Roof Sketch QA Checklist Before You Send A Supplement

A roofing supplement should not leave your office until the roof sketch has passed QA. The sketch is the quantity engine behind much of the review: roof area, slopes, eaves, rakes, ridges, hips, valleys, dormers, roof sections, waste assumptions, and the handoff between photos and estimate lines. If the sketch is sloppy, the supplement may look like a line-item argument when the real problem is geometry, labeling, or missing measurement support.

Use this as a pre-send workflow, not as a promise that a supplement will be accepted. A clean sketch can make the packet easier to understand. It cannot decide coverage, replace field judgment, or force any carrier to approve a requested amount.

The source boundary matters. Xactware's Sketch quick reference describes Sketch tools for roofs, dormers, underlays, imported images, and aerial sketch workflow. Xactware's Roofs help index lists roof Sketch functions for roof types, resizing, overhangs, dormers, slope, roof walls, waste, images, and variables. Those sources support the review workflow below. They do not prove the measurements are correct for a specific home.

Roof Sketch QA Checklist

This checklist is intentionally boring. It exists to catch the ordinary errors that create expensive back-and-forth: the wrong roof version, a missed porch roof, an unlabeled slope change, an overhang copied from an old sketch, dormers left as visual features but not checked as quantity drivers, or waste assumptions that nobody can explain two weeks later.

Start With Sketch Source And Version

Before a supplement coordinator reviews candidate line items, ask one question: what sketch is everyone using?

The answer should be specific. "The EagleView," "the Xactimate sketch," or "the roof report" is not enough for a packet that may be revised, reviewed, and discussed by several people. Record the source, the file name, the date, and the person who accepted it for estimating. If there was an initial aerial sketch and then a field-measurement revision, the packet needs to show which one controls the supplement quantities.

Xactware's Sketch quick reference supports several office-review starting points, including roof tools, underlay copy, imported images, and aerial sketch workflow. That gives contractors several possible sketch-review paths. It does not remove the need to compare the final sketch to the property, field notes, and any licensed measurement report.

Use a simple version note:

Do not let two versions travel in the same supplement packet without labels. If the adjuster, estimator, and office reviewer are looking at different exports, the discussion will drift from facts into confusion.

Check Roof Object, Roof Type, And Main Geometry

Xactware's roof type documentation supports a basic QA step: confirm the roof object and roof type before reviewing quantities. The source describes adding roof objects, choosing roof types, and changing roof type through roof properties, with settings such as sizing, slope, roof height, and dimensions.

For a contractor review, that means the first geometry pass should be visual and numerical:

• Does the roof type roughly match the measured roof form?
• Are the main dimensions consistent with the measurement source?
• Are additions, garages, porches, covered patios, and detached roof sections represented?
• Are there manual edits that need notes?
• Are low-slope, flat, metal, or specialty sections separated where the estimate needs separate review?

This is not a call to rebuild every roof from scratch. It is a call to catch the mismatches that can distort every downstream quantity. A wrong roof object or missing roof section can affect squares, ridge, hip, valley, eave, rake, starter, underlayment, accessories, and waste review. A clean supplement starts by making the roof model explainable.

When the sketch uses an underlay, include the underlay source and any known limitation. Aerial image age, tree cover, shadows, recent additions, or camera angle can make a trace look clean while still needing field confirmation. If a recent covered patio, shed roof, or addition is visible only in field photos, label it as a field-confirmed edit rather than leaving reviewers to guess.

Confirm Slope By Face

Slope review deserves its own pass because it affects both quantities and line-item review. Xactware's slope help page describes changing roof slope through the Slope-rise /12 field, and it indicates that roof faces can be associated with sketch letters when multiple slopes are used.

Your QA task is not to invent pitch from memory. It is to tie each slope to a source:

If your estimate references steep or high-related work, keep the slope evidence separate from the claim about the line item. A slope field can support a review question, but it does not make a pricing or coverage decision by itself. The packet should show the slope source, the face label, and the estimate group affected by the slope. It should not overstate the result.

Review Eaves, Rakes, And Overhangs

Edges are easy to under-review because they look like small details. They are not small if they change starter, drip edge, gutter apron, fascia, soffit, measurements, or waste assumptions.

Xactware's eave and rake page describes editing eave and rake overhang dimensions in roof properties. It also notes that hip roofs do not have a rake overhang. That caveat is useful during QA because a copied setting can create a sketch that looks plausible but does not match the roof type.

Review overhangs in three steps:

1. Compare eave/rake settings to the measurement source or field notes.
2. Confirm the roof type supports the edge assumption.
3. Flag any edge where the estimate quantity appears to come from a manual override.

Use plain notes. "Front elevation eave appears longer than source sketch; see photos F12-F15" is more useful than "edge quantity wrong." The first note tells the estimator what to check. The second only starts a debate.

Verify Dormers, Porch Roofs, And Small Planes

Dormers and small planes are common sketch QA traps. They can be drawn, omitted, simplified, or visually shown without enough quantity support. Xactware's dormer help page describes adding a dormer to a roof object and entering specifications such as eave height and slope. It also describes changing dormer roof style in roof properties.

