Xactimate Material Grades: Pricing What's Actually in the Home

Why material grades matter more than line item count

Most contractors focus on capturing every line item and miss the fact that the wrong grade selection on ten items costs more than forgetting three items entirely. Xactimate uses tiered pricing for most finish materials. The difference between grade selections isn't 5% or 10%.

It can be 200-300% on some categories. Stock oak cabinets in Xactimate might price at $150 per linear foot. Semi-custom maple with dovetail drawers and soft-close hardware prices at $350 to $500 per linear foot.

Custom cabinets with inset doors and furniture-quality construction start at $600 per linear foot and go up from there. On 30 linear feet of base and wall cabinets, the difference between stock and semi-custom is $6,000 to $10,500. Insurance policies cover like-kind-and-quality replacement.

If the homeowner had semi-custom cabinets, the estimate should reflect semi-custom pricing. Defaulting to stock because it's the Xactimate default is not accurate estimating. It's underbilling.

The same principle applies to every finish material in the home: flooring, countertops, tile, paint, fixtures, and hardware.

Cabinet grade identification and pricing tiers

Cabinets are the highest-value grade decision in most kitchens. Learning to identify construction quality takes practice, but the indicators are consistent. Stock cabinets are mass-produced in standard sizes.

They use particleboard or MDF box construction, stapled joints, partial overlay doors, and basic hinges. The interior is usually unfinished or has a light melamine coating. Open a cabinet door and look at the box construction.

If the sides are raw particleboard with a printed wood-grain veneer on the exterior, those are stock cabinets. Semi-custom cabinets offer more options in sizing, finish, and hardware. The construction step up is significant: plywood box construction, dovetail drawer joints, soft-close hinges and drawer glides, and full overlay or inset door styles.

Open a drawer and look at the joints. If you see interlocking fingers (dovetail joints), you're looking at semi-custom or better. The wood species matters too.

Oak and maple are common in semi-custom. Cherry, walnut, and quarter-sawn oak typically indicate custom. Custom cabinets are built to specific dimensions for the space.

They feature furniture-quality construction: face frame or frameless with inset doors, custom finishes, and specialized storage solutions. Photograph the cabinet interior, the drawer joints, the hinge hardware, the door style, and any manufacturer labels. These photos are your evidence for the grade selection in Xactimate.

Flooring selectors and documentation

Flooring has more Xactimate selectors than almost any other category, and using the wrong one is extremely common. The main categories you need to distinguish are LVP (luxury vinyl plank), engineered hardwood, and solid hardwood. LVP is the most common replacement flooring in insurance work because it is waterproof and relatively affordable at $3 to $6 per square foot installed.

But if the homeowner had engineered hardwood ($6 to $12 per square foot) or solid hardwood ($8 to $15 per square foot), LVP is not a like-kind-and-quality replacement. To identify existing flooring, look at the edge profile of a plank. LVP has a visible vinyl core and a printed image layer.

Engineered hardwood has a real wood veneer (usually 1-4mm thick) over a plywood core. Solid hardwood is the same wood species all the way through, typically 3/4 inch thick. Measure the plank width and note the installation pattern (straight lay, staggered, herringbone).

Wider planks (5 inches and above) and pattern installations cost more. Photograph a cross-section of the existing flooring if possible, a piece pulled from a damaged area or a transition strip where the edge is visible. This photo is your primary evidence for the grade selection.

Include the species if identifiable: oak, maple, hickory, walnut. Each species has a different price point in Xactimate.

Countertop level pricing

Xactimate prices countertops by material type and complexity level. Laminate is the base tier at $15 to $30 per square foot installed. Solid surface (Corian and similar) runs $40 to $80 per square foot.

Granite is priced in levels: level 1 (basic colors, $40 to $60 per SF), level 2 (mid-range patterns, $60 to $80 per SF), and level 3+ (exotic patterns, movement, and book-matched slabs, $80 to $150+ per SF). Quartz follows a similar tiered structure. To identify the existing countertop material, start with the basics.

Laminate has a visible seam at the edge where the laminate layer meets the substrate. Solid surface is uniform throughout and can be scratched with a knife to reveal the same color beneath the surface. Granite and quartz are stone, heavy, and cold to the touch.

Distinguishing granite levels requires looking at the pattern complexity. Level 1 granite is typically uniform in color (Uba Tuba, Absolute Black). Level 2 has moderate veining and movement (Giallo Ornamental, Santa Cecilia).

Level 3+ has dramatic veining, rare colors, or book-matched patterns. Photograph the full countertop surface, a close-up of the edge profile, and any manufacturer or fabricator labels on the underside. If the homeowner knows the stone name, that's the fastest way to confirm the level.

Tile complexity and modifiers

Tile scope in Xactimate isn't just about the tile itself. It includes the installation complexity, which is where most of the pricing variance lives. A standard 12x12 ceramic tile set in a straight grid pattern is the base price at $4 to $8 per square foot installed.

Every deviation from that base adds cost. Larger format tiles (18x18, 24x24) require more precise substrate preparation and more thinset. They price at $6 to $12 per square foot.

Mosaic tiles and small-format tiles (4x4, 2x2) are more labor-intensive per square foot. They price at $8 to $15 per square foot. Pattern installations (herringbone, running bond at 50%, diagonal) add 15-25% to the labor component.

Accent bands, borders, and decorative insets are priced as separate line items on top of the field tile. Natural stone tile (marble, travertine, slate) has different handling requirements and prices at $10 to $25 per square foot installed. To document existing tile, photograph the full installation showing the pattern, a close-up of an individual tile showing the material and finish, and the grout joint width.

Measure a single tile and note the dimensions. If there are accent tiles or borders, photograph those separately. Your Xactimate line item selection should match the specific tile size, material, and pattern, not just "ceramic tile, standard.

Paint quality tiers and documentation

Paint quality tiers in Xactimate affect the material cost per coat. The difference between builder-grade flat paint and premium satin or semi-gloss is $0. 50 to $1.

50 per square foot per coat, and most rooms need two coats. On a 2,000-square-foot home being fully repainted after smoke damage, that difference is $2,000 to $6,000. Identify the existing paint quality by checking sheen level (flat, eggshell, satin, semi-gloss, gloss) and coverage quality.

Builder-grade paint shows roller marks, has inconsistent coverage, and scuffs easily. Mid-grade paint (Sherwin-Williams ProMar 200, Benjamin Moore Regal) has smooth coverage and moderate washability. Premium paint (Sherwin-Williams Emerald, Benjamin Moore Aura) has exceptional coverage, stain resistance, and a smooth, uniform finish.

Check cabinets and trim separately. Trim paint is almost always a higher sheen than wall paint. Kitchen and bathroom walls are frequently semi-gloss for moisture resistance.

Photograph the existing paint finish in good lighting showing the sheen level. If you can find a paint can in the garage or utility room, photograph the label. Many homeowners keep leftover paint.

That label is definitive evidence of the brand, product line, color, and sheen. Use it to select the matching Xactimate tier. Like-kind-and-quality means matching the existing paint quality, not defaulting to builder-grade because it is cheaper.