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Reconstruction looks different on every property, but the sequence rarely changes. Estimate, approval, build. Knowing what happens at each stage, and where the waiting usually comes from, makes the whole process easier to navigate.
What follows is the path most insurance-funded reconstruction projects take, from the first walkthrough to the final signature.
If you’re looking for the bigger picture first, like how reconstruction differs from remodeling or what pre-loss condition actually means, start with our Guide to Reconstruction. This page is the step-by-step.
Reconstruction starts with a job walk. An estimator visits the property to document the damage, confirm the full extent of the repairs, and verify what the mitigation work already addressed. On nearly every project we walk the site in person rather than working from photos alone. Photos miss things, and the things they miss tend to turn into scope changes and delays once construction is underway.
While on-site, the estimator usually captures a digital scan with DocuSketch, which produces an accurate 3-D record of the dimensions and layout, and collects material samples for analysis. The goal is to build the scope around what’s actually there, not an approximation.
The Work Authorization is the contract. It’s what lets Oregon Restoration get to work on your behalf: preparing the estimate, communicating directly with your carrier, and performing the repairs once they’re approved. Only the owner, or someone authorized to act for the owner, can sign it. This is also the point where you’ll receive a set of state-required disclosure forms, which we explain below.
From the job walk, we develop a detailed, line-item estimate in Xactimate, the estimating platform most insurance carriers use, priced with industry-standard figures adjusters recognize. The estimate breaks the rebuild down by materials, labor, quantities, and repair methods.
A well-built estimate at this stage does more than put a number on the work. It reduces back-and-forth with the carrier later and heads off scope changes once the project is moving. The detail you put in up front is the detail you don’t fight about in the middle.
The Paperwork You’ll Sign
A couple of documents come with any reconstruction project, and it helps to know what they are before they’re in front of you.
The Work Authorization is the contract described above. It’s what allows us to begin, and only the owner or an authorized representative can sign it. If someone other than the owner is managing the project, your carrier and our team need to know who’s authorized before work starts.
The CCB forms are required disclosures. They are not bills, and they are not liens. Oregon’s Construction Contractors Board requires contractors to give property owners written information about lien rights and consumer protections before residential work begins. If your property is in Washington, the same idea applies through the state’s Department of Labor and Industries, which requires contractors to provide comparable disclosures about lien rights and consumer protections. The word “lien” on these forms makes people nervous, so it’s worth being plain: these are informational documents that explain your rights. Signing one confirms you received the information. It does not place a lien on your property or commit you to anything beyond the work you’ve already authorized.
If anything on either document is unclear, ask. Part of the Estimator’s job is making sure you understand what you’re signing before you sign it.
The approval workflow most insurance-funded reconstruction projects follow. Once labor is scheduled, construction begins and the project moves toward completion.
The completed estimate and the supporting documentation go to your adjuster for review.
The adjuster evaluates the estimate and often comes back with questions, requests for clarification, or requested revisions, which we handle for you. This is usually the slowest part of the whole process, and it’s worth setting expectations honestly: on larger or more complex jobs, revisions are normal, not a sign something went wrong.
It’s also the part homeowners feel the most, because the work is on hold while it happens. Materials can’t be ordered and trades can’t be scheduled until the scope is authorized. Most of the waiting in reconstruction lives in this step.
Reconstruction can’t begin until you have written approval of the scope and budget. Verbal go-aheads and “it should be fine” don’t start the build. Once the written approval is in hand, the project can move forward.
With approvals complete, the project moves to a Reconstruction Project Manager, who becomes your point of contact for the rest of the job. Material selections get finalized and procurement begins: flooring, cabinetry, countertops, paint, fixtures, and any specialty items the rebuild calls for. If you’re including owner-approved improvements, this is where final selections and cost differences are confirmed in writing.
As material lead times come back, the Project Manager schedules the labor. In-house carpenters and finish crews handle much of the core work, and vetted, licensed trade partners (electrical, HVAC, flooring, cabinet shops) are brought in as the sequence requires. Materials are ordered and a construction timeline is set around delivery dates, trade availability, and required inspections.
The build itself runs under the Project Manager, who oversees each phase, watches quality to prevent rework, catches issues early, and keeps the work aligned with the approved scope and schedule.
