What leaves this device

Property exposure brief

The slab that is too hot in July and too slow to dry in November

Barefoot crossing is open for crossing barefoot 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

Place Seattle (demonstration)Reading Barefoot crossingFor Crossing it barefootPrepared 2026-10-30

Trust receipt

Record schema 7. Model 2026.09.3. Prepared 2026-10-30. This is a model of the geometry it was given, not a forecast and not a building assessment.

  • Measured 3

Why this result

Barefoot crossing is open for crossing barefoot 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

What you told it, and what it assumed

You told it

  • The place is called “The slab that is too hot in July and too slow to dry in November”, in Seattle (demonstration), America/Los_Angeles.
  • Lengths are shown in feet and inches.
  • 1 private note is on this device. They stay in a project file unless you leave them out.

It assumed

  • Nothing in the counted geometry is marked as placed by the model.
  • Every counted object has some standing. That is not the same as every standing being a tape.
What it calculated

Calculated

  • Barefoot crossing is open for crossing barefoot 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

What would change the answer

  • A taped dimension where the plan still says estimated, placed, or unknown.
  • Running the same change through a month that is not this one. A July gain is not a year.

Smallest next check

  • The next useful check is the object whose standing is still unknown or estimated, measured at the place.
Where it stops, and which sources it used

Stops

  • A tall panel in an exposed place is a sail, and it needs footings sized for it.
  • Mature size, root behaviour near foundations and drains, and local suitability are questions for a nursery or arborist who can see the site.
  • This is a decision instrument. It models sun, shade, sightlines, radiant heat and drying from the geometry it was given. It is not a structural, drainage, electrical or planning assessment, and it does not replace one.

Sources

  • NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculation Details
  • ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, Climatic Design Information, clear-sky solar model
  • Oke; Steyn, Boundary Layer Climates and the sky view factor method
  • ASHRAE Standard 55, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy
  • International Journal of Climatology, Thorsson and others, Different methods for estimating the mean radiant temperature in an outdoor urban setting
  • ASCE 7, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures
  • USDA Agricultural Research Service, Plant Hardiness Zone Map
  • Proceedings of the Royal Society A, Penman, Natural evaporation from open water, bare soil and grass
  • ISO 9223, Corrosion of metals and alloys, corrosivity of atmospheres
  • ASTM and DIN 51130 ramp test, Slip resistance classification for pedestrian surfaces
  • ASTM C666, Resistance of concrete to rapid freezing and thawing
  • American Architectural Manufacturers Association, Voluntary specifications for high performance organic coatings on aluminium
  • Purdue University Horticulture, Faust and others, Daily light integral as a design metric for plant growth
Mixed-exposure concrete slabHouse18 ft 1 inDense deciduous tree30 ftBarefoot crossing16° upN16 ft
BuildingNot yours (dashed edge)CanopyShadow nowCan see inProposed

To scale · to the measurements given: Drawn to scale from the measurements given. Not a survey. It is not a survey.

The property, as mapped

The slab that is too hot in July and too slow to dry in November at Seattle (demonstration). 1 places are being read, against 2 things that stand in the way.

House18 ft 1 in100 per cent solid. Confirmed.
Dense deciduous tree30 ft75 per cent solid, seasonal. Confirmed.

How Barefoot crossing behaves in October

Barefoot crossing is open for crossing barefoot 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

About 7 hours in October.

Read for 30 October 2026, in America/Los_Angeles, northern hemisphere. This is the day the place is reading, not the fifteenth that stands in for the month, and not a forecast for that date.

The sun reaches this spot from 8:00 AM and leaves it at 5:40 PM. The sun reaches Barefoot crossing at 7:52 AM. Barefoot crossing loses the sun at 5:52 PM.

When this was read30 October 2026America/Los_Angeles. Northern hemisphere.
Direct sun10 hoursof 10 hours of daylight
Sky visible from here86 per centHouse takes 89%, Dense deciduous tree takes 11%
Usable light9.7 mol/m² a day

Whether it works for crossing barefoot

Barefoot crossing works for crossing barefoot at this hour.

Direct sun100 / 100 — 15 over (at most 85)Sun on the crossing is only a problem because of what it has done to the slab for the last four hours.

