Mold Remediation Xactimate Line Items: WTR, HMR, and How to Scope Each Phase
Mold remediation line items in Xactimate are split between the WTR and HMR categories. A breakdown of which codes live where, what each phase of an S520 remediation bills to, and the documentation that keeps the invoice intact.
Mold remediation line items in Xactimate are split across two categories, and most estimates need both. HMR (Hazardous Material Remediation) holds disinfection and clearance testing codes, while much of the containment, HEPA vacuuming, and PPE a mold job actually consumes sits in WTR (Water Extraction and Remediation). An estimator who searches only the HMR category will leave off work that was performed on site.
Which category holds which line item
Restoration estimates usually pull from five Xactimate categories: WTR, HMR, CLN, CON, and DMO. Mold work touches at least four of them on a typical residential job.
The category prefix is a poor guide to whether a line item belongs on a mold estimate. Dry ice blasting exists in both categories, as WTRDIB and HMRDIB, at different published unit prices, and HEPA vacuuming exists in several places depending on the surface being cleaned.
Build the estimate around the phases of the remediation instead, then find the code for each phase wherever it happens to live.
Containment and PPE
Containment is the first billable phase after the protocol is set. WTRCNTLF covers labor to install 6-mil poly containment walls and is measured per linear foot. Zipper doors and the decontamination chamber are separate entries, not part of the barrier line item.
PPE splits into two codes. WTRPPE covers general personal protective equipment per technician. WTRPPEM was added specifically for N-95 masks at a published price of $6.40 each, so a job that issued masks beyond the general PPE allotment has somewhere to put them.
Negative air belongs here as well. NAFAN carries the description "Neg. air fan / Air scrub." and bills per 24 hour period. The "No monit." suffix on the extra large variant signals that no monitoring visit is bundled into that unit, so monitoring labor needs its own entry.
Removal and cleaning
Material removal on a mold job runs through DMO for tear-out and disposal. Quantities should match the containment footprint, because an adjuster comparing a 400 square foot containment against 120 square feet of drywall removal will ask why the barrier was that large.
HEPA vacuuming is where the code choice changes the number materially. Cleanfax documented the following published rates when the codes were revised:
- WTRHEPAVAS, detailed HEPA vacuuming, $0.53 per square foot
- WTRHEPAW, HEPA vacuuming of walls, $0.49 per square foot
- HEPAFSH, exposed framing with sheathing on floors, roughly $0.97 per square foot
- HEPAWSH, exposed framing with sheathing on walls, roughly $0.97 per square foot
The framing codes carry close to double the rate of the standard wall code because vacuuming open framing with sheathing behind it takes longer per square foot. Selecting WTRHEPAW for a gutted wall cavity understates the work by roughly half. Photographs of the exposed framing are what support the higher code when the estimate is reviewed.
These figures come from a 2020 price list revision. Unit prices move with each monthly price list, so pull current numbers from the price list attached to the estimate rather than from any published article, including this one.
Disinfection and clearance testing
HMRDIS covers building disinfection applied by fog, published at $0.43 per square foot. It is a distinct operation from wipe cleaning of non-porous surfaces, and applying both to the same square footage without a reason stated in the scope notes invites a reduction.
Post-remediation verification is where the HMR category carries most of the codes. The asbestos clearance structure is instructive because mold clearance follows the same billing shape: HMRASBTPA is the base charge for post-remediation air clearance testing and HMRASBTPAS is the per-sample charge. HMRASBTS covers samples the contractor collects and sends to a lab. Clearance sampling performed by an independent hygienist is normally billed by that hygienist directly and should not appear on the contractor estimate.
Let the S520 Condition drive the scope
ANSI/IICRC S520, now in its Fourth Edition published in 2024, is the procedural standard for remediating mold damaged structures. It classifies contamination into three Conditions:
- Condition 1 is a normal fungal ecology. No remediation is required.
- Condition 2 is settled spores or trace growth originating from a Condition 3 source, without active colonization of the surface.
- Condition 3 is actual mold growth on surfaces, whether active or dormant.
The Condition assigned to each area sets what can be billed there. A Condition 2 area supports cleaning, HEPA vacuuming, and air filtration, but removal quantities in that area will be questioned because the material itself is not colonized. Condition 3 supports removal. Writing removal line items across a whole floor when only one wall assembly was documented as Condition 3 leaves the extra quantity unsupported by the file.
Record the Condition per room in the scope notes and match the line items to it room by room. Where an independent mold protocol exists, the protocol governs, and the estimate should track it rather than restate it.
Documentation that holds the estimate together
Scope notes carry more weight on mold than on standard water losses because much of the work is invisible by the time anyone reviews the file. Write them in past tense and tie each one to a quantity: which room, which Condition, how much material left the containment, how many technician hours inside the barrier.
Keep the mold estimate separate from the water mitigation estimate even when the same crew ran both. Mold coverage on most homeowner policies is capped separately, often well below the dwelling limit, and combining the two makes it harder to show what should apply against which limit.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Are mold remediation line items in Xactimate under HMR or WTR?
Both. HMR holds disinfection and clearance testing codes such as HMRDIS and HMRASBTPA, while containment, PPE, and most HEPA vacuuming codes sit in WTR. Search both categories when building a mold estimate.
What is the difference between WTRHEPAW and HEPAWSH?
WTRHEPAW covers HEPA vacuuming of finished walls at a published rate of $0.49 per square foot. HEPAWSH covers exposed framing with sheathing behind it at roughly $0.97 per square foot, because vacuuming open framing takes longer. Use the framing code only where the cavity was actually opened, and support it with photographs.
Does the IICRC S520 Condition classification affect what can be billed?
Yes. Condition 3 areas with visible growth support material removal. Condition 2 areas with settled spores support cleaning, HEPA vacuuming, and air filtration, but removal quantities in those areas will be questioned. Recording the Condition per room is what connects the scope to the standard.
Should mold remediation be a separate estimate from water mitigation?
Yes. Mold coverage is usually capped separately on homeowner policies, frequently at a limit well below the dwelling coverage. Separate estimates make it clear which costs apply against which limit.
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