For supplement QA, do not stop at "dormer visible." Check:

• Is the dormer on the correct roof face?
• Is the dormer roof style correct enough for the estimate review?
• Are dormer slope and eave height sourced?
• Are cheek walls, roof-to-wall areas, flashing-adjacent areas, or small tie-ins called out only where the evidence supports the review?
• Are porch roofs, bay roofs, covered patios, and small shed roofs included or intentionally excluded?

When a small roof section is questionable, separate the sketch issue from the supplement request. For example: "Rear porch shed roof appears in site photos and is absent from V1 sketch. Estimator to verify whether V2 geometry and related quantities need revision." That avoids declaring a line item owed while still preserving the problem.

Document Waste Assumptions

Waste review is one of the easiest places to sound more certain than the sources allow. Xactware's roof-waste documentation supports reviewing the waste workflow inside the estimate rather than treating one percentage as universal.

The QA question is not "what percentage do we always use?" The better question is "can the reviewer see why this waste setting was used on this sketch?"

Use this waste note format:

If the packet cannot explain the waste setting, send it back internally. A fixed percentage with no job-specific note invites the reviewer to ask a simple question you should have answered before sending.

Compare Variables, Units, And Estimate Quantities

Xactware's Sketch variables page lists roof variables such as HIP, R, SQ, TR, TSF, GRFW, HFR, and DDFL, plus reference units such as CF, CY, LF, and SF. Those variables can help reviewers compare sketch output to estimate quantities, especially when several people have touched the file.

Do not treat variables as magic proof. Treat them as a reconciliation tool.

The point is not to copy every variable into the supplement. The point is to make the quantity path reviewable: sketch source to sketch variable, sketch variable to estimate quantity, estimate quantity to photo or note where the issue needs support.

Connect The Sketch To Photos And Estimate Notes

Xactware's line-item help describes adding line items through Estimate Items or Sketch. Its attachment help describes attaching notes, images, sound files, and documents to line items. For a supplement packet, that supports a simple handoff rule: every sketch issue worth sending should point somewhere.

Use this worksheet:

This table also keeps the office from sending a supplement that says "see photos" without telling anyone which photo matters. A packet with 80 images and no labels is not evidence; it is a storage folder.

Red Flag Matrix

Safety Boundary

Sketch QA should never create unsafe field instructions. OSHA's fall-protection standard includes requirements around walking and working surface strength and fall protection at unprotected sides and edges 6 feet or more above a lower level. OSHA's roofing worker guidance emphasizes planning, equipment, training, roof pitch, and the right standard for the work.

For this checklist, that means:

• Do not ask a salesperson or homeowner to climb for a missing photo.
• Do not request a measurement that bypasses the company's safety program.
• Use ground photos, attic/interior photos, licensed measurement files, drone work by qualified operators, or a scheduled revisit when safe and allowed.
• Mark "unsafe to collect" as a valid status when the alternative is bad judgment.

A missing slope label is a paperwork problem. Do not turn it into a safety problem.

Source Limits

Where RoofPredict Fits

RoofPredict is most useful here as an operations layer, not as a sketch engine. Use it to keep sketch versions, measurement files, photos, roof age context, storm exposure context, notes, evidence gaps, and reviewer status in one place before the supplement leaves your team.

A practical RoofPredict workflow looks like this:

1. Store the accepted sketch version and the measurement source.
2. Tag photos by elevation, roof face, and issue.
3. Track open gaps such as missing slope source, unclear dormer geometry, or unexplained waste setting.
4. Assign each gap to an estimator, field lead, or supplement coordinator.
5. Mark the packet ready only after sketch, photo, quantity, and note checks are complete.

Keep the positioning clean. RoofPredict can help your team avoid losing files and missing follow-up. It should not be described as verifying Xactimate quantities, proving damage, choosing coverage, or approving a supplement.

Pre-Send Signoff

Before the supplement goes out, have one reviewer answer these questions:

• Is the current sketch version named and archived correctly?
• Is the sketch source documented?
• Are roof object, roof type, dimensions, slope, overhangs, dormers, and small roof sections checked?
• Are waste assumptions documented with the selected method?
• Do variables and estimate quantities reconcile or have explanation notes?
• Are photos tied to faces, files, notes, and estimate groups?
• Are unsafe or unsupported follow-up requests removed?
• Are approval, coverage, and carrier-rule claims kept out of the packet?

If any answer is no, the supplement is not ready for a professional review. Fix the packet internally first.

FAQ

Does a clean roof sketch make the supplement payable?

No. A clean sketch makes the review easier and may reduce avoidable confusion. It does not decide coverage, pricing acceptance, or payment.

Should every roof use the same waste percentage?

No. The roof-waste source supports reviewing the selected waste workflow inside the estimate. The right review question is whether the selected method is explained for the current roof.

Can aerial data replace field notes?

Sometimes aerial data can be a useful source, but the packet should still identify the source, date, version, and limitations. Recent additions, tree cover, unusual dormers, and small porch roofs may need separate confirmation.

Should we send the supplement if the line items look right but the sketch is unclear?

Usually no. If the quantities depend on an unclear sketch, fix or explain the sketch first. Otherwise the supplement reviewer has to untangle geometry and line items at the same time.

What is the fastest useful review?

Confirm the current sketch version, source, main dimensions, slope labels, overhangs, dormers, waste method, and quantity handoff. Then make sure every sketch-related issue points to a photo, note, file, or estimate group.