Room for Drama
Room for DramaOutside, Actually.

Seattle (demonstration)

The courtyard that never dries

DemonstrationEdit the plan

When the reading chair is open for leaving things out

Each month read on its 30th, or the last day of a shorter month · 2026
Something left out here, through the year. The reading chair cannot be read for leaving things out in any month yet. 0 months open, 0 shut, 12 unanswered.JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec0months open
  • Works
  • Tight
  • No
  • Unanswered

Rings run from midnight at the centre to 11 pm at the edge. Schematic: A shape of the facts, not a picture of a particular date or a measured outline. Each month is its 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, not a promise about the other days.

The reading chair cannot be read for leaving things out in any month yet.

  • All year: cannot be answered, because ultraviolet dose has not been recorded here.
The same year as a table
MonthOpenUsable hoursWhat decides it
January 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
February 28——Ultraviolet dose closes it
March 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
April 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
May 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
June 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
July 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
August 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
September 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
October 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
November 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it
December 30——Ultraviolet dose closes it

The reading chair for Something left out here. October 30, 2026 at 1:00 AM, America/Los_Angeles. Now on this date. Confidence low. Cause: How long it stays wet is what stops it.

Furniture, cushions, a rug, a finish. What this place does to it over a year.

Something left out here

The reading chair does not work for leaving things out over a year here, and how long it stays wet is why.

“No” means the model does not support this use under the conditions being read. The controlling limits are listed below.

  • Past the limit How long it stays wet is about 24h — 12h over (at most 12h)Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.

    Soaked here, things stay wet into the next day for 12 months of the year. That, not rainfall, is what destroys what you leave out.

    Repeated wetting with slow drying is what actually destroys outdoor things, far more than rainfall totals.

What would change this. This would change if how long it stays wet were measured and came out differently. The figure is an estimate, not a tape.

Confidence low (43%). Treat this as a starting hypothesis, not an answer.

What this answer was built from
Use
Something left out here
Place
The reading chair
Weather
Temperate maritime, mild, grey, damp (scenario shape) (from a published source)
Method
Twelve representative days across the year, read at the month that punishes hardest
Try a changeMake a document

What next here

Testing a change

3 of 8 milestones. One thing is still in the way of privacy, sightlines and screening advice.

  1. Getting an honest answer3 of 4 done
    • Placed on the earth — done. The sun is in the right part of the sky for this address.
    • A spot to read — done. 1 spot is being read.
    • What stands in the way — done. 4 things are drawn, so the shade is worked out rather than assumed.
    • Who can see in — not done. Privacy is the most common reason a terrace goes unused, and it cannot be answered without knowing which windows look at it.
  2. Testing a changeyou are here0 of 2 done
    • A change tested — not done. Testing a change before buying it is the cheapest part of the whole exercise.
    • A forecast checked — not done. A forecast nobody goes back and checks is a guess with a date on it.
  3. Proving it well enough to spend money0 of 2 done
    • Corrected against reality — not done. After a couple of rechecks the model can be corrected against this specific garden.
    • Photographed — not done. A photograph is what turns a drawing somebody sketched into a drawing somebody can check.
  1. Mark the windows that look at this spot

    Being overlooked is one of the most common reasons a good terrace goes unused, and it is the one reading here that cannot be inferred from anything else.

    a tap per windowneeded for privacy, sightlines and screening advice
  2. Get this place to Annotated

    A photographic check on the mapped sightlines and geometry. That makes privacy estimates more credible, but does not replace measured dimensions. Right now: Sightlines drawn from mapped observers remain provisional until their positions and heights are checked. The drawn heights have not been verified against the actual place. What is missing: Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one. Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement. Who can see in: Nobody marked. Privacy is a question about who sees in from where, and the product will not invent one.

    3 things left
  3. Test a change before you buy anything

    The plan is good enough to ask what a screen, a tree or a canopy would actually do here — including the ones that turn out to be a waste of money.

    a few minutes, nothing bought
3 more things worth doing here
  1. Add a second spot and compare the two

    One spot gives a verdict; two give a reason. Most of what is worth learning here is why one corner works at six and the other never does.

    one tap, then read across
  2. See how this spot changes through the year

    A terrace that works in July can be unusable in September for reasons that have nothing to do with temperature. The same geometry read in four seasons is the cheapest insight here.

    a read, nothing to enter
  3. Photograph the spot and mark what is in shot

    A photograph is what separates a drawing you sketched from a drawing somebody else can check. It is also how heights get corrected without a ladder.

    one photograph

How well this place is described

Mapped
  1. Quick
  2. Mapped
  3. Annotated
  4. Measured

Shade, sky view and daily light are computed from the geometry on this plan. Unmeasured dimensions remain estimates, not verified measurements.

