Room for Drama
Room for DramaOutside, Actually.

Portland (demonstration)

The side return that gets four feet of sky

DemonstrationEdit the plan

When the herb pots is open for growing things

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

Rings run from 6 am at the centre to 8 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 herb pots cannot be read for growing things in any month yet.

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

The herb pots for Something growing here. October 30, 2026 at 1:00 AM, America/Los_Angeles. Now on this date. Confidence medium. Cause: How long it stays wet is what stops it.

Not full sun or shade. How much usable light actually arrives across a day, and whether the spot ever dries.

Something growing here

The herb pots does not work for growing things on a day like this, 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 — 14h over (at most 10h)Estimate: Worked out, but at least one input was assumed rather than measured.

    An outdoor cushion soaked here in Oct would not dry before nightfall.

    Roots and foliage sitting wet kill more plants than the wrong hardiness zone does.

  • Past the limit Usable light is 1.2 mol/m2/day — 4.8 mol/m2/day under (at least 6 mol/m2/day)Worked out: Computed from the geometry, the sun and the weather you gave it.

    About 1.2 moles of usable light a day, which is deep shade. Most things sold as shade plants still want more than this.

    Plants respond to the light that actually arrives over a day, not to the label on the tag. Below about six moles a day, very little thrives rather than merely surviving.

  • Close to the limit Hours of direct sun is 0.7h — 0.8h under (at least 1.5h)Worked out: Computed from the geometry, the sun and the weather you gave it.

    0.7 hours of direct sun out of 10 hours of daylight.

    Some direct sun, even briefly, changes what is possible here.

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 medium (60%). Enough to point in a direction, not enough to buy against.

What this answer was built from
Use
Something growing here
Place
The herb pots
Weather
Temperate maritime, mild, grey, damp (scenario shape) (from a published source)
Method
A whole day in October, traced against the scene rather than read at one hour
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. 3 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: Portland (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: 3 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 3 objects are measured. The remaining 3 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
Gravel stripThe house25 ftNeighbour's wall21 ftThe back of the house25 ftThe herb pots91215N16 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 herb pots Schematic: A shape of the facts, not a picture of a particular date or a measured outline.

The herb pots comes back into the sun at 12:38 PM, once the Neighbour's wall is no longer in the way. The herb pots loses the sun at 1:10 PM because of the house.

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 Neighbour's wall——2° up, bearing 111°
9:00 AMshaded by Neighbour's wall——11° up, bearing 123°
10:00 AMshaded by Neighbour's wall——19° up, bearing 135°
11:00 AMshaded by Neighbour's wall——25° up, bearing 149°
12:00 PMshaded by Neighbour's wall——29° up, bearing 165°
1:00 PMin sun——31° up, bearing 182°
2:00 PMshaded by The house——29° up, bearing 198°
3:00 PMshaded by The house——24° up, bearing 214°
4:00 PMshaded by The house——17° up, bearing 227°
5:00 PMshaded by The house——9° up, bearing 240°
6:00 PMdark——
9:00 PMdark——
When the sun arrives and leaves, to the minute.
WhenWhat happens
12:38 PMThe herb pots comes back into the sun at 12:38 PM, once the Neighbour's wall is no longer in the way.
1:10 PMThe herb pots loses the sun at 1:10 PM because of the house.

Direct sun at the herb pots, month by month

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

The herb pots gets the most direct sun in March, about 1 hours on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and the least in January, 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 herb pots on the 30th, or the last day of a shorter month, and when.
MonthDirect sunWhen
January0 hNone
February0 hNone
March1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
April1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
May1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
June1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
July1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
August1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
September1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
October1 h1:00 PM–2:00 PM
November1 h12:00 PM–1:00 PM
December1 h12:00 PM–1:00 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 (111°)2° up
9:00 AMSE (123°)11° up
10:00 AMSE (135°)19° up
11:00 AMSE (149°)25° up
12:00 PMS (165°)29° up
1:00 PMS (182°)31° up
2:00 PMS (198°)29° up
3:00 PMSW (214°)24° up
4:00 PMSW (227°)17° up
5:00 PMSW (240°)9° 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

34°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 14 degrees cooler than the air, near 34°F.

What is doing it

What makes this reading 34°FA running total. It starts at 44°F with every named influence removed, then each influence is added in turn.44°Fshaded air−11°FHow much s…+1°FAir moveme…34°Fwhat it is

Take every named influence away and this reads 44°F. How much sky is overhead takes off 11°F, Air movement adds 1°F. That lands at 34°F.

How this was worked out
Air
48.0°F from Temperate maritime, mild, grey, damp (scenario shape), scenario (from a published source)
Radiant
11.8°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
150deg (assumed, not measured)
Assumed
Which way the seat faces has not been set, so glare is estimated from the open direction. (assumed, not measured)

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.

What is doing it

  • The house

    −0.4 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
1.3 mph before shelter
Shelter
33% 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
Gravel strip
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.
Neighbour's wall21 ftYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.100 per cent solid.
The back of the house25 ftYou said so: You told us this, and it beats what the model worked out.100 per cent solid.