The thing worth fixing firstWorks
West patio · dinner at 5 PM
privacy exposure is the first conflict. privacy exposure is 57 against a 48 comfort limit for this use.
Work the problemYour outside operating system
The west-side house
Butte, Montana · High-elevation continental
RecordSchema v3One canonical property
Geometrymapped14 × 11 ft
Evidence2 observations1 sightlines · 0 photos
Learning0 change trialsFirst recheck not recorded
State freshness
Most of this model is usable.
location98%
geometry72%
sun88%
glare78%
Low-confidence facts reduce the answer. They never get silently replaced with an average house.
One property · 3 modeled places
Where are you trying to make life work?
patio · faces W
WorksWest patio
Living-room doors open directly onto a compact dining patio. Neighbor window sits west-northwest.
91fit · dinner at 5 PM
First conflict: privacy exposure
room-edge · faces W
WorksLiving room window edge
Reading chair and glazed doors share the same late-afternoon exposure as the patio.
96fit · dinner at 5 PM
First conflict: glare
garden-edge · faces SW
WorksHerb planter edge
House shade holds until late morning; the planter then receives a concentrated afternoon window.
93fit · dinner at 5 PM
First conflict: wetness
Ask the same place a different question
The instruments share the property record.
Change the geometry once and the comfort, privacy, planting and material answers all move with it.
Live instrument
Can I use it?
Shade & Comfort
When does this place feel good enough to actually stay?
Find the hours that work, the hours that fail, and the smallest change that buys them back.
Open instrumentLive instrument
Can they see me?
Privacy & View
How do I stop feeling watched without walling myself in?
Test screens, planting, placement and height against both privacy and the view you want to keep.
Open instrumentLive instrument
Will it live here?
What Grows Here
What actually gets enough light here, at the hours that matter?
Use the place you really have—not the generic 'full sun' label—to narrow what belongs there.
Open instrumentLive instrument
Will it survive?
Material Reality
Will this fade, stay wet, scorch, stain, rust or become a maintenance project?
Read a material against this exact exposure before you buy it or put it in the wrong place.
Open instrumentNext layer
What hits this place?
Weather Shelter
Is the real problem wind, rain, wetness, heat—or the way they stack?
Separate the weather problem from the design problem before you build a roof, screen or windbreak.
Open instrumentNext layer
When should it change?
Seasonal Setup
Should this place be arranged the same way in May, August and October?
Build a simple seasonal operating plan for furniture, shade, planting and protection.
Open instrumentLater layer
What changes at night?
After Dark
Does this place still work when the glass turns reflective and every light changes the sightline?
Balance useful light, glare, privacy and atmosphere after sunset.
Open instrumentReviewed exposure carrier · 2026.09.1
The advice has a record behind it.
8 reviewed source families and 12 placement archetypes are now validated independently of the interface. Applicability, uncertainty and professional boundaries travel with the recommendation.