CHAIRMANESTIMATING CO.
Chairman Estimating Co. — home
Xactimate Estimates, Documented On Site.
Line-item estimates, scopes of repair and Matterport documentation for Houston-area properties. Every scope is written after an on-site walkthrough and built for the work the rebuild actually takes.
on every projectNot a desk review of your photos.
Houston servicedI drive to the property myself.
and documentationOne package, ready to submit.
I drive to the property.
Most estimates written for Houston contractors are written by someone hundreds of miles away, working from a folder of photos. Mine are written after a walkthrough I performed myself. If the property is in the Houston area, I can be at it.
Every loss type. One standard.
Residential and commercial insurance losses, written in Xactimate after a walkthrough I performed — with the Matterport capture, labeled photos and sketch behind every line.
Wind and hail. Slope, waste, flashing, decking and code items written in.
02 Water DamageCategory and class called, drying logged, rebuild priced in sequence.
03 Mold RemediationContainment, removal and clearance as separate defensible items.
04 Fire & SmokeStructure, cleaning, sealing and odor — and what has to come out.
05 Storm & ExteriorSiding, fencing, gutters, windows, detached structures.
06 FloodRising-water losses scoped to the flood line and below it.
07 Freeze & Burst PipeSupply-line failures, slab leaks and the ceilings they take down.
08 HurricaneWind and water on the same file, kept separate where coverage demands it.
09 Interior RebuildDetach and reset, protection, work behind finishes, sequencing.
10 Commercial PropertyMulti-unit, retail and office losses with tenant and code complexity.
What the walkthrough captures.
The tour, the defurnished room captures and the dollhouse view all come from the same on-site visit the estimate is written from.
Remote estimates list line items. I document the property.
Years of general contracting before the first estimate was ever written. That is where the accuracy comes from.
Beyond the visible damage to the scope the rebuild actually requires, including the work nobody sees.
Layout, conditions and context recorded in 3D at the property, not reconstructed from a phone gallery.
The goal is a scope your crew can perform in sequence, not a document that wins an argument and stalls the job.
Photos, measurements, a scope you already have, or just the address.
Matterport walkthrough, labeled photos and room-by-room notes, taken in person.
Line items written in sequence, with the work behind the finishes included.
ESX and PDF, sketch, documentation and the Matterport link.
An estimate should make sense in the field, not just in the software.
Xactimate estimating and field documentation.
estimate total
Standard Houston-area projects include one on-site Matterport walkthrough, performed by me, used to document the property and support a complete reconstruction scope.
Notes on reading a scope.
One Estimator, Local to Houston.
Chairman Estimating Co. was started by Benny Mancillas, who was a general contractor in Houston before estimating consumed him. He spent years correcting the overseas estimators he hired to write his files, and explaining to adjusters why this item was needed to do that one. Eventually he learned Xactimate and wrote his own. Other contractors saw the difference and started sending him theirs.
That order is the whole thing. When he reads an estimate, he can tell whether the person who wrote it has ever lifted a hammer, and how much the adjuster actually understood about the work from what made it into the file. It shows in the sequencing, in the work behind the finishes, in the labor nobody thinks to list. Not many estimators can read a file from that side of the job.
The company still runs the same way it started: one estimator, local to Houston, who goes to the property before he prices it.
Water on the floor right now? Call me before you call anyone else.
I am not a mitigation company, but I know most of them, and most of the owners directly. If you need one, call me and we will go down the list. I can usually get a crew to your door faster than the carrier can assign one, and I will tell you what to photograph before anything gets moved — documentation is what decides the claim.
- 01
- Stop the source if you safely can. Shut the supply valve or main.
- 02
- Photograph every room before you move anything. Wide shots, then the damage.
- 03
- Do not throw anything away. Set it aside and photograph it.
- 04
- You choose the contractor. The adjuster can recommend one; you are not required to use them.
You choose who does the work.
This is for homeowners whose adjuster has already named a contractor. You are not required to use them — it is your property and your decision. If you want another option, these are four full-service general contractors who handle restoration and mitigation start to finish. I write their estimates, so I have seen how they scope a job and how they finish it.
Let's Review Your Project.
Houston, Texas