What to try, cheapest first

A 6 ft 11 in panel to the south-west is the smallest change that moves this. A 6 ft 11 in panel to the south-west fixes direct sun.

A 6 ft 11 in panel to the south-westTestYou can undo itNo extra hours this dayNo extra hours this day This hour: Works → Works. a project. Reversible. Summer beam up about 0 per cent, winter beam down about 92 per cent at this hour. Summer solstice, 21 June: still 7 hours usable. Winter solstice, 21 December: still 7 hours usable.
If it worked
direct sun no longer stops the hour.
If it didn’t
If the hour feels the same after you try it, the model guessed at the wrong thing.
What would change this
Measure the actual height available before ordering: this is sized at 6 feet 11 inches and about four inches either way changes whether it works.
A deciduous tree 23 ft south-west of the seatCommitmentPermanentNo extra hours this dayNo extra hours this day This hour: Works → Works. a project. Not reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. Summer solstice, 21 June: still 7 hours usable. Winter solstice, 21 December: still 7 hours usable.
If it worked
direct sun no longer stops the hour.
If it didn’t
If the hour feels the same after you try it, the model guessed at the wrong thing.
What would change this
Measure the actual height available before ordering: this is sized at 26 feet and about four inches either way changes whether it works.
Move the table 6 ft 7 in north-eastTestYou can undo itNo extra hours this dayNo extra hours this day This hour: Works → Works. move it. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. Summer solstice, 21 June: still 7 hours usable. Winter solstice, 21 December: still 7 hours usable.
If it worked
Barefoot crossing works for crossing barefoot at this hour.
If it didn’t
If direct sun still stops the hour after you try it, this was not the mechanism.
What would change this
Mark 6 feet 7 inches out on the ground and stand there before committing. The geometry is only as good as that distance.
A second seat 19 ft 8 in north-eastTestYou can undo itNo extra hours this dayNo extra hours this day This hour: Works → Works. move it. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. Summer solstice, 21 June: still 7 hours usable. Winter solstice, 21 December: still 7 hours usable.
If it worked
Barefoot crossing works for crossing barefoot at this hour.
If it didn’t
If direct sun still stops the hour after you try it, this was not the mechanism.
What would change this
Mark 19 feet 8 inches out on the ground and stand there before committing. The geometry is only as good as that distance.
Sit under Dense deciduous treeTestYou can undo itWorksThis hour: Works → Works. move it. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
If it worked
Barefoot crossing works for crossing barefoot at this hour.
If it didn’t
If direct sun still stops the hour after you try it, this was not the mechanism.
What would change this
Try it on the plan, then go outside and see.
Two 8 ft 2 in parasols instead of oneTestYou can undo itWorksThis hour: Works → Works. move it. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season.
If it worked
Barefoot crossing works for crossing barefoot at this hour.
If it didn’t
If direct sun still stops the hour after you try it, this was not the mechanism.
What would change this
Try it on the plan, then go outside and see.

What survives out here

Things stay wet here for 8 months of the year. That, and not rainfall, is what decides what survives. Natural rattan, jute and untreated rope is the family this place punishes hardest. Family behaviour is a starting point. The exact product still decides the outcome.

Stainless steelwell suitedThe surface here peaks near 114°F. Ask the supplier: Is it 304 or 316? Within a few miles of salt water that difference is the whole decision.
Tempered glasswell suitedAnything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: What is the edge detail, and how will it be cleaned on the outside face?
Weathering steelwell suitedThe surface here peaks near 114°F. Ask the supplier: Is this a genuine weathering grade, and what does the datasheet say about wet-dry cycling and about run-off staining?
Exterior porcelain paverwell suitedAnything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: What is the slip classification, wet, and how is it being laid: pedestals, sand or mortar?
Gravel and self-binding aggregatewell suitedAnything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: What size and shape is the aggregate, and is there an edge to keep it where it belongs?
Powder-coated aluminiumwell suitedThis spot takes about 1.17 MJ per square metre a day of ultraviolet in its harshest month. Ask the supplier: Is the powder coat rated to AAMA 2604 or 2605, and is the substrate marine-grade?

What belongs here

About 28.8 moles of usable light a day with about 13 hours of direct sun in high summer. That is full sun, whatever the label on the plant says. Midwinter direct sun is about 9 hours, counted on its own day, not inferred from summer.

