Room for Drama
Room for DramaOutside, Actually.

Austin (demonstration)

The deck that eats furniture

DemonstrationEdit the plan

When the outdoor sofa is open for morning coffee

Each month read on its 30th, or the last day of a shorter month · 2026
Morning coffee, through the year. The outdoor sofa is open for morning coffee 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM, March to November. It opens at different hours December to February. 12 months open, 0 shut, 0 unanswered.JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12months open
  • Works
  • Tight
  • No
  • Unanswered

Rings run from 4 am at the centre to noon 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 outdoor sofa is open for morning coffee 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM, March to November. It opens at different hours December to February.

  • December to February: open 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM.
  • March to November: open 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM. What it feels like is what closes it.

What it feels like sets the shape of the year here — it is what ends the day in 7 months of twelve. Change that one thing and the card is rewritten.

The same year as a table
MonthOpenUsable hoursWhat decides it
January 308:00 AM–10:00 AM2 h
February 288:00 AM–10:00 AM2 h
March 306:00 AM–10:00 AM4 h
April 306:00 AM–10:00 AM4 hWhat it feels like closes it
May 306:00 AM–9:00 AM3 hWhat it feels like closes it
June 306:00 AM–8:00 AM2 hWhat it feels like closes it
July 306:00 AM–8:00 AM2 hWhat it feels like closes it
August 306:00 AM–9:00 AM3 hWhat it feels like closes it
September 306:00 AM–9:00 AM3 hWhat it feels like closes it
October 306:00 AM–10:00 AM4 hWhat it feels like closes it
November 306:00 AM–10:00 AM4 h
December 308:00 AM–10:00 AM2 h

The outdoor sofa for Morning coffee. October 30, 2026 at 3:01 AM, America/Chicago. Now on this date. Confidence low.

Twenty minutes, first light, nobody looking.

Morning coffee

The outdoor sofa works for morning coffee at this hour.

“Works” means the model's weighted checks support this use, and no reading is past its own limit. A reading listed as close still needs attention; it does not mean every reading passed.

  • What it feels like is inside what this use needs: about 56°F against 54°F to 81°F.
  • Wind is inside what this use needs: about 1 mph against at most 8 mph.
  • Wetness is inside what this use needs: about 5 / 100 against at most 40.
Still unanswered:Privacy exposure
Why it is unanswered
  • Privacy exposure. 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.

What would change this. It works on the evidence given. It would stop if privacy exposure is worse than we have been told.

Confidence low (35%). Treat this as a starting hypothesis, not an answer.

What this answer was built from
Use
Morning coffee
Place
The outdoor sofa
Weather
Hot and humid, long cooling season (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Method
Traced geometry and radiation at this hour, measured against what this use needs
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. 2 spots are being read.
    • What stands in the way — done. 2 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. Read all 2 spots at the same hour

    Moving where you sit is free, immediate and reversible, and it beats most of what you could build. Read side by side it is usually obvious which corner was always going to work.

    a read, nothing to enter
  3. 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 more things worth doing here
  1. 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
  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: Austin (demonstration), with a time zone, which is what makes an hour an hour.
  • Quick Somewhere to read: 2 spots marked. A reading is a height at a place, and moving it moves the answer.
  • Mapped The things in the way: 2 objects drawn. The house counts, and so does the neighbour's.
  • Mapped What is underfoot: 2 of 2 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 2 objects are measured. The remaining 2 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
Composite deckThe house19 ft 8 inLive oak33 ftThe outdoor sofaWhere the dog lies9121518N33 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

3:01 AM·October

The sun is down.

October 30 · The outdoor sofa Schematic: A shape of the facts, not a picture of a particular date or a measured outline.
  • Works (solid)
  • No (pale, edged)

The sun reaches the outdoor sofa at 7:44 AM. The outdoor sofa loses the sun at 4:13 PM because of the Live oak. The outdoor sofa comes back into the sun at 5:53 PM, once the Live oak is no longer in the way. The outdoor sofa loses the sun at 6:43 PM.

The evidence behind this whole day is thin, so nothing on the strip is marked out as worse than the rest. The shape of the day is still the model’s best reading; the confidence in it is low, and it stays low until something it needs is measured.

The outdoor sofa is open for morning coffee 6:00 AM to 10:00 AM.

