---
title: "Answer formats"
description: "The shapes of input Wave understands — measurements, ranges, approximations, math, and 'I don't know.' Reference for everything you can type or say in chat."
group: "estimates"
lane: "reference"
status: "published"
publishedAt: 2026-05-15
sidebarOrder: 25
tags: ["chat", "reference", "inputs"]
relatedSlugs:
  - "estimates/chat-questionnaire"
  - "reference/chat-commands"
---

Wave is forgiving about how you answer. Talk to it the way you'd talk to a senior tech. This page is a reference for the shapes of input Wave handles.

## Room measurements

Wave asks for room dimensions as **length × width × height** (in that order). It uses those three numbers to compute wall perimeter, volume, and equipment sizing — PPD for dehumidifiers, CFM for air movers — per IICRC drying standards.

The format isn't strict. Any of these are fine:

- *"8 by 10 by 8"*
- *"8x10x8"*
- *"Eight feet by ten feet, eight-foot ceiling"*
- *"About 10 by 12, 8-foot ceiling"*

> **Wave does not ask for square footage.** It always asks for all three dimensions. If you only give two (length and width), Wave will follow up for the height — assume a standard 8-foot ceiling if you genuinely don't know, but the three-number answer is what unblocks the math.

## Ranges and approximations

If you're not sure of an exact number, give a range:

- *"Somewhere between 8 and 10 feet"*
- *"Two or three air movers"*
- *"Maybe 20 to 25 linear feet of baseboard"*

Wave picks a reasonable middle and flags the assumption in the estimate so you can refine it later.

## Math expressions in line-item quantities

When you're editing the **QTY** field on a line item directly (double-click the line item), Wave accepts math expressions:

- `8*3` (live preview shows `= 24.0`)
- `120 + 40`
- `12.5 * 2`

Useful when the quantity is "4 walls × 8 feet" or "two rooms × the same baseboard count." Confirm with ✓ to commit, ✗ to cancel.

## "I don't know"

Always safe. Wave will either ask a more answerable question or pick a default and tell you it did. You can come back later to fix it.

## Loss-specific terms

Wave recognizes the standard restoration vocabulary:

- **Categories** — Cat 1, Cat 2, Cat 3
- **Equipment** — air mover, dehu / dehumidifier, HEPA, scrubber, negative air
- **Treatments** — antimicrobial, anti-mold, sealer
- **Operations** — bagging, demo, containment, PRV

You don't need to spell them out. *"Cat 2 in the hall bath, hep up an air scrubber"* parses fine.

## Multi-edit commands

You can chain edit commands in one message. Wave handles them in sequence:

- *"Delete the floor protection in the hallway, bump the dehu count to 2, and add a note to the antimicrobial that says 'product on file with the carrier.'"*

For the full list of chat verbs, see [Chat commands cheat sheet](/docs/reference/chat-commands).

## Room-specification rule

When you edit a line item that lives inside a specific room (anything that's not in the General section), **you have to name the room in the command** — otherwise Wave doesn't know which room's line item to target.

- ✅ *"Delete the cover register from the hall bathroom"*
- ❌ *"Delete the cover register"* (ambiguous if multiple rooms have one)

The General section is the exception — see the gotcha in [Edit a line item via chat](/docs/estimates/edit-line-item-via-chat).

## Related

- [Chat commands cheat sheet](/docs/reference/chat-commands) — the verbs and the syntax
- [The chat questionnaire](/docs/estimates/chat-questionnaire) — how questions are chosen
- [Edit a line item via chat](/docs/estimates/edit-line-item-via-chat) — putting the rules to work