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Last Post 08/17/2009 2:45 PM by DCave

Sketch problems

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Jim Seylor
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Guest
Posts:4

08/14/2009 8:09 AM
I've been following xact's chap.4 tutorial online with some success. But when I make mistakes and delete out the staircase to move walls etc. the program leaves phantom zones that cannot be over written. Also on the roof if I'm clean, no mistakes using square break gives a nice hip with offsets and proper valleys. Otherwise it just cuts a chunk out of the corner and I can't move anything. Trying to merge roof 2 into roof 1 simply draws seperate roofs. The eave heights are equal. Seems like there should be a way to drag the ridge to create required valleys, etc. I read Roy's examples last night but can't find them today. (Vista if that makes a difference still?) Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

DCave

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Posts:36

08/14/2009 10:20 AM
Jim my name is Danny Cave and I have been an Xactimate trainer for over 8yrs. Follow these steps when sketching roofs and you can't go wrong. 1. Draw your main roof. Make sure to change the pitch before you adjust the measurements. All roofs start on sketch at 4/12 2. Using square break and the CTRL button, pull extensions off of the main roof. You will use the ground measurement when pulling extensions off, not the common rafter. Xactimate will adjust the common rafter based on the pitch of the roof you are pulling the extension from. 3. Go into the properties under "dimensions" and change the extension roof to "End A only". This is especially important when you are doing hip extensions. 4. Remember, different versions will give you different results. 25.1 Xactimate sketch does not change the extensions automatically to whatever the main roof is. Example: If you were to square break an extension off a hip, in 25.1 you would actually pull off a gable and then have to change it in properties to a hip. Remember if you have to do this to always re-adjust the pitch again after changing the roof type as it will try and default back to 4/12 5. Benefits of square breaking extensions also include, automatic making of subroof, auto pitch adjustment and in most cases it will be pulled off in the same style as the main roof i.e. hip-hip extension. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any future problems.

Jim Seylor
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Guest
Posts:4

08/14/2009 6:36 PM
I found it easier to just plop seperate sub roof blocks onto the main one than working the square break tool. Thanks for the hip on one end tip. For some reason I could not get the ridge to drag last night. I was unable to salvage my messsed up drawings. Too much back talk in the program maybe with all the false keystrokes and clicks. This is a powerful tool. Amazing how the graphic estimate items fill in for you. Shingle over ridge vent would not calculate and enter however. Not sure what that's about. The Nanny questions at the end came as a surprise. I guess that's a face saver at times.This Demo version is 25. I haven't tried to save to my documents folder and print but it seems like you don't even need a PDF editor to merge your pictures etc. with this version. Is that right? Pretty cool.

DCave

Guest
Posts:36

08/14/2009 6:44 PM
Just a helpful hint for ya. I would try and stay away from the graphical estimating right now for one main reason. In Xactimate its 90% of the battle to learn the codes. In the old days thats all there was (codes). Now graphical has come along and adjusters are not doing a good job of learning the codes which makes them more efficient in the program. My recommendation, learn to sketch the roof, but put your entries into line items under estimate items instead of using graphical drag and drop. Once you've learned the roofing codes, then you can switch over to graphical. Trust me Ive trained a lot of folks on this. Get yourself to a 3 day sketch school somewhere. Make sure when you sign up, your not signing up for beginning Xactimate but a sketch class. Be prepared the instructors will go fast. This should jump start ya. If you were in Texas I'd give you a one on one class that would take about a day and have you sketching like a pro. Good luck pal.

host
CatAdjuster.org Founder
Posts:709

08/14/2009 6:52 PM
Like Danny I'm a fan of the "Square Break Tool" for sub-roofs and wrote a Blog about it in 2007 here is a link to the Blog >> Blog it covers merging roofs as well. Just like most things in Xactimate there is always more than one way to get something done. As Danny listed there are some advantages to using the Square Break Tool. You are correct on merging the documents into a single pdf with Xactimate. With versions greater than 25.2 you would have trouble merging the documents using thrid party software, see this thread. Roy Contact Us - Search CADO - Storm Page - The Career Page - CADO Channels

Jim Seylor
Guest

Guest
Posts:4

08/15/2009 8:59 AM
Thanks for the insights and advice. I tried entering estimate items from the list but the quantity calculations from sketch do not automatically fill in. I could not find instructions for this in Xact's pdf manual. Is there some technical difficulty in dragging codes into the sketch? I can't imagine memorizing all of them and would not want to give up the automatic calculations if that is what you have to do on the line item page. Could you clarify that for me? I appreciate it.