Sightlines drawn from mapped observers remain provisional until their positions and heights are checked. The drawn heights have not been verified against the actual place.

To reach Annotated

  • Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one.
  • Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.
  • Who can see in: Nobody marked. Privacy is a question about who sees in from where, and the product will not invent one.

What that buys: A photographic check on the mapped sightlines and geometry. That makes privacy estimates more credible, but does not replace measured dimensions.

Everything that was checked
  • Quick A place on the earth: Seattle (demonstration), with a time zone, which is what makes an hour an hour.
  • Quick Somewhere to read: 1 spot marked. A reading is a height at a place, and moving it moves the answer.
  • Mapped The things in the way: 4 objects drawn. The house counts, and so does the neighbour's.
  • Mapped What is underfoot: 1 of 1 readings sit on a mapped surface.
  • Mapped Where the property ends: Drawn, so the product can tell you when the cheapest fix stands on someone else's land.
  • Annotated Photographs of the actual place: None annotated. A photograph is how a drawn height gets checked against a real one.
  • Annotated Photographs that know where they were taken from: No photograph has a position and a bearing, so what is marked on them cannot become a measurement.
  • Annotated Who can see in: Nobody marked. Privacy is a question about who sees in from where, and the product will not invent one.
  • Measured Heights off a tape: 0 of 4 objects are measured. The remaining 4 are this product's own inference, so no figure here is a survey figure yet.
  • Measured Something checked against the day: Nothing has been checked against a real afternoon. The model is unopposed, which is not the same as being right.

What to measure next

Ranked by how far the answer moves, not by a checklist
  1. 1Who can actually see inSit in the chair

    Sit 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.

    Mark it on the plan

    Currently assuming: nobody is overlooking this. Tested across one confirmed observer changes the whole privacy answer.

  2. 2What you are looking atSit in the chair

    Mark 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.

    Mark it on the plan

    Currently assuming: no view is being protected. Tested across one corridor changes what screening is worth doing.

Drawn
Worked out
Courtyard pavingThe house25 ftThe garage10 ft 6 inBoundary hedge11 ft 10 inThe cedar36 ftThe reading chair91215N16 ft
BuildingNot yours (dashed edge)CanopySun’s path today (schematic)Can see inProposed

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

Reading at

1:00 AM·October

The sun is down.

October 30 · The reading chair Schematic: A shape of the facts, not a picture of a particular date or a measured outline.

The reading chair comes back into the sun at 10:41 AM, once the Boundary hedge is no longer in the way. The reading chair loses the sun at 11:20 AM because of the cedar. The reading chair comes back into the sun at 2:58 PM, once the cedar is no longer in the way. The reading chair loses the sun at 3:53 PM because of the garage.

The same day as a table
The same day hour by hour, in text.
HourSunVerdictConfidenceSun position
12:00 AMdark——
3:00 AMdark——
6:00 AMdark——
8:00 AMshaded by Boundary hedge——1° up, bearing 112°
9:00 AMshaded by Boundary hedge——10° up, bearing 123°
10:00 AMshaded by Boundary hedge——17° up, bearing 136°
11:00 AMin sun——24° up, bearing 150°
12:00 PMshaded by The cedar——27° up, bearing 166°
1:00 PMshaded by The cedar——28° up, bearing 182°
2:00 PMshaded by The cedar——27° up, bearing 198°
3:00 PMin sun——22° up, bearing 213°
4:00 PMshaded by The garage——16° up, bearing 227°
5:00 PMshaded by The garage——8° up, bearing 240°
6:00 PMdark——
9:00 PMdark——
When the sun arrives and leaves, to the minute.
WhenWhat happens
10:41 AMThe reading chair comes back into the sun at 10:41 AM, once the Boundary hedge is no longer in the way.
11:20 AMThe reading chair loses the sun at 11:20 AM because of the cedar.
2:58 PMThe reading chair comes back into the sun at 2:58 PM, once the cedar is no longer in the way.
3:53 PMThe reading chair loses the sun at 3:53 PM because of the garage.

Direct sun at the reading chair, month by month

Schematic · computed: Computed from this place's own plan and climate, then drawn as a shape rather than to scale.

The reading chair gets the most direct sun in May, about 8 hours on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and the least in November, about 0 hours.

