Xactimate Estimating Services for Restoration Contractors
We write Xactimate estimates for restoration contractors — scoped from your photos, notes and measurements, built with the line items and documentation an adjuster expects to see, and structured so a supplement is supportable rather than arguable. Flat-quoted before we start.
Get a Free QuoteA Restoration Estimate Is Not a Bid
This is the distinction that makes restoration estimating a different discipline, and it changes everything about how the document is written.
A bid competes on price. It goes to an owner who compares it against other bids. The number is the argument and the detail supports it.
A restoration estimate is a claim document. It goes to an adjuster who compares it against the policy, the observed damage and their own estimate. The detail is the argument and the number is the result.
Which means the justification matters more than the total. A line item an adjuster cannot tie to documented damage gets removed regardless of whether the work is genuinely necessary. The same item with a photograph, a moisture reading and a note in the scope survives.
And the format is not optional. Carriers expect estimates in Xactimate, using recognised line items, priced to the current price list for the ZIP code. An estimate in a different format with the same content starts the conversation from a worse position.
What We Produce
Scoped estimate in Xactimate. Room by room and elevation by elevation from your field documentation, using recognised line items at the current price list for the loss location.
Sketch and dimensions. Floor plan sketch built from your measurements, with areas, perimeters and openings calculated so the quantities flow from the geometry rather than being entered by hand.
Line item detail with justification. Each item tied to the damage documented in your photos and notes, so the estimate answers the adjuster's question before it is asked.
Mitigation and repair separated. Emergency mitigation and permanent repair carried as distinct scopes, because they are frequently handled and approved separately.
Supplement estimates. Where additional damage is found after approval, a supplement built on the new evidence with the reason for each added item stated.
Documentation package. The estimate delivered alongside the photo references and notes it was built from, so the file stands on its own when it reaches an adjuster who was never on site.
Loss Types We Estimate
Water damage
Category and class established from your documentation, with mitigation — extraction, drying equipment by unit and day, containment, antimicrobial — separated from the repair scope that follows it.
Fire and smoke
Structural repair, cleaning by surface and by smoke type, deodorization, contents handling and the demolition the cleaning scope actually requires.
Storm and wind
Roof, envelope, opening and interior water intrusion damage, with the distinction between storm damage and pre-existing condition documented rather than assumed.
Mold remediation
Containment, engineering controls, removal, cleaning and clearance, priced to the protocol where one exists and flagged where one is needed.
Contents
Pack-out, cleaning, storage and return, or non-salvageable inventory where the loss requires it.
Large loss and commercial
Multi-unit residential and commercial losses where the scope spans many spaces and the estimate has to stay organized enough to be reviewed.
Why Restoration Estimates Get Reduced
The recurring reasons an estimate comes back cut, and none of them is about the work being unnecessary.
The damage is not documented
An adjuster who was not on site can only approve what the file shows. A line item without a photograph, a reading or a note supporting it is the first thing removed, however obviously necessary it was to the person standing in the room.
Line items do not match the scope narrative
Where the notes describe one thing and the estimate carries another, the whole document loses credibility and every item gets scrutinised rather than just the disputed one.
Mitigation equipment not justified
Drying equipment is priced by unit and by day, and the day count needs the moisture documentation behind it. Equipment left running without readings to support it is the most commonly reduced line in water losses.
Overhead and profit applied without basis
Where a loss genuinely requires coordination of multiple trades, overhead and profit is supportable. Applied by default, it invites a reduction that then casts doubt on the rest of the estimate.
Supplements that look like second attempts
A supplement built on newly discovered evidence, documented at the time of discovery, is routine. A supplement that re-argues items already removed reads as a second attempt and is treated as one.
Wrong price list or outdated version
Pricing to the wrong ZIP code or an old price list produces a number that is simply incorrect against the carrier's own data, and it undermines everything else in the file.
What We Need From You
We were not on site, so the quality of the estimate is decided by the quality of the field documentation you send.
- Photographs — overview of each room, detail of each damaged area, and anything you want priced that is not obvious in the overviews
- Room dimensions, or a sketch with measurements, including ceiling heights and openings
- Your scope notes — what you observed, what you did and what you intend to do
- Moisture readings and drying logs on water losses, with equipment type, count and dates
- The loss location ZIP code, for the correct price list
- Date of loss and cause, and any carrier or adjuster requirements you have already been given
- Any protocol, industrial hygienist report or third-party assessment
- Whether mitigation has already been invoiced separately, so scopes are not duplicated
Mitigation Equipment and Drying
How It Works
1 · Send your plans. PDF, DWG, DOC, images or ZIP, up to 100MB per file. Tell us the scope you need covered and any format you want it delivered in.