About 4 hours in October, and what it feels like is what closes it.

The same day as a table
The same day hour by hour, in text.
HourSunVerdictConfidenceSun position
12:00 AMdarkWorksa starting hypothesis
3:00 AMdarkWorksa starting hypothesis
6:00 AMdarkWorksa starting hypothesis
8:00 AMin sunWorksa starting hypothesis3° up, bearing 108°
9:00 AMin sunWorksa starting hypothesis15° up, bearing 116°
10:00 AMin sunNoa starting hypothesis26° up, bearing 126°
11:00 AMin sunNoa starting hypothesis35° up, bearing 139°
12:00 PMin sunNoa starting hypothesis42° up, bearing 155°
1:00 PMin sunNoa starting hypothesis46° up, bearing 175°
2:00 PMin sunNoa starting hypothesis44° up, bearing 196°
3:00 PMin sunNoa starting hypothesis39° up, bearing 214°
4:00 PMin sunNoa starting hypothesis30° up, bearing 228°
5:00 PMshaded by Live oakWorksa starting hypothesis20° up, bearing 239°
6:00 PMin sunWorksa starting hypothesis8° up, bearing 248°
9:00 PMdarkWorksa starting hypothesis
When the sun arrives and leaves, to the minute.
WhenWhat happens
7:44 AMThe sun reaches the outdoor sofa at 7:44 AM.
4:13 PMThe outdoor sofa loses the sun at 4:13 PM because of the Live oak.
5:53 PMThe outdoor sofa comes back into the sun at 5:53 PM, once the Live oak is no longer in the way.
6:43 PMThe outdoor sofa loses the sun at 6:43 PM.

Direct sun at the outdoor sofa, month by month

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

The outdoor sofa gets the most direct sun in May, about 13 hours on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and the least in January, about 9 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 outdoor sofa on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and when.
MonthDirect sunWhen
January9 h8:00 AM–4:00 PM, 6:00 PM–7:00 PM
February10 h7:00 AM–4:00 PM, 6:00 PM–7:00 PM
March9 h8:00 AM–4:00 PM, 7:00 PM–8:00 PM
April11 h7:00 AM–4:00 PM, 7:00 PM–9:00 PM
May13 h7:00 AM–5:00 PM, 6:00 PM–9:00 PM
June12 h7:00 AM–5:00 PM, 6:00 PM–8:00 PM
July12 h7:00 AM–5:00 PM, 7:00 PM–9:00 PM
August9 h8:00 AM–4:00 PM, 7:00 PM–8:00 PM
September9 h8:00 AM–4:00 PM, 7:00 PM–8:00 PM
October10 h8:00 AM–5:00 PM, 6:00 PM–7:00 PM
November9 h8:00 AM–4:00 PM, 5:00 PM–6:00 PM
December10 h8:00 AM–6:00 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 (108°)3° up
9:00 AMSE (116°)15° up
10:00 AMSE (126°)26° up
11:00 AMSE (139°)35° up
12:00 PMSE (155°)42° up
1:00 PMS (175°)46° up
2:00 PMS (196°)44° up
3:00 PMSW (214°)39° up
4:00 PMSW (228°)30° up
5:00 PMSW (239°)20° up
6:00 PMW (248°)8° up

What the place is doing at 3:01am in October

Hot and humid, long cooling season (scenario shape).

What it feels like

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

56°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 62.7°F. It feels about 6.7 degrees cooler than the air, near 56°F.

What is doing it

What makes this reading 56°FA running total. It starts at 59°F with every named influence removed, then each influence is added in turn.59°Fshaded air−3°FHow much s…56°Fwhat it is

Take every named influence away and this reads 59°F. How much sky is overhead takes off 3°F. That lands at 56°F.

How this was worked out
Air
62.7°F from Hot and humid, long cooling season (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Radiant
46.3°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; the tick is where this use stops working.

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

How this was worked out
Facing
180deg

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.still

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.

Wind here is still.

How this was worked out
Reference
5.5 mph at 10 m from Hot and humid, long cooling season (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
At seat height
0.7 mph before shelter
Shelter
0% 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

63°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 63°F.

How this was worked out
Surface
Composite deck
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; the tick is where this use stops working.

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 house19 ft 8 inYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.100 per cent solid.
Live oak33 ftYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.80 per cent solid.