Thomas Wood Back to work

02 / Product Design + Development

2026

Turning generic weather data into job-ready decisions.

A trade-focused weather tool built around the actual decisions concrete and masonry contractors make before starting work.

Product Design / React / TypeScript / API Integration

Product premise

Job contextLive conditionsUseful decision

01 / The Problem

A weather forecast provides data. The job still requires a decision.

Temperature, rain, wind, humidity, and sun exposure can all matter when planning concrete and masonry work. The challenge was turning those conditions into something more useful than a generic forecast.

Core product question

Can this work reasonably be done under these conditions?
Decision support / Not an absolute guarantee

02 / Job Context

Start with the work, not the weather.

Inputs that change the interpretation

  1. 01Location
  2. 02Job type
  3. 03Date
  4. 04Start time
  5. 05Expected duration
  6. 06Sun exposure
Masonry Weather Planner job setup with location, job type, start time, duration, and sun exposure inputs
Job setup / Context before forecast

03 / Decision Layer

The useful part isn't the forecast. It's what happens between the forecast and the decision.

The application combines job context with forecast conditions and translates them into a clearer recommendation rather than asking the user to interpret raw weather data alone.

Input → evaluation → output

  1. 01Job details
  2. 02Live weather
  3. 03Condition evaluation
  4. 04Masonry score
  5. 05Work window

04 / The Output

One result that is easier to act on.

The result brings the most relevant information together: current conditions, an overall masonry-focused score, a recommendation, and an hourly view of the planned work window.

Result anatomy

  1. 01 Weather snapshot
  2. 02 Overall score
  3. 03 Recommendation
  4. 04 Hourly work window
  5. 05 Live radar access
Masonry Weather Planner result showing current conditions, masonry score, recommendation, and hourly work window
Masonry score + recommended work window
Raw conditionsTrade-specific recommendation

05 / Time Matters

Good conditions now don't guarantee good conditions two hours from now.

The planned start time and job duration matter because conditions can change while the work is happening. The hourly work window keeps the recommendation tied to the period when the contractor actually expects to be outside.

Planned work window

  1. 01Start
  2. 02Hour 1
  3. 03Hour 2
  4. 04Hour 3
  5. 05Finish

06 / Feedback

A useful recommendation should be able to learn from what happened next.

The feedback flow gives the user a way to record how the recommendation matched the actual job conditions, creating a foundation for improving the usefulness of the scoring system over time.

Masonry Weather Planner feedback form for recording recommendation accuracy and actual job conditions
Feedback loop / Actual job conditions
RecommendationActual conditionsFuture refinement

07 / Product Thinking

The goal was not to build a better weather app.

It was to remove interpretation from a small but repeated workflow.
01

Context before data

Ask what kind of work is being planned before deciding what weather information matters.

02

Recommendation before numbers

Surface the practical recommendation prominently instead of making the user interpret every weather metric first.

03

Time-specific evaluation

Evaluate the period when the work is actually expected to happen rather than treating the entire day as one condition.

04

Feedback after the decision

Give the user a way to compare the recommendation with what actually happened.

08 / Build

A focused frontend built around external data and product logic.

The application uses location and weather data APIs, combines that information with user-provided job context, and presents the result through a responsive React and TypeScript interface.

Implementation

  • 01React
  • 02TypeScript
  • 03Weather API
  • 04Geocoding
  • 05Responsive UI
  • 06Vercel

09 / Outcome

A weather tool shaped around the decision that comes after checking the forecast.

The finished prototype turns location, timing, job context, and live weather conditions into a more focused view of whether conditions appear suitable for planned concrete or masonry work.

Complete product loop

  1. 01Job details
  2. 02Weather
  3. 03Score
  4. 04Work window
  5. 05Feedback

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