and staging. Manhattan job sites have no staging area. Deliveries are scheduled to the hour. Your estimate should account for multiple delivery windows and elevator reservation fees in condos and co-ops — real costs that disappear from generic templates.
Union vs. open-shop labor. Depending on your crew structure and the building's labor requirements, your carpenter and electrician rates can differ by 40% or more versus national benchmarks. Estimate.Pro's saved material cost workspace lets you store your actual negotiated rates, your borough-specific labor burden, and your supplier pricing. You quote your numbers, not someone else's.
The 8-Minute Workflow
- Walkthrough. Use AR measurement on supported devices to capture the kitchen footprint. Camera and photo measurements are flagged as estimates so you know what to verify.
- AI scope-of-work. The AI drafts a line-item scope: demo, rough plumbing, rough electric, cabinet installation, countertop fabrication, tile, finish plumbing, finish electric, punch list. You review and adjust.
- Price it. Pull from your saved cost workspace. Apply your overhead and margin. Add the DOB filing allowance as a line item.
- Send it. PDF or client-facing link. Stripe Connect for deposit collection if you are on Pro+ — $0 platform fee on collected payments.
Median time from walkthrough to sendable bid: 8 minutes.
Calculators and Tools Inside Estimate.Pro
- Cabinet and countertop linear-foot calculator — priced at your saved supplier rates
- Tile square-footage takeoff — accounts for cuts and waste percentage you set
- Rough electrical line items — flagged for NEC compliance notes when you include panel work
- Rough plumbing scope builder — includes reroute logic for wet-over-dry stack compliance
- Markup and margin toggle — switch between cost-plus and fixed-price views before you send
Pricing That Fits a Solo Operator or a Crew
- Free forever. No credit card. Try every tool before you pay anything.
- Pro — $39/seat/month. Full estimating, saved cost workspace, client PDF delivery.
- Elite — $79/seat/month. Adds Stripe Connect invoicing with 0% platform fee and invoice exports.
- Crew — $399/month flat. One price for the whole shop, unlimited seats.
A 40-unit co-op building in the Upper West Side generating three kitchen remodel bids a month pays for Pro in a single won job. The math is not complicated.
New York rewards contractors who show up fast with a professional, detailed number. Estimate.Pro gets you there.
Bid faster in New York.
14-day Pro trial, no card. Free forever fallback. Built for kitchen remodelers.