  • Sun reaches the spot (solid)
  • Sun up, something in the way (lined)
  • Sun down (empty)
The grid, in a table
Hours of direct sun at The reading chair on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and when.
MonthDirect sunWhen
January1 h3:00 PM–4:00 PM
February2 h10:00 AM–11:00 AM, 3:00 PM–4:00 PM
March5 h11:00 AM–1:00 PM, 3:00 PM–6:00 PM
April6 h10:00 AM–1:00 PM, 3:00 PM–6:00 PM
May8 h10:00 AM–1:00 PM, 3:00 PM–8:00 PM
June8 h10:00 AM–1:00 PM, 3:00 PM–8:00 PM
July7 h10:00 AM–1:00 PM, 3:00 PM–7:00 PM
August6 h10:00 AM–1:00 PM, 3:00 PM–6:00 PM
September3 h11:00 AM–12:00 PM, 3:00 PM–5:00 PM
October2 h11:00 AM–12:00 PM, 3:00 PM–4:00 PM
November0 hNone
December1 h3:00 PM–4:00 PM
The sun’s path on the plan, October 30, in a table
Where the sun is at each hour it is up.
HourComes fromHeight
8:00 AME (112°)1° up
9:00 AMSE (123°)10° up
10:00 AMSE (136°)17° up
11:00 AMSE (150°)24° up
12:00 PMS (166°)27° up
1:00 PMS (182°)28° up
2:00 PMS (198°)27° up
3:00 PMSW (213°)22° up
4:00 PMSW (227°)16° up
5:00 PMSW (240°)8° up

What the place is doing at 1am in October

Temperate maritime, mild, grey, damp (scenario shape).

What it feels like

Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.cold

40°F

Felt temperature

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The air is 48.0°F. It feels about 8 degrees cooler than the air, near 40°F.

What is doing it

What makes this reading 40°FA running total. It starts at 43°F with every named influence removed, then each influence is added in turn.43°Fshaded air−5°FHow much s…+2°FAir moveme…40°Fwhat it is

Take every named influence away and this reads 43°F. How much sky is overhead takes off 5°F, Air movement adds 2°F. That lands at 40°F.

How this was worked out
Air
48.0°F from Temperate maritime, mild, grey, damp (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Radiant
24.0°F mean radiant temperature
Method
Six-directional radiation integration, then ASHRAE operative temperature (from a published source)

Direct sun

Worked out: Computed from the geometry, the sun and the weather you gave it.after dark

0 W/m²

Beam reaching this point

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The sun is down.

How this was worked out
Sun
below the horizon
Traced
0% of the beam reaches this point

Glare

Worked out: Computed from the geometry, the sun and the weather you gave it.none

0

On the 0–100 reporting scale: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale. Not a measurement.

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

Nothing bright is in the line of sight at this hour.

How this was worked out
Facing
200deg

Privacy exposure

Unanswered: Something this depends on has not been given, so nothing is being guessed.

No observer has been placed yet. Privacy is a question about who can see in from where, and until one is marked there is nothing to answer.

Wind

Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.light

1 mph

Wind at the seat

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The garage is taking about 46% of the wind off this spot.

What is doing it

  • The garage

    −1.1 mph
How this was worked out
Reference
7.4 mph at 10 m from Temperate maritime, mild, grey, damp (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
At seat height
2.4 mph before shelter
Shelter
46% removed by what stands upwind

View

Unanswered: Something this depends on has not been given, so nothing is being guessed.

No view worth keeping has been marked, so there is nothing to weigh a screen against yet.

Surface heat

Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.comfortable

48°F

Surface temperature

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

The surface is running about 48°F.

How this was worked out
Surface
Courtyard paving
Method
Absorbed shortwave against air temperature, flattened by air movement (from a published source)

Wetness

Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.dries-fast

1 × the open

Drying time against the open

The bar is the 0–100 reporting scale, mapped from the reading above: 0 is none of it, 100 the top of the scale.

Still air here; moving air does a surprising amount of the drying.

How this was worked out
Drying rate
0.000 in/hour here
Method
Penman combination equation on the radiation and air actually reaching this spot (from a published source)

Light after dark

Unanswered: Something this depends on has not been given, so nothing is being guessed.

No exterior or window light has been placed yet, so what changes after dark is unanswered.

Ask something else about this place

Everything on the plan, in text
ThingReadingStandingNote
The house25 ftYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.100 per cent solid.
The garage10 ft 6 inYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.100 per cent solid.
Boundary hedge11 ft 10 inYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.82 per cent solid.
The cedar36 ftYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.90 per cent solid.