New Orleans, LA
WINDOWS ESTIMATING.

## Window Estimating in New Orleans Is Not Standard Work New Orleans hands you problems that most window estimating software ignores. You are working in a city where a significant share of the housing stock predates 1950, the Historic District Landmarks Commission has opinions about what a replacement window can look like, and the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code mandates wind-borne debris protection in coastal parishes. Miss any of those details in a bid and you either lose the job on price or lose money doing it. Estimate.Pro is built for the trades, not for office administrators. Here is what that means for a window contractor operating in the greater New Orleans metro. --- ## The Permitting Reality in Orleans Parish Replacement window permits in Orleans Parish are required when you change window size, alter the rough opening, or work in a structure designated as a historic landmark or within a historic district. The Vieux Carré and several Uptown and Faubourg Marigny corridors carry additional review requirements through the Historic District Landmarks Commission (HDLC). A standard vinyl replacement in Metairie and the same job in the French Quarter are two different scopes of work. When you build a scope in Estimate.Pro, you note the job address and flag historic district status. That flag carries through to your line items — wood or aluminum-clad frames instead of vinyl, interior stops, weight-pocket insulation, and color-match sill work all show up as separate cost lines, not buried in a lump sum that surprises you at the midpoint of the job. --- ## Wind Load and Impact Glazing Requirements Louisiana's coastal location means Orleans, Jefferson, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes fall under wind-borne debris region requirements per the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code, which adopts ASCE 7 wind speed maps. Windows in these zones must meet impact-resistance standards or be paired with approved shutters. The difference between a standard insulated glass unit and a PGT or CGI impact-rated unit is real money — both in material cost and in lead time from your supplier. Estimate.Pro's saved material cost workspace lets you store your current supplier pricing for standard, impact, and historic-approved units separately. When you build a bid, you pull the right SKU for the job classification. No mental math, no misquoting an impact unit at a standard price. --- ## AR Measurement on the Jobsite Older New Orleans homes are not dimensionally consistent. A shotgun double with original framing may have rough openings that vary by an inch or more from one bay to the next. Measure wrong, order wrong, eat the restocking fee. On supported devices, Estimate.Pro's ONNX-assisted live AR measurement captures rough opening dimensions directly from your phone camera during the walkthrough. On devices without depth sensors, photo measurements are captured and clearly marked as estimates so you know what to verify before you order. Either way, the measurements feed directly into your scope — they do not sit in a separate app you have to cross-reference later. --- ## 8-Minute Bid Target The median time from completed walkthrough to a sendable bid on Estimate.Pro is 8 minutes. For a window contractor running multiple replacement jobs per week in Lakeview, Gentilly, or the Westbank, that adds up. You are not billing by the hour for estimating. Every minute you spend reformatting a spreadsheet is a minute you are not on a job or following up on a lead. The workflow is: walkthrough with AR measurement → AI-generated scope of work based on what you captured → priced estimate using your saved material costs and regional labor rates → send. --- ## Pricing and Platform Fees Estimate.Pro runs on a free-forever tier with no credit card required. Paid plans are $39 per seat per month (Pro), $79 per seat per month (Elite), and $399 per month flat for crews. The Elite tier includes Stripe Connect invoicing and invoice exports. Stripe Connect platform fees are 3% on the Free plan and 0% on Pro and above. If you are collecting deposits or progress payments through the app, that difference matters on a $12,000 impact window job. --- ## Built for 25 Trades, Including Yours Estimate.Pro supports 25 trades. Window contractors share the platform with HVAC, roofing, electrical, and others, which matters when you are subcontracting or coordinating with a GC who is also using the tool. A consistent estimate format across trades reduces back-and-forth on change orders. If you are a window contractor working in New Orleans — dealing with HDLC reviews, impact-rated units, shotgun house rough openings, and a permit office that has its own pace — Estimate.Pro gives you a field-tested estimating process that accounts for what is actually on the job.