Of the groups in the reference set, rain garden and swale planting is the one that actually belongs in conditions like these. Anything planted here sits wet for 8 months of the year, so drainage is the decision before the plant is.

Rain garden and swale plantingbelongs hereZone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 3 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan. Examples, not recommendations: Iris in damp ground; Switchgrass; Joe Pye weed in North America.
Moisture-loving marginalbelongs hereZone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 3 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan. Examples, not recommendations: Astilbe; Ligularia; Iris sibirica.
Narrow upright evergreen screenwrong placeThis spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 5 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan. Examples, not recommendations: Columnar hornbeam; Italian cypress in mild dry climates; Upright yew in cool climates.
Broad evergreen hedgewrong placeThis spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Examples, not recommendations: Yew; Portuguese laurel; Holly.
Deciduous hedge that holds its leaveswrong placeThis spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 8. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan. Examples, not recommendations: Beech; Hornbeam.
Medium deciduous shade treewrong placeThis spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Zone 9.1 is outside this group's usual range of 4 to 9. Hardiness is a floor, not a plan. Examples, not recommendations: Field maple; Serviceberry; Hop hornbeam.

What to measure before spending anything

Ranked by how far the answer actually moves across the plausible range, not by a checklist.

Who can actually see insit thereSit where you actually sit and look around. Mark the one window or path you can see a person from. Until one exists, privacy is a question we are not answering rather than one that is fine. This is not a refinement. Nothing can answer this question until somebody marks it.
What you are looking atsit thereMark the direction of the view worth keeping. No view has been marked yet, so nothing weighs what the view is worth, and a screen that blocks it looks free. This is not a refinement. Nothing can answer this question until somebody marks it.

The year at a glance

Jan9 h sun6 mol light, would not dry within the day
Feb10 h sun10.7 mol light, would not dry within the day
Mar12 h sun17.5 mol light, would not dry within the day
Apr13 h sun26.2 mol light, would not dry within the day
May13 h sun31 mol light
Jun12 h sun33.7 mol light
Jul13 h sun33.2 mol light
Aug13 h sun28.4 mol light
Sep13 h sun20.6 mol light, would not dry within the day
Oct11 h sun12.2 mol light, would not dry within the day
Nov9 h sun6.8 mol light, would not dry within the day
Dec9 h sun4.7 mol light, would not dry within the day

Where this stops

  • A tall panel in an exposed place is a sail, and it needs footings sized for it.
  • Mature size, root behaviour near foundations and drains, and local suitability are questions for a nursery or arborist who can see the site.
  • This is a decision instrument. It models sun, shade, sightlines, radiant heat and drying from the geometry it was given. It is not a structural, drainage, electrical or planning assessment, and it does not replace one.

Who to ask, and what to ask them

Everything this reading cannot answer goes to 6 places: a structural engineer, a drainage engineer, an electrician, your planning authority, an arborist and local planting advice.

Inferred from the time zone America/Los_Angeles. A time zone identifies a country reasonably well and a county not at all, so nothing below is local to you.

A licensed professional engineer (PE), structural

Whether a wall, deck, post or fixing carries the thing you are proposing is a calculation about materials and connections. This product models sun, wind exposure and sightlines; it has never been told what the wall is made of or how the deck is framed.

Take these questions

  • Will this fixing or footing carry the load, in the wind this site actually gets?
  • What has to be opened up or exposed before that can be answered?
  • Is there a version of this that avoids a structural question altogether?

Take these with you

  • The contractor packet from this property, which has the dimensions and where each came from
  • Photographs of the wall or frame the thing would fix to
  • Anything you know about what is behind the surface

Where the register is

NCEES — licensure and verification — Licensing is by state; this points at the board that holds your state's register.

The 2 lines in this document that send you here
  • A tall panel in an exposed place is a sail, and it needs footings sized for it.
  • This is a decision instrument. It models sun, shade, sightlines, radiant heat and drying from the geometry it was given. It is not a structural, drainage, electrical or planning assessment, and it does not replace one.

A drainage contractor or civil engineer

This product reads how long a surface stays wet from sun, shelter and shade. It does not know where the water goes afterwards, what the ground is made of below the top few inches, or what your drains are connected to.

