---
title: "Add a room mid-estimate"
description: "Adding a room opens a separate chat thread tab beside Main with an abbreviated per-room interview. At the end you choose Yes (Include) or No (Discard). Adding a room can slightly reprice the others."
group: "estimates"
lane: "how-to"
status: "published"
publishedAt: 2026-05-15
sidebarOrder: 30
tags: ["rooms", "chat", "how-to"]
relatedSlugs:
  - "estimates/start-an-estimate"
  - "estimates/chat-questionnaire"
  - "estimates/rename-room"
  - "concepts/chat-first-layout"
sidebarLabel: "Add a room"
---

If you realize mid-estimate that you missed a room — *"the laundry room got water in it too"* — the supported path is through chat. Wave opens a separate thread for the new room so it doesn't tangle with your Main conversation.

## How to add a room

In the chat, type a message describing what you want to add. Helpful to include rough sizing in the same message:

> *"I missed an area. Can we add the laundry room? It's 8 feet by 6 feet."*

When Wave detects the room-add intent, three things happen:

1. **A new chat thread opens as a separate tab** next to the **Main** tab. The new tab is labeled with the room name (*"Laundry Room"*), shows a **blue dot indicator**, and has an **×** close button.
2. **The URL updates** with a `?thread_id=<uuid>` parameter — that's the address of the new thread.
3. **An abbreviated per-room interview begins** in the new thread.

You can switch between **Main** and the new room tab at any time. The Main thread is paused while you're in the room thread.

## Don't use the "+" next to Show Codes

> **The "+" button next to "Show Codes" in the workspace is currently non-functional.** It looks like it should add a room. It doesn't reliably do that. Use chat instead.

This is tracked in [Known issues](/docs/troubleshooting/general-issues).

## What the abbreviated interview asks

The room thread runs a shorter version of the per-room interview. Project-level questions (insured, address, category) aren't repeated; the thread is scoped to the new room only. Answer in whatever form is natural ([Answer formats](/docs/estimates/answer-formats)). The merge prompt appears when Wave has what it needs to price the room.

> **When Wave asks for room dimensions, give length × width × height.** Wave does not ask for raw square footage; the three numbers are what the drying math needs.

## The merge prompt

At the end of the interview, Wave shows a merge prompt:

> ✅ **Perfect! I've collected all the information for the [Laundry Room]. Would you like to include this room in your estimate?**
>
> **A)** Yes — Include it
>
> **B)** No — Discard it

### If you choose A (Include)

- The thread tab closes
- You return to the **Main** tab
- Wave posts a success message: *"✅ **Laundry Room** has been successfully added to your estimate"*
- The new room appears as its own section in the right pane, with its full set of line items
- The estimate total updates

### If you choose B (Discard)

- The thread tab closes
- Nothing is added to the estimate
- The interview is discarded — answers are not kept

You can re-open a room-add thread later if you change your mind.

## Heads up: small repricing on other rooms

> Adding a new room can cause **small downward repricing** of other rooms on the estimate. In our verified Jordan Park scenario, adding the Laundry Room moved the **Hallway** from **$309.81** to **$305.43** — a drop of a few dollars.
>
> **This is expected behavior, not a bug.** Some line items are sized against the whole estimate (e.g., shared equipment that now serves more rooms), so adding scope can lower the per-room allocation even as the Grand Total goes up. Spot the new Grand Total in the [Estimate Summary](/docs/estimates/export-pdf) — that's the number you care about.

If you see a per-room number move after a room-add and you're not sure why, that's the most likely explanation.

## What this does not include

- Renaming an existing room → see [Rename a room](/docs/estimates/rename-room)
- Reordering rooms → see [Reorder rooms and line items](/docs/estimates/reorder)

## Related

- [The chat questionnaire](/docs/estimates/chat-questionnaire) — the original full per-room interview shape
- [Rename a room](/docs/estimates/rename-room) — change a room's label
- [Chat-first, structure on the right](/docs/concepts/chat-first-layout) — why chat is the path for structural changes
- [Known issues](/docs/troubleshooting/general-issues) — the broken "+" target