Blog

https://youtu.be/5_lRIncyOtY Did you know that when you switch to a Tray style ceiling in a room with rounded walls that Xactimate won't play ball? I learned the hard way while in a Sketching competition and wracked my brain trying to figure out a way around the...

https://youtu.be/0GniUbNFMcQ Ever wondered how to turn a full wall into a railing or balustrade? In this week's Tuesday Tech Tip I show you how easy it is to create the railing, once you know which property to change to see the balustrade setting. For more info on the...

https://youtu.be/_nMIlkNN0A8 This video is a full walkthrough of how to create an estimate in the newest version of Xactimate: Version X1. I start from the very beginning of the process by showing how to create a new Project and what Profile to use when opening a new...

https://youtu.be/VUm9QhkTXKM Have you ever needed to bid out a job to a sub but didn't know where to find a labor total in Xactimate? Today's your lucky day as I show where to find the Trade Summary report in the program that shows labor totals....but does not reveal...

https://youtu.be/H68UzQXjYl0 Xactware has a new price list editor designed for the X1 version of Xactimate that can also create user edited/created price lists for the other versions of the software as well. This tool takes a bit of time to get used to, but once...

https://youtu.be/JgVoCIw3VR0 Adding a staircase to a deck in Sketch can be frustrating if you don't know which settings to change in the staircase properties. It took me a bit of time to discover all of the correct setting to get the staircase to properly match the...

https://youtu.be/bf7cpWEX07k Not many people who use Sketch know how to angle components in relation to a roof or a room. In this video, I show how to line up a gable roof ridge with a hip roof hip in a few easy steps. You can also use this shortcut that I demonstrate...

https://youtu.be/7IXalaHLEJ0 Just recently I learned that you can show your ceiling surfaces in Sketch while in the 3d view. For some reason, I had always thought this was not possible and had resorted to using the "C" in the calculator field for the line item. In...

https://youtu.be/GgC86M9YSEo When there is damage to the SF of a finished room below a staircase, it can be confusing on where and how to find the dimensions to calculate your line item quantities. In this video, I show how you can add line items directly to the room...

https://youtu.be/CdCP0Pxvy4Y When writing estimates in Xactimate, I like to avoid extra clicks at all costs. I learned that clicking to scroll up and down the Grouping Tree window in the Estimate Items tab was a big time waste, so I wanted a better option. I learned...

https://youtu.be/qmeo0rtRrCA The line item note doesn't only have to be used as an attachment to a line item - I find it very useful to use it on it's own to create line item breaks or headlines to explain what I'm doing on an estimate. For example, I want the...

https://youtu.be/BeakLOAmEBo I will be the first to admit that rounded or arced walls are not something that most of us run into everyday - they're something you may run into only once or twice a year. However, if you don't know where to look, it can be difficult to...

https://youtu.be/9qIDGn_ladk With large loss estimates or when a tree falls through the roof of a home, you may find the need to frame one or more walls of a structure. Framing is easy, if you know where to look in Sketch. For more info on XM8 Mastery and the training...

https://youtu.be/9qIDGn_ladk With large loss estimates or when a tree falls through the roof of a home, you may find the need to frame one or more walls of a structure. Framing is easy, if you know where to look in Sketch. For more info on XM8 Mastery and the training...

https://youtu.be/cAs9fRb4u80 The Deck Tool is really easy to use and can be a huge time-saver if you have to rebuild the entire structure of the deck. Not many know how to have Sketch automatically come up with your framing material list just by changing a few...

https://youtu.be/T64GffJBcjU I recently upgraded to the X1 Version of the Xactimate Desktop platform and was surprised by how easy on the eyes the new "skin" of the Control Center is! Everything seems to be located in a more intuitive place compared to the Xactimate...

https://youtu.be/q4d9x-iJtoM Thanks for the great feedback on the Roll Out Method of Carpet Waste video that I put on my channel last week! (See video here: https://youtu.be/gOSoPfhPZig) Knowing where to find your carpet roll width settings, stair setup properties and...