2 · Get your quote. A flat price for the scope with a delivery date, confirmed in writing. There is no charge for the quote and no obligation once you have it.
3 · Approve. Nothing starts until you confirm. If we think a different service would suit you better, this is the point at which we say so.
4 · We write the estimate. Scoped room by room from your documentation in Xactimate, at the current price list for the loss ZIP code, with each line item tied back to the photo or reading that supports it.
5 · Delivery. The workbook, the marked-up plan set and the assumptions schedule, with a walkthrough of anything that looks off to you.
How Pricing and Turnaround Work
Quoted flat per loss, from the documentation you send. The quote tracks the size and complexity of the scope rather than the value of the claim, and we quote before writing rather than taking a percentage of what gets approved.
What moves the quote: number of rooms and elevations affected, loss type, whether mitigation and repair are both in scope, the quality and completeness of your field documentation, and turnaround.
The price and the delivery date are fixed in writing before you approve anything. There is no hourly billing, no retainer and no monthly minimum, and we do not start work on an open-ended basis.
What We Do Not Do
Worth being explicit, because this is an area where the boundaries matter.
We do not adjust claims, interpret policy coverage or advise on whether a loss is covered. We estimate the cost of the work described in your documentation. Coverage is between you, your client and the carrier.
We are not public adjusters and we do not represent policyholders. In most states that role is licensed, and it is not what this service is.
We do not inflate scope. An estimate padded beyond what the documentation supports damages your credibility with an adjuster you will deal with again, and it is not a service worth buying.
We do not invent documentation. If your file does not support a line item, we will tell you what evidence would support it rather than writing it in and hoping.
Standards and Tools
Quantities, rates and assemblies are read against the published references that govern this work. Where a project specification conflicts with any general reference, the specification governs:
- Xactimate — estimates written in the format carriers expect, at the current price list for the loss location
- IICRC S500 — Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration
- IICRC S520 — Standard for Professional Mold Remediation
- IICRC S700 — Standard for Professional Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration
- Every estimate states the price list version and the date it was current
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you write estimates in Xactimate?
Yes, that is the point of this service. Estimates are written in Xactimate using recognised line items at the current price list for the loss ZIP code, with a sketch built from your measurements so quantities flow from the geometry. An estimate in another format with identical content starts the conversation from a worse position with a carrier.
What do you need from us?
Field documentation, because we were not on site. Photographs of each room and each damaged area, dimensions or a measured sketch with ceiling heights, your scope notes, moisture readings and drying logs on water losses, the loss ZIP code and the date and cause of loss. The quality of the estimate follows directly from the quality of what you send.
Can you write supplements?
Yes, and they work best when built on evidence documented at the time of discovery. A supplement supported by new findings is routine; one that re-argues items already removed reads as a second attempt and is treated as one. Send the new documentation and we will build the supplement around it.
Do you handle mitigation and repair separately?
Yes, as distinct scopes, because they are frequently approved and invoiced separately. Mitigation carries equipment by unit and day tied to the drying log, extraction, containment and the demolition drying required; repair is the permanent work that follows. Tell us if mitigation has already been invoiced so the scopes are not duplicated.
Do you adjust claims or advise on coverage?
No. We estimate the cost of the work your documentation describes. We do not adjust claims, interpret policy coverage or represent policyholders — in most states that is a licensed public adjuster role and it is not what this service is.
Will you write items our documentation doesn't support?
No, and refusing is the useful part of the service. A line item without a photograph or reading behind it is the first thing an adjuster removes, and an estimate padded beyond the evidence damages your credibility with someone you will deal with again. Where an item is genuinely needed but unsupported, we tell you what evidence would support it.
Every Division, Priced the Way the Spec Is Organized
A cost estimate is only as good as the trade knowledge behind each line. These are the trades we quantify and price, grouped the way a specification is.
Project Types We Estimate
Cost drivers change with the building type. Each sector page covers what moves a number on that kind of work.
If You Need Something Narrower
A full priced estimate is not always what the job calls for. These are the adjacent services, including the takeoff-only options that cost less.
We Estimate in All 50 States
Labor rates, wage rules and material costs are priced to the job’s market, not to a national average. Pick a state to see how that works locally.
Send your scope notes and photos
Upload your plans or tell us what you need. We’ll reply with pricing and a delivery date.
Need to add trades, ZIP code, target date or project state? Use the full quote form ↗