A supplement updates the approved estimate when the numbers no longer match reality. There are two common reasons it happens.
The first is timing. When insurance approval takes a long time, the pricing in the approved estimate can fall behind actual market costs. Material and labor prices move, and an estimate approved months ago may no longer reflect what the work costs today. Before construction starts, we often have to re-price the scope with our trade partners and submit a supplement so the budget reflects current costs. With approvals taking longer than they used to, this has become one of the more common reasons a project needs a supplement before it even begins.
The second is hidden conditions. Once walls are open and flooring comes up, the build can reveal damage no one could see during the estimate. When that happens, the Project Manager works with your adjuster to get the additional work approved before it proceeds.
A change order is different from either. That’s work you request that goes beyond returning the property to its pre-loss condition, like upgrading a finish while the space is already torn up.
Supplements run through your adjuster for approval. Change orders are between you and us.
Both can extend the timeline. Both are also how you avoid the worse outcomes: coverage disputes, billing disagreements, and work left unfinished at the end because nobody accounted for it at the start.
Navigating supplements and approvals is one of the most complex parts of a reconstruction project. We cover how we advocate through that process on our insurance claim support page.
When the work is done, your Project Manager walks the project with you to confirm the approved scope is complete and the workmanship holds up to both your expectations and industry standards. Anything left to address gets handled here.
At the end, you’ll sign a Certificate of Satisfaction, documenting that the property has been restored and is ready for normal use. That’s what formally closes the project.
Reconstruction has a lot of moving parts, and most of the questions we hear come down to timing, paperwork, and what happens when something changes mid-project. Here are the ones that come up most.
It depends on the size of the loss, how quickly the scope gets approved, and material lead times, so there’s no single answer that fits every project. The biggest variable is usually insurance approval. A small, clearly documented scope can move quickly, while a larger or more complex claim can sit in review longer. Once the scope is approved and materials are in hand, the build itself is the most predictable part. Your Project Manager will give you a schedule as soon as there’s enough approved to build one.
Because the carrier has to approve the scope and budget in writing first. Mitigation stops the damage from spreading, but the rebuild runs on an approved insurance scope, and materials can’t be ordered or trades scheduled until that approval comes through. This is where most of the waiting happens, and it’s normal, not a sign something’s gone wrong. What we can do is get a head start on it. Because Oregon Restoration handles both mitigation and reconstruction, we can put a reconstruction estimator on the job while the drying is still underway, so the rebuild scope is taking shape before mitigation wraps instead of starting from zero afterward.
A supplement covers work the approved estimate didn’t account for, like hidden damage found once walls are open, or approved pricing that no longer matches current costs. It goes through your adjuster for approval. A change order is work you request that goes beyond restoring the property to its pre-loss condition, like upgrading a finish while the space is already torn up. That’s between you and us, and you cover the difference. Both get documented in writing before the work proceeds.
Yes. A loss is often a practical time to make an improvement you were already planning, since the walls are open and some of the labor is already covered. Upgrades are handled as change orders, and you pay the difference between the insured scope and the improved selection. We document insured work and owner-paid upgrades separately so there’s never confusion about who’s covering what. Tell your Project Manager early if you’re considering changes, since it’s easier to plan for them before materials are ordered.
Only the property owner, or someone formally authorized to act for the owner. The Work Authorization is the contract that lets us begin, so if anyone other than the owner is managing the project, we’ll need to confirm who’s authorized before work starts.
No. In Oregon, the Construction Contractors Board requires contractors to give property owners written information about lien rights and consumer protections before residential work begins. Washington has comparable disclosures through the Department of Labor and Industries. These are informational documents. Signing one confirms you received the information. It doesn’t place a lien on your property or commit you to anything beyond the work you’ve already authorized.
It’s the document you sign at the end of the project, after the final walkthrough, confirming the approved scope is complete and the property is ready for normal use. Signing it formally closes out the job.
Looking for more specific guidance about reconstruction, insurance approvals, supplements, paperwork, or what happens before the rebuild begins? These resources explain how the rebuild works, how it connects to your insurance claim, and what the mitigation phase before it involves.
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