Outside, Actually.

Leave private notes out of the project file Leave coordinates out of the project file Include private notes in the Room Lab file as unresolved questions. Coordinates are never included.

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 2
Observed 4
Model-derived 1

Why this result

The porch chair does not open for reading for an hour on this day, and privacy exposure is the reason.

What you told it, and what it assumed

You told it

The place is called “The front porch nobody sits on”, in Chicago (demonstration), America/Chicago.
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

1 objects were placed by the model rather than measured.
Every counted object has some standing. That is not the same as every standing being a tape.

What it calculated

Calculated

The porch chair does not open for reading for an hour on this day, and privacy exposure is the reason.

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

Any freestanding barrier above about 6 feet 7 inches carries real wind load into its footings and is likely to need consent. That is an engineer's calculation and a planning question, not a design one.
Anything freestanding taller than a person is a wind-loaded structure and may need consent as well as footings.
A tall panel in an exposed place is a sail, and it needs footings sized for it.
Check buried services before digging, and check mature spread against the boundary before planting.
Anything involving permanent wiring is an electrician's work.
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
DarkSky International, Five Principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting
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
American Architectural Manufacturers Association, Voluntary specifications for high performance organic coatings on aluminium
ASTM G154, Practice for operating fluorescent ultraviolet lamp apparatus for exposure of materials
ASTM and DIN 51130 ramp test, Slip resistance classification for pedestrian surfaces
Purdue University Horticulture, Faust and others, Daily light integral as a design metric for plant growth

BuildingNot yours (dashed edge)CanopyShadow nowCan see inWhat a window can see, cut short where something is in the wayProposed

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 front porch nobody sits on at Chicago (demonstration). 1 places are being read, against 4 things that stand in the way.

The house	25 ft	100 per cent solid. Confirmed.
Porch roof	10 ft 6 in	100 per cent solid. Confirmed.
Porch rail	3 ft 1 in	50 per cent solid. Confirmed.
Street tree	26 ft	70 per cent solid, seasonal. Confirmed.

How The porch chair behaves in October

The porch chair does not open for reading for an hour on this day, and privacy exposure is the reason.

Nothing in October clears what reading for an hour needs here.

Read for 30 October 2026, in America/Chicago, 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 7:40 AM and leaves it at 5:40 PM. The sun reaches the porch chair at 7:22 AM. The porch chair loses the sun at 1:52 PM because of the Street tree. The porch chair comes back into the sun at 3:05 PM, once the Street tree is no longer in the way. The porch chair loses the sun at 5:45 PM.

When this was read	30 October 2026	America/Chicago. Northern hemisphere.
Direct sun	9 hours	of 10.3 hours of daylight
Sky visible from here	9 per cent	Porch roof takes 59%, The house takes 39%, Street tree takes 1%
Usable light	5.7 mol/m² a day

Whether it works for reading for an hour

The porch chair does not work for reading for an hour right now, and privacy exposure is why.

Privacy exposure	100 / 100 — 55 over (at most 45)	Settling in takes not feeling observed.

NoteNot answered here. Noise: Nobody has told us what the noise is like here, and it is not something geometry can infer.

Privacy and view

People on the sidewalk has a clear line from 25 feet away, 1 degree below the seat. 1 other marked line is open as well. Halfway along that line a barrier would have to reach about 5 feet 11 inches. A 7 ft 3 in screen 7 ft 7 in out is the smallest thing that closes every line that matters. It costs about 50 per cent of the view you said was worth keeping.

A 7 ft 9 in screen 11 ft 4 in out	7 ft 9 in × 8 ft 5 in	Line into the seat 100% open → 8%; marked view 97% → 66% open. Closes every marked line. your land.
An 8 ft 5 in screen 16 ft 5 in out	8 ft 5 in × 8 ft 3 in	Line into the seat 100% open → 8%; marked view 97% → 66% open. Closes every marked line. your land.
A 7 ft 3 in screen 7 ft 7 in out	7 ft 3 in × 8 ft 6 in	Line into the seat 100% open → 8%; marked view 97% → 47% open. Closes every marked line. your land.
Add 3 ft 10 in to porch rail	6 ft 11 in	Line into the seat 100% open → 50%; marked view 97% → 52% open. People on the sidewalk and The house opposite can still see in. your land.

