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Get your own copy
- On a phone or computer: make your own copy in Google Docs. It opens a fresh, editable copy in your own Google Drive.
- No Google account? Download it for Word and open it in Word or any word processor.
- Or work from this page: copy the text below into your own document.
Then run it on every estimate before you submit and adapt the items to your own standards; the original stays unchanged so you can reuse it on the next file.
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A self-audit before you submit, so the file survives review and gets paid
A RocketLevel checklist for restoration owners and estimators, backed by decades of experience in the trade. Fewer, bigger losses mean each file carries more of your year. Run this pre-submission pass so nothing that should get paid is left undocumented.
Plenty of the money lost on an estimate never gets negotiated away. It gets left off the file because nobody wrote it down. Walk this list before the file leaves your hands. Check off what is done, and fix what is not before you submit.
Loss documented
- [ ] Source and cause of loss identified and noted. Write what you observed. The S500, the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) water damage standard, puts finding and correcting the underlying cause of the intrusion on the property owner rather than the restorer, so document the condition instead of opining on the failure. It is a paid document sold by the IICRC, not a free publication.
- [ ] Category and class of loss determined and recorded against the S500, 5th Edition 2021, with the date and time you made the call. Category can deteriorate with time, temperature, and contact, so a Category 1 written on day one and never revisited is a file that will not hold up.
- [ ] Date and time of loss, and date and time of your first response, both recorded. The gap between them shows up in every coverage argument.
- [ ] Photos taken before anything is touched or removed
Scope captured
- [ ] Every affected room and area walked and recorded
- [ ] All affected materials identified (flooring, drywall, insulation, cabinetry, contents)
- [ ] Moisture readings taken and the dry standard documented
- [ ] Equipment and drying plan specified (air movers, dehumidifiers, days)
- [ ] Detach and reset, and protection of unaffected areas, included where needed
Compliance and trades
- [ ] Code and permit items captured, including any required upgrades, and the permit fees and inspection time actually priced rather than assumed