Take these questions

  • Where is this water going now, and where would it go after the change?
  • Is there a connection or a soakaway involved, and is that something I am allowed to alter?
  • What would a percolation or infiltration test cost here before anybody designs anything?

Take these with you

  • The wetness reading and the months it is worst in
  • Where the downspouts land and where water stands after rain
  • Any drainage drawing that came with the property

Where the register is

USDA NRCS — Web Soil Survey — Free drainage class and infiltration context for your parcel, before you pay anybody.

The 2 lines in this document that send you here
  • Mature size, root behaviour near foundations and drains, and local suitability are questions for a nursery or arborist who can see the site.
  • This is a decision instrument. It models sun, shade, sightlines, radiant heat and drying from the geometry it was given. It is not a structural, drainage, electrical or planning assessment, and it does not replace one.

A licensed electrician

Outdoor lighting and anything powered near water is a wiring question with a legal answer, and this product models the light rather than the circuit.

Take these questions

  • Is this circuit suitable for outdoors and for the distance involved?
  • What protection does this need, and does the work have to be certified or inspected?
  • Can the fixture be aimed or shielded the way I need without changing the wiring?

Take these with you

  • Where the fixtures would go and what they are pointed at
  • The distance from the nearest existing supply

Where the register is

Your state or county building department — Permitting and licence checks are local; the state consumer office lists who holds them.

The line in this document that sends you here
  • This is a decision instrument. It models sun, shade, sightlines, radiant heat and drying from the geometry it was given. It is not a structural, drainage, electrical or planning assessment, and it does not replace one.

Your city or county planning and building department

Whether you are allowed to build a thing is decided by a local rule set that varies street by street. This product has no idea which rules apply to your address, and anything it said about consent would be a guess dressed as an answer.

Take these questions

  • Does this need consent at this height, this footprint and this distance from the boundary?
  • Is there anything specific to this property — a conservation designation, a covenant, an easement, an HOA rule?
  • If it does not need consent, is there anything that would make it need one?

Take these with you

  • The dimensions and the position relative to the boundary, which the contractor packet already states
  • A site plan showing where it sits
  • The property address, which is what everything above is actually keyed to

Where the register is

USA.gov — find your local government — Permits and setbacks are city or county; this finds the office that issues them.

The line in this document that sends you here
  • This is a decision instrument. It models sun, shade, sightlines, radiant heat and drying from the geometry it was given. It is not a structural, drainage, electrical or planning assessment, and it does not replace one.

A certified arborist

This product models a canopy as a shape that blocks light. Whether a tree is safe, whether it will survive what you are proposing, and whether you are permitted to touch it are three separate questions it cannot answer.

Take these questions

  • Is this tree safe as it stands, and does the answer change if I build near it?
  • What will this do to the root zone, and how far out does that reach?
  • Is this tree protected, and by what?

Take these with you

  • The canopy dimensions this product is using and where they came from
  • Photographs of the whole tree, including the base
  • What you are proposing to build and how close

Where the register is

ISA — find an arborist — The certification register, including the tree-risk qualification.

The line in this document that sends you here
  • Mature size, root behaviour near foundations and drains, and local suitability are questions for a nursery or arborist who can see the site.

Your county Cooperative Extension office

This product names the kind of plant a place suits — the light, the moisture, the exposure it has to survive — and stops short of naming a species, because which species does that job well is a regional answer and a wrong one costs a season.

Take these questions

  • What grows here that wants this much light and this much water?
  • Which of those is a problem locally — invasive, disease-prone, or wrong for this soil?
  • What is the honest mature size, rather than the label size?

Take these with you

  • The light and moisture reading for the bed, which is the part most advice has to guess at
  • Your hardiness zone if it is known, and the coldest temperature the place actually reaches
  • A photograph of the bed at the hour it gets its light

Where the register is

USDA — find your Cooperative Extension office — Free, local, and the single most under-used resource in American gardening.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map — Your zone, from your postcode.

The line in this document that sends you here
  • Mature size, root behaviour near foundations and drains, and local suitability are questions for a nursery or arborist who can see the site.

Nothing here says what the answer will be. These are registers rather than recommendations, and a name on one is a qualification rather than an endorsement.

What this was built on

The property record itself can be exported as a file and carried to another device. Nothing about this property has left your device unless you chose to send it somewhere.

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