BobH

Veteran Member
Posts:759

08/15/2009 9:44 AM
Posted By Jim Seylor on 15 Aug 2009 08:59 AM ... Is there some technical difficulty in dragging codes into the sketch? Perhaps you have done the tutorial that comes w/ Xactimate. It will show how you work within the Sketch environment - by doing the "search" thing to find what you are looking for. You click on what you need in the list to "load" your cursor. There will be some feedback graphically so you know that has been done, then you "place" the repair item on the slope-slopes-entire roof (or whatever) by clicking where you need to put it. The tutorial will show that visually, so it explains it better than I can. Every tool has it's use. I agree with Danny Cave, I do not use that aspect of the program very often and prefer to enter estimate items from the estimating window (not sketch) so I can see more of the repair items I am looking for, and other reasons. the time you really "must" use the sketch environment is when you have a cut-up roof with various pitches, and you allow steep-fee on some slopes but not all. Or 2 story high fees on the roof faces that warrant them. Maybe there's a front porch section & attached garage that are not 2 story. You will encounter roofs that have 7/12 main roof, with 10/12 front extensions. The steep fee for those slopes are different, and the ability to place those items on the faces with the correct slope is a tool to know about. Bob H

DCave

Guest
Posts:36

08/17/2009 10:29 AM
In order to be super proficient in Xactimate, you probably need to have at least 100 or more codes to memory. Most of these are gonna be roofing/painting/finish carpentry and drywall. Trust me as long as Ive worked with this program I do not have all of them to memory nor will I ever. Your just gonna handicap yourself using that drop and drag method all the time. Seasoned Xactimate users will double or triple their efficiency compared to you using line item entry with macros/copy/paste As far as the calculations. Most of the time, depending on what entries you use the calculation will fill in automatically or at least put in a default calculation. Such as PNT SP means seal then paint two cooats. After the entry has been put in the CALC field should read WC automatically which means SF of walls and ceilings. You would then have to change that code if you needed a different amount say the ceiling only. If your ever confused about what variable to use, while your in line item entry screen you can look to the lower left corner of the screen and hit the ALL VARIABLES button. This will bring up a lits of all the possible variables you can use for that particular room you are in. Always make sure you are highlighted on the correct room on the tree before putting entries into your line items. Xactimate takes years to master and can be a wicked program if you invest some time into it. Hope the above helped.

Ray Hall

Senior Member
Posts:2443

08/17/2009 12:52 PM
This is avery ineresting comment Xactimate takes years to master and can be a wicked program if you invest some time into it. Hope the above helped. If the insurance carriers want "service" why would they insist on a tool compile a line item estimate for simple claims? Why does an estimate require a diagram that draws to scale. A HUGE waste of time. The only thing the computer estimates have done to speed up an estimate over a hand drawn estimate is: When the adjuster wants to make revisions. Or someone wants to make revisions.

Jim Seylor
Guest

Guest
Posts:4

08/17/2009 12:56 PM
Thanks. I finally noticed what was going on, the variable codes that do automatically multiply for you. There is just so much to see! At first glance it's a little blinding. I like the Divisions screen which puts you in the ballpark at least for the items you need. I can see how the items entry method would be more certain. The ridge vent item was easy to hand enter since it won't ( evidently) auto calculate. Got an email from Exact. They added a couple more training videos, correcting and additions from Summary for example. I was so intimidated by X's reputation its a pleasant surprise to be able to work it at all. Trying to clean up drawings full of goblins still has me stumped. Hopefully a little practice will avoid them in the future. Thanks again for all the tips.

DCave

Guest
Posts:36

08/17/2009 2:45 PM
Ray you sound like my dad!

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