What to try, cheapest first

A 7 ft 1 in screen 6 ft 4 in from the seat is the smallest change that moves this. A 7 ft 1 in screen 6 ft 4 in from the seat fixes privacy exposure.

A 7 ft 1 in screen 6 ft 4 in from the seatTestYou can undo it	+8 hours this day	+8 hours this day This hour: No → Works. a project. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. Summer solstice, 21 June: 0 hours usable now, 10 hours with this change. 10 hours gained. Winter solstice, 21 December: no usable hours then, with or without this change. On this day: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, what it feels like is what closes it, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels. On the summer solstice: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, nothing named closes the usable span. On the winter solstice: what it feels like is what keeps it shut, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels, with or without this change. If it worked privacy exposure 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 Noise. Nobody has told us what the noise is like here, and it is not something geometry can infer.
A drawable outdoor curtainTestYou can undo it	+8 hours this day	+8 hours this day This hour: No → Works. a project. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. Summer solstice, 21 June: 0 hours usable now, 10 hours with this change. 10 hours gained. Winter solstice, 21 December: no usable hours then, with or without this change. On this day: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, what it feels like is what closes it, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels. On the summer solstice: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, nothing named closes the usable span. On the winter solstice: what it feels like is what keeps it shut, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels, with or without this change. If it worked privacy exposure 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 Noise. Nobody has told us what the noise is like here, and it is not something geometry can infer.
A 6 ft 11 in panel to the south-westTestYou can undo it	+8 hours this day	+8 hours this day This hour: No → Works. a project. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. Summer solstice, 21 June: 0 hours usable now, 10 hours with this change. 10 hours gained. Winter solstice, 21 December: no usable hours then, with or without this change. On this day: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, what it feels like is what closes it, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels. On the summer solstice: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, nothing named closes the usable span. On the winter solstice: what it feels like is what keeps it shut, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels, with or without this change. If it worked privacy exposure 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 Noise. Nobody has told us what the noise is like here, and it is not something geometry can infer.
An evergreen hedge to about 7 ft 4 inCommitmentPermanent	+8 hours this day	+8 hours this day This hour: No → Works. a project. Not reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. Summer solstice, 21 June: 0 hours usable now, 10 hours with this change. 10 hours gained. Winter solstice, 21 December: no usable hours then, with or without this change. On this day: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, what it feels like is what closes it, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels. On the summer solstice: privacy exposure is what keeps it shut, and People on the sidewalk is who can see in. With this change, nothing named closes the usable span. On the winter solstice: what it feels like is what keeps it shut, and how much sky is overhead is the part that moves how it feels, with or without this change. If it worked privacy exposure 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 Noise. Nobody has told us what the noise is like here, and it is not something geometry can infer.
Sit under Street treeTestYou can undo it	No	This hour: No → No. move it. Reversible. Summer beam up about 30 per cent, winter beam up about 17 per cent at this hour. If it worked The hour is easier, even if no single limit disappeared. If it didn’t If privacy exposure still stops the hour after you try it, this was not the mechanism. What would change this Noise. Nobody has told us what the noise is like here, and it is not something geometry can infer.
Shield Porch lightTestYou can undo it	No	This hour: No → No. an afternoon. Reversible. It does not meaningfully change the beam in either season. If it worked The hour is easier, even if no single limit disappeared. If it didn’t If privacy exposure still stops the hour after you try it, this was not the mechanism. What would change this Noise. Nobody has told us what the noise is like here, and it is not something geometry can infer.

What survives out here

Things stay wet here for 12 months of the year. That, and not rainfall, is what decides what survives. Untreated softwood is the family this place punishes hardest. Family behaviour is a starting point. The exact product still decides the outcome.

Stainless steel	well suited	Anything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: Is it 304 or 316? Within a few miles of salt water that difference is the whole decision.
Powder-coated aluminium	well suited	Anything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: Is the powder coat rated to AAMA 2604 or 2605, and is the substrate marine-grade?
Weathering steel	well suited	Anything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: Is this a genuine weathering grade, and what does the datasheet say about wet-dry cycling and about run-off staining?
HDPE and polypropylene resin furniture	well suited	Anything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: Is it ultraviolet-stabilised, and what does the fade warranty say in years?
Hot-dip galvanised steel	well suited	Anything that stays damp grows something, whatever it is made of. Ask the supplier: Is it hot-dip galvanised or electroplated? The difference in service life is measured in decades.
Tempered glass	well suited	Anything 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?

