Entry · Ref R-SGGAQD
Room-by-Room Review: How Photo Estimates Stay Accurate
- Posted
- 2026-10-21
- Last amended
- 2026-10-21
- Account
- @keeganxeca832
Public checklist · Estimating desk · Updated October 2026
A fast Xactimate estimate from photos is only useful if it is right. This page is a working checklist for reviewing a photo-based draft room by room before it ever reaches a carrier. It is written around the review model described on How Axiom works, where every draft stays a draft until an estimator approves each room.
Why room-by-room review
Estimators think in rooms. Adjusters read in rooms. Disputes happen in rooms. Reviewing a whole job in one pass invites missed lines. Reviewing room by room forces a decision on every space: approved, edited, or waiting on a question.
Axiom organizes its draft by room with xactimate estimate Xactimate codes, line items and editable quantities, which makes this checklist practical instead of theoretical. Note that no general accuracy figure is published for photo drafts, which is exactly why the review exists.
☐ Before you open the first room
- ☐ Loss type and date of loss match the job file
- ☐ Job type is right: mitigation, put-back or exterior
- ☐ All photo sources are attached (upload, iOS app, or CompanyCam / Google Drive / DocuSketch link)
- ☐ Measurements came from a reliable source: 3D scan, existing ESX, 2D PDF or typed rooms
- ☐ If a hand-drawn sketch was traced into a floor plan, the room names make sense
☐ For every room in the Xactimate estimate from photos
Dimensions
- ☐ Room exists in the floor plan and the photos
- ☐ Wall heights and square footage look sane
- ☐ Openings and missing walls handled
Mitigation lines
- ☐ Extraction matches what the photos and notes show
- ☐ Removal lines (pad, carpet, baseboard, drywall cut) match the affected area
- ☐ Equipment and drying days follow your IICRC S500-based drying plan, not a default
- ☐ Cleaning and antimicrobial lines present where appropriate
Put-back lines
- ☐ Everything removed has a matching replacement or a reason it does not
- ☐ Paint, trim and flooring transitions considered
- ☐ Contents and detach/reset items not forgotten
Open questions
- ☐ Every scope assistant question answered (Axiom asks when photos do not settle an item, rather than guessing)
- ☐ Answers reflected in quantities
Decision
- ☐ Approve the room, or flag it for a site check
☐ After the last room
- ☐ Open the .esx in Xactimate
- ☐ Confirm it repriced on your own price list
- ☐ Run your normal final review and notes
- ☐ Save photo support for any line a carrier tends to challenge
Where accuracy actually comes from
Accuracy in a photo-based workflow is not a single number. It comes from four things:
- Good capture. Wide shots, close-ups, moisture readings in frame where possible.
- Good measurements. A scan or a real sketch beats a guess.
- A model that asks. Questions are a feature, not a nuisance.
- An estimator who approves. The final judgment is human.
For a reference point on what a sound water damage scope should include, keep the IICRC standards bookmarked next to this page.
How to use this page with a team
Have the field tech who shot the job sit in on the first few reviews. They know what the photos missed, and the scope questions go faster when the person who stood in the room is there to answer them. Over time the crew learns which shots the estimator always needs.
Quick reference
- Demo benchmark: in the walkthrough demo, a roughly $8,000 water loss produced 33 line items in a little over a minute, then opened in Xactimate. Review time is on you.
- Other workflows: PDF to Xactimate for existing estimate PDFs, Compare for carrier versus contractor line-by-line review.
Duplicate this checklist, adapt the mitigation lines to your own drying plan, and use it on every Xactimate estimate from photos your team approves.