--- title: "How to Bill Content Manipulation in Xactimate Water Damage Estimates" description: "Content manipulation is the hourly Xactimate line item (code CON) that pays crews to move contents during water damage drying. Here is how to code, calculate, and defend it." publishedAt: "2026-07-24" author: "Wave Team" category: "Estimating" tags: ["content manipulation", "Xactimate", "water damage", "contents"] ogImage: "/og-default.png" status: "published" --- Content manipulation is the hourly Xactimate line item that pays a restoration crew for moving a customer's furniture and belongings out of the way so drying and repairs can happen, then setting everything back afterward. It lives in the Contents category (code CON), it bills by the hour, and a common field estimate is roughly one hour of labor for every 25 square feet of affected floor space. On most residential water losses the furniture has to move before an air mover ever gets placed. That labor is real, it is chargeable, and it is one of the most frequently omitted items on carrier scopes. Restoration estimators who leave it off are giving away work they already performed. ## What content manipulation actually covers Content manipulation is the labor to relocate a customer's belongings so the affected area can be dried and rebuilt. On a typical water job that means: - Moving sofas, beds, dressers, and tables to a dry room or to the center of the room - Pulling contents off the floor and away from wet walls before extraction - Returning every item to its original position after the space is dry and repairs are done Content manipulation keeps the belongings on site and moves them around inside the structure. It is the right code for the majority of Category 1 and Category 2 losses where the customer's property never leaves the house. ## The Xactimate codes to know Three codes carry most content-related labor on a water file. ### CON (content manipulation) The Contents category code CON covers the hourly manipulation labor. It is billed per hour, and the field rule of thumb of one hour per 25 square feet of floor space gives a defensible starting quantity. A 400 square foot living room works out to about 16 hours across move out and reset combined. Adjust the number to the real contents load, because a sparsely furnished room takes less and a packed one takes more. ### WTRBLK (block and pad furniture) WTRBLK pays for the blocking and padding that protects furniture during drying, the foam blocks and plastic tabs placed under furniture legs so wet wood does not wick moisture or stain a floor. It is priced per room. On the Atlanta price list it runs about $42.60 per room, and every price list carries its own regional number. Any room where furniture stays in place during drying should carry a WTRBLK line. ### Contents move out then reset When belongings have to leave the structure entirely, a full pack out to a trailer or storage unit, the move out then reset line covers that larger scope instead of the hourly CON code. Reserve it for jobs where the contents genuinely cannot stay on site, such as a Category 3 loss or a large rebuild. ## How to calculate the hours The one hour per 25 square feet guideline is the fastest way to a number an adjuster will accept. Measure the affected floor area, divide by 25, and that is the base hour count for moving contents out. Content manipulation includes both the move out and the reset, so a room that needs the furniture relocated and then returned carries the labor twice. Two adjustments matter. A room with heavy or dense contents (a home office, a packed garage, a nursery) justifies more time than the baseline. A nearly empty room justifies less. Estimate to the actual contents, not to a flat multiplier, and the number holds up under review. ## Why adjusters leave it off, and how to get it paid Adjusters routinely omit content manipulation on the assumption that the homeowner will move their own furniture. Policyholders are entitled to professional handling of their property, and the labor to provide it is a covered cost. The line gets dropped because the desk scope never included it, and a resubmission backed by documentation usually recovers it. Getting it paid comes down to documentation: 1. Photograph the room with contents in place before any work starts. 2. Photograph the relocated contents in the dry room or staging area. 3. Note the affected square footage and the contents load in your scope notes. 4. List CON with the calculated hours and pair it with WTRBLK on any room where furniture stayed during drying. Content manipulation is one of the hourly charges that draws little pushback when the photos and square footage back it up. The evidence turns an omitted line into an approved one. ## Content manipulation vs the full pack out The choice between hourly manipulation and a move out then reset comes down to where the contents go. If they stay in the house and get shuffled to access the work, that is CON by the hour. If they leave the structure for storage, that is the move out then reset scope. Billing an hourly manipulation charge and a full pack out for the same contents on the same room is double billing, so pick the one that matches what the crew actually did. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is content manipulation in Xactimate? Content manipulation is the hourly labor line, in the Contents category under code CON, for moving a customer's furniture and belongings so a water damaged area can be dried and repaired, then returning them afterward. It is billed by the hour and is one of the most commonly omitted items on carrier scopes. ### How many hours of content manipulation can you bill? A widely used field estimate is one hour for every 25 square feet of affected floor space, covering both the move out and the reset. Adjust up for densely furnished rooms and down for nearly empty ones, and document the contents load so the quantity holds up in review. ### Does insurance pay for content manipulation on a water damage claim? Yes, when it is documented. Policyholders are entitled to professional handling of their belongings, and the manipulation labor is a covered cost. Before and after photos plus a noted square footage are usually enough to get the line approved. ### What is the difference between content manipulation and a contents pack out? Content manipulation keeps belongings inside the structure and moves them around to access the work, billed hourly under CON. A pack out, billed with the move out then reset line, removes contents from the structure entirely for storage. Use manipulation for most Category 1 and 2 losses and reserve the pack out for jobs where contents cannot stay on site. Wave automates the tedious part of catching line items like content manipulation by turning a voice note from the job site into a full Xactimate estimate in minutes. Learn more at buildwithwave.com.