Reading a repair scope: demo depth dictates the rebuild

The single most useful question on a restoration job is: how deep did the demo go in this room? The answer dictates the entire rebuild. A good scope doesn't just transcribe what's drawn — it reasons about the construction sequence that returns each affected room to a finished, livable state.

Demo depth → required rebuild

The depth reached in a room tells you everything at or below it comes back:

• Contents / clean only — cleaning and deodorizing; no rebuild.
• Flood cut / partial drywall — R&R insulation and lower drywall, then prime and paint the full wall (two coats), baseboard, and flooring if affected.
• Drywall to the studs — on a fire/smoke loss, seal the exposed studs for odor first; then MEP rough-in as affected, insulation, drywall (hang, tape, mud, sand), prime, two coats, trim and baseboard, doors, fixtures, cabinetry where the room has it, flooring, final clean.
• To studs + framing damage — add framing repair, sheathing, and exterior cladding where the wall is opened.
• Full gut / to slab — add subfloor and everything above.

The sequence, in order

For each in-scope room, walk it so nothing drops:

1. Demo and odor seal (smoke/fire)
2. Framing and sheathing
3. Exterior dry-in — windows, doors, wrap, cladding, roofing
4. MEP rough-in — electrical, plumbing, HVAC
5. Insulation
6. Drywall — hang, tape, mud, sand
7. Prime
8. Paint — two coats
9. Doors, trim, and baseboard
10. Cabinetry and countertops
11. Finish MEP — light and plumbing fixtures, registers
12. Floor covering
13. Final clean

The steps people forget

The misses are almost always the implied finish steps — the primer, the second coat of paint, the baseboard, the floor covering, the light fixture noted on the plan. None of them show up as a big obvious line, and all of them are required once a room is opened.

Get the demo depth right per room, and the rest of the scope writes itself. That's the reasoning TrueTakeoff's Scope of Work is built to do — and to let you review and adjust before a single material is counted.