What belongs here

About 2.6 moles of usable light a day with about 1 hours of direct sun in high summer. That is deep shade, 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, deep-shade foliage plant is the one that actually belongs in conditions like these. Anything planted here sits wet for 12 months of the year, so drainage is the decision before the plant is.

Deep-shade foliage plant	belongs here	This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Examples, not recommendations: Hart's tongue fern; Epimedium; Asarum.
Fern for cool damp shade	will work	This spot gives about 2.6 moles a day and this wants at least 3. It will live and it will not perform. This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Examples, not recommendations: Dryopteris; Polystichum; Athyrium.
Narrow upright evergreen screen	wrong place	This spot gives about 2.6 moles a day and this wants at least 8. It will live and it will not perform. This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Examples, not recommendations: Columnar hornbeam; Italian cypress in mild dry climates; Upright yew in cool climates.
Broad evergreen hedge	wrong place	This spot gives about 2.6 moles a day and this wants at least 10. It will live and it will not perform. This 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 leaves	wrong place	This spot gives about 2.6 moles a day and this wants at least 10. It will live and it will not perform. This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Examples, not recommendations: Beech; Hornbeam.
Medium deciduous shade tree	wrong place	This spot gives about 2.6 moles a day and this wants at least 14. It will live and it will not perform. This spot sits wetter than this group tolerates. Wet feet kill far more plants than cold does. Examples, not recommendations: Field maple; Serviceberry; Hop hornbeam.

The year at a glance

Jan	9 h sun	3 mol light, would not dry within the day
Feb	8 h sun	3.4 mol light, would not dry within the day
Mar	2 h sun	2.1 mol light, would not dry within the day
Apr	2 h sun	2.6 mol light, would not dry within the day
May	1 h sun	2.8 mol light, would not dry within the day
Jun	1 h sun	2.9 mol light, would not dry within the day
Jul	1 h sun	2.7 mol light, would not dry within the day
Aug	2 h sun	2.4 mol light, would not dry within the day
Sep	3 h sun	2.2 mol light, would not dry within the day
Oct	5 h sun	2.5 mol light, would not dry within the day
Nov	10 h sun	3.4 mol light, would not dry within the day
Dec	9 h sun	2.2 mol light, would not dry within the day

Where this stops

Any freestanding barrier above about 6 feet 7 inches carries real wind load into its footings and is likely to need consent. That is an engineer's calculation and a planning question, not a design one.
Anything freestanding taller than a person is a wind-loaded structure and may need consent as well as footings.
A tall panel in an exposed place is a sail, and it needs footings sized for it.
Check buried services before digging, and check mature spread against the boundary before planting.
Anything involving permanent wiring is an electrician's work.
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, local planting advice and a pool or spa installer.

Inferred from the time zone America/Chicago. 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 4 lines in this document that send you here

Any freestanding barrier above about 6 feet 7 inches carries real wind load into its footings and is likely to need consent. That is an engineer's calculation and a planning question, not a design one.
Anything freestanding taller than a person is a wind-loaded structure and may need consent as well as footings.
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 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 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 2 lines in this document that send you here

Anything involving permanent wiring is an electrician's work.
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 3 lines in this document that send you here

Any freestanding barrier above about 6 feet 7 inches carries real wind load into its footings and is likely to need consent. That is an engineer's calculation and a planning question, not a design one.
Anything freestanding taller than a person is a wind-loaded structure and may need consent as well as footings.
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 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

Check buried services before digging, and check mature spread against the boundary before planting.

A pool or spa installer, plus your building department for barrier rules

This product reads the air, the light and the sightlines around water. Electrical bonding, barrier law, deck loading and water chemistry are all outside it, and each of them is a safety question rather than a comfort one.

Take these questions

What does the deck have to carry with this full and occupied?
What barrier or fencing rule applies at this address?
What has to be bonded, and who signs that off?

Take these with you

Where it would sit and what it sits on
The distance to the nearest supply and to the boundary

Where the register is

CPSC — pool and spa safety — Barrier and entrapment guidance; local code still decides.

The line in this document that sends you here

Any freestanding barrier above about 6 feet 7 inches carries real wind load into its footings and is likely to need consent. That is an engineer's calculation and a planning question, not a design one.

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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