---
title: "Make your first estimate"
description: "Walk through a real loss end to end — Jordan Park, 482 Sycamore Lane, Cat 2 toilet supply line failure. From New Estimate to a complete, priced estimate in 10–15 minutes."
group: "estimates"
lane: "tutorial"
status: "published"
publishedAt: 2026-05-15
sidebarOrder: 10
tags: ["estimate", "workflow", "walkthrough"]
relatedSlugs:
  - "estimates/chat-questionnaire"
  - "estimates/filing-an-fnol"
  - "concepts/chat-first-layout"
  - "concepts/defensive-bidding"
---

This page walks through a real loss end to end so you can see the whole rhythm. The scenario is one we use throughout these docs:

> **Jordan Park, 482 Sycamore Lane, Denver, CO** — Cat 2 toilet supply line failure. Affected: hall bathroom and the hallway.

By the end you'll have a complete, priced estimate ready to review.

## 1. Open a new estimate

From **All Estimates**, choose **+ New Estimate**. (You can also start a new estimate by typing your first message into the chat from /home — Wave will spin up the estimate around that message.)

Wave opens a fresh chat with an empty right pane.

## 2. Describe the loss in one message

You can type or hold the mic. The first message is where Wave pulls the FNOL fields from — customer name, address, cause of loss, affected rooms — so include what you have:

> *"My customer Jordan Park at 482 Sycamore Lane, Denver had a Cat 2 toilet supply line failure affecting the hall bathroom and hallway."*

When you send, watch the right pane. Wave populates:

- **FNOL** — name, address, category (Cat 2)
- **Loss Description** — a clean summary of what happened
- **Estimate Details** — pricing region picked up from the Denver address, sections forming

You don't have to be perfectly structured. Wave parses what's there and asks for the rest.

## 3. Answer the per-room interview

Wave starts walking through each affected room one at a time — hall bathroom first, then the hallway. Each answer shapes what Wave asks next, so no two interviews look exactly alike. Answer in whatever level of detail you have; if Wave needs more, it'll ask.

> **When Wave asks for room dimensions, give length × width × height** (e.g., 8 × 10 × 8 for an 8-foot-by-10-foot bathroom with an 8-foot ceiling). Wave does not ask for raw square footage — it always wants all three numbers because IICRC drying math needs the full rectangle, not just the floor area.

The measurement format isn't strict — *"8 by 10 by 8," "8x10x8," "Eight feet by ten feet, eight-foot ceiling"* all work. See [Answer formats](/docs/estimates/answer-formats) for the full set of input shapes Wave accepts.

## 4. Set drying and demo days

Toward the end of each room, Wave asks for **demo days** (how long demo will take) and **drying days** (how long the equipment runs). These drive the line-item math for equipment, labor, and timeline.

If you don't know, give a reasonable range. Wave will pick a middle and flag the assumption.

## 5. Watch the right pane build itself

By the time the interview is done, the right pane has:

- Full FNOL block
- Loss Description
- Line items grouped by section (General, Hall Bathroom, Hallway)
- Equipment lines (air movers, dehu) sized per IICRC drying math
- PPE, containment, antimicrobial
- Documentation line items
- Total at the bottom

You may also notice Wave added line items you didn't explicitly ask for — that's [defensive bidding](/docs/concepts/defensive-bidding) at work. Review and delete anything that doesn't apply.

## 6. Review and clean up

Skim the right pane top to bottom:

- **FNOL** — fill in the carrier-specific fields (Insurance, Claim #, Adjuster) if you have them
- **Estimate Notes** — anything that should appear on the PDF cover ("50% deposit required to start," scheduling caveats)
- **Photos** — drop in any photos you took on site
- **Line items** — delete anything irrelevant, add anything missing ([via chat](/docs/estimates/edit-line-item-via-chat) or [directly](/docs/estimates/edit-line-item-manually))

## 7. Export

When the estimate is ready, open the **breadcrumb kebab** (top-right) → **Export** for a PDF.

PDF export requires a paid plan — see [Plans and limits](/docs/billing/plan-comparison). On Free you can still build and review the estimate; you just can't export it.

## 8. Update the status

When you've delivered the PDF, set the estimate to **Completed** via the status badge. The estimate moves to the Completed filter tab in All Estimates.

## What's next

You've done one full loop. From here:

- [Chat-first, structure on the right](/docs/concepts/chat-first-layout) — the mental model
- [How Wave thinks about scope](/docs/concepts/defensive-bidding) — why Wave adds the lines it does
- [Chat commands cheat sheet](/docs/reference/chat-commands) — the verbs Wave understands

## Related

- [The chat questionnaire](/docs/estimates/chat-questionnaire) — how the per-room interview is structured
- [Filing an FNOL](/docs/estimates/filing-an-fnol) — what Wave captures from your first message
- [Estimate anatomy](/docs/reference/estimate-anatomy) — every block in the right pane