How Flatwork Studio works
- Design & Calculate — pick concrete or pavers, enter the plan size or pull a shape from a PDF takeoff — then shape the plan directly: use the white edge squares and white corner circles to shape the plan; either handle turns yellow when selected. Add notches from an edge, and add island deletions to remove trees, beds, columns or other interior areas from the footprint. Drag an island by its shaded body; its upper-left point is called from P0, and it subtracts from the elevation and quantity math immediately. Delete selected steps back through notches and islands, newest first. Holes remain editable with gridlines; Preview removes the editing grid. Quantities update instantly.
- Materials — review the calculated quantity schedule; every line is tagged with the basis it came from.
- Estimate — adjust unit costs, waste and markup. Overrides never change the underlying calculation.
- Proposal — review the client-safe document, add your business identity in the proposal workspace, then print or export it.
- Evidence — assumptions, warnings, calculation trace, revision snapshots and self-tests are always available.
CNCLive dimensionsStreams while you drag
EDGE
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W
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L
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NET
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White squares slide a whole edge; white circles move one corner. Either turns yellow while selected. Gold squares on a notch move that notch side square-on only. Islands delete their area the moment they land. Drag an island by its shaded body and use its live CNC box for P0-to-upper-left X/Y plus W/L. Delete selected steps back, newest first. Hold Shift for no snap.
01Flatwork assemblyXY geometry + explicit depth / slope
02AConcrete layers and user-specified reinforcement
Reinforcement, joint spacing, thickness, subgrade and pavement design are user/project inputs. The studio quantifies them; it does not originate structural design.
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Net area
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Perimeter
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Primary qty
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Slope rise
P0 is the top-left project datum. X increases right; Y increases down; Z increases upward. White circles move individual corners; white squares move complete edges. A selected handle turns yellow without changing its function. + adds a corner. Add notch cuts three sides inward from a selected edge: one gold square sits at the middle of each notch side and moves that side square-on — a vertical side slides in X only, a horizontal side slides in Y only — and each of the four notch corners is a white circle you can drag freely into any polygon. Delete selected is the back button: every click removes the most recent notch or island, newest first, until the plain outline remains. Add island deletes its area from the footprint the moment it lands; drag its shaded body and read the P0-driven moving CNC box. Preview shows only the remaining concrete or paver structure and its open cutouts — no grid and no control-joint lines, while notches and islands stay. A selected island shows two dotted datum lines with live distances: one to the Y axis (X offset) and one to the X axis (Y offset). Snap: 1/4″ / 1/8″ / 1/16″; hold Shift for free movement.
Cross-section composite · click a layer to select it, then −/+ bump it by the snap increment (writes the real field). Concrete: clicking the REINFORCEMENT layer cycles none → rebar → wire mesh. Paver mode: tap a pattern or size swatch — it lays onto the plan above and drives the pitch profile below.
Section profile · depth datum at finished surface (Z up). Materials draw to relative scale: sloped surface with computed rise, control joints, reinforcement (rebar dots / mesh line), thickened edge, and in paver mode the actual paver blocks, joints, border and edge restraint — change paver dimensions and the blocks change. Gold bars drag slab / base / excavation (or bedding / base) live with the shared 1/4″ / 1/8″ / 1/16″ snap; Shift = free. Preview hides the grips.
RESULTCalculated quantities
STATUSProposal readinessLive checklist
MATERIALSCalculated quantity scheduleEdit any quantity · overrides persist & flow to Estimate + Proposal
| Material | Quantity | Unit | Basis | Notes |
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SETTINGSCommercial assumptions
Overrides are stored separately from calculated values and do not mutate the underlying studio calculation.
ESTIMATEDraft estimate linesignotix-estimate/v1
| Item | Qty override | Unit | Waste % | Order qty | Unit cost | Markup % | Extension |
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Custom lines flow into totals, the proposal and every export.
CATALOGFlatwork tools & consumablesReference prices — verify with your supplier
Apply to:
Matched items get their unit cost set as an override — totals, proposal and exports update immediately. Photo price sheets need the server OCR service (planned with the Edge Function deployment); use CSV or a previous Ignotix export for now.
A working checklist of the tools, consumables and rentals a concrete flatwork job commonly needs. Open a category, set quantity and your local price, and Add — each item becomes an editable estimate line.
PREPProposal preparation
Use the proposal workspace to add your business identity, logo, scope wording, payment terms and acceptance language. Internal cost and markup never print on the client document.
PROPOSALClient-safe proposal reference viewInternal cost and markup are excluded
CLOSEOUTActual-versus-calculated job record
PRIVATEIndividual learning
HISTORYCompleted-job comparisons
| Date | Mode | Calculated | Actual | Variance | Notes |
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GLOBALControlled aggregate learning
A closeout may be packaged as de-identified evidence, but it does not directly modify any production formula. Aggregate evidence must be normalized, scrutinized, reproduced, tested and revisioned before a global profile or engine change is released.
ASSUMPTIONSCalculation boundaries
| Assumption | Effective value | Class | Source / authority |
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TAKEOFFDrawing evidence
| ID | Type | Label | Value | Page |
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REVISIONSImmutable local snapshots
| Rev | Saved | Input hash | Result hash |
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TRACECalculation trace
PROJECTCanonical project envelope
TESTEmbedded known-answer fixtures