Product roadmap — trade depth, intelligence & packaging

Product context: Estym8 is built from scratch as an AI-first construction preconstruction platform—not a legacy takeoff stack with AI bolted on. AI runs across the product: bid-package ingestion and classification, multi-model takeoff and vision, plan intelligence, cross-file synthesis, Estee, estimate-to-submittal draft review, and optimization recommendations. Canonical framing: AI-first positioning.

Served at: estym8.ai/docs/roadmap (slug roadmap in lib/docs/public-docs.ts). The filename ROADMAP_BEYOND_MEP.md is unchanged so existing repo links keep working.

What this doc is: Forward-looking depth, new vertical outputs, and packaging—stacked on a shipped whole-project surface. It is not where we describe “coming soon: folder upload”; bid-package ingest (classify → plan → execute), verbatim harvest, code-edition mismatch alerts, cross-file intelligence, and the multi-discipline narrative report are live—see folder workflow and investor overview.

“Beyond MEP” in one sentence: MEP remains the deepest automation and calibration lane today; this roadmap tracks additional takeoff verticals (concrete, drywall, doors/windows, …) and MEP extensions (air balance, HVAC recommendations, …) on the same folder spine—plus estimate-to-submittal depth (not a second product).

Related references: Takeoff definitions + tiers → takeoff verticals; sequencing → this roadmap (phased delivery, no fixed dates).

Baseline already shipped (do not re-sell as roadmap)

Theme	Status
Folder / bid-package upload (multi-type), analyze → plan → document → execute	Shipped
6+ disciplines on one pipeline (E/M/P + civil / arch / structural); multi-file bundles	Shipped
Per-document “As Printed on the Sheets” harvest	Shipped
Code-edition mismatch rollup on the project	Shipped
Post-folder cross-file intelligence (consistency, coordination, RFI seeds)	Shipped
Multi-discipline narrative report (Markdown / DOCX / PDF) + bid-bucket reconciliation	Shipped
Single-PDF path + optional symbols-only takeoff → promote to estimate	Shipped
Estimate-to-submittal (catalog, packages, register, compliance matrix, merged PDF, draft spec AI)	GA-track, evolving

When do the sections below land?

Same-folder-spine verticals (concrete, drywall, doors+windows, roofing, structural, …): each needs discipline-specific schemas and prompts but reuses upload + orchestration already in production. Effort is prompt/schema/UI/export, not net-new ingest. Timeline follows roadmap prioritization and validation on real plan sets (weeks to quarters per slice—not parallel “big bang”).
MEP extensions on the same takeoff pipeline (air balance, HVAC recommendations, insulation notes, cross-discipline consistency reports): still extensions to the current estimate model and exports; typical lift is prompt + schema + UI once definitions are frozen—see takeoff verticals.
Progress / as-built: Needs a defined compare planned vs installed workflow (re-run on revised PDFs and/or manual installed counts, storage, reporting). Treat as its own epic when pulled into the backlog—not implied by folder GA.
Accessibility panel (e.g. EqualWeb-style): UI product; scope when public-sector or ADA-driven customers require it.

Summary: Elevation/survey in demographics is done (see §Already implemented). Quick wins (HVAC/air balance, insulation, plan consistency) remain attractive on the roadmap. New trade verticals and heavier cross-document synthesis advance in phases on the live folder workflow—not deferred to a distant “v2 folder” milestone (that milestone has already shipped).

Roadmap themes (prioritized by feedback; execution in backlog)

1. Air balance + HVAC recommendations

Air balance: From mechanical plans and equipment schedules, derive airflow (CFM) by zone/duct/diffuser and output balancing-ready report or pre-filled balancing form.
HVAC recommendations: Equipment sizing, system type, or efficiency recommendations where schedules/specs/locale support them.
Note: Stakeholder feedback often bundles these; include both when scoping.

2. Concrete / earthwork (when the project supports it)

Slab, footings, stem walls, curb/gutter from floor plans and sections → quantities (CY) and concrete takeoff.
Cut/fill from site/grading when sheets contain usable geometry/context.
Conditional: Surface when the drawing set clearly includes concrete/sitework (sheet list, scope, classifier hints)—avoid empty promises on sets with no civil/structural signal.

2b. Pool construction / pool builders (site-forward)

Context: Pool work is often in-ground / site-forward: layout, circulation, equipment, limited power—different sheet mix than stacked commercial MEP.
Today: Same PDF → takeoff pipeline applies when legends, schedules, and countable scope map to current extraction; quality follows sheet fidelity and MEP-forward calibration.
Future slice: With bid-package folder already standard, “pool-adjacent” depth is a scoped vertical (equipment counts, tie-ins to concrete/earthwork §2 when sheets support it)—validate on real pool plan sets before marketing a dedicated SKU.

3. Drywall / partitions / finishes

Partition types and linear feet by type/height; optional room-by-room SF for finishes.

4. Doors, frames, hardware + windows

Door schedule + plans → counts by type/size, frames, hardware, opening dimensions; flag missing refs.
Windows: Window schedule + plans → counts, rough openings, key details.

5. Insulation / envelope (when it applies)

From envelope, roof, or wall sections, recommend insulation type/R-value when visible or typical for project type/locale.
Conditional: Only when plans or context support defensible output.

6. Roofing and waterproofing

Roof area by system, perimeter/flashing length, penetration counts.

7. Structural (rebar, steel)

Rebar from foundation/slab details; steel members/sizes/connections for first-pass structural takeoff.

8. Cross-discipline consistency (deeper than today)

Cross-check room names/numbers, areas, equipment counts, dimensions across arch/MEP/schedules.
Today: Harvest + cross-file intelligence + narrative report already surface many conflicts; this theme is deeper automation and reviewer UX, not “from zero.”

9. Progress and as-built

Same PDF pipeline for planned vs installed by area/zone when revised PDFs or markups exist; optional manual “installed count” inputs.
Requires workflow + storage design before UI promises.

10. Model independence — proprietary domain models (post-funding, data-gated)

Today: orchestrate best-in-class third-party models (Claude and others) behind a model-agnostic pipeline — frontier capability at inference-only cost, no training spend. The model layer is swappable by stage (text / vision / structured).
The asset that unlocks this: the proprietary ground-truth + calibration corpus (real won projects + human takeoffs) and the regression harness. Model independence is gated on corpus depth, not a day-one effort.
Theme: train fine-tuned / distilled domain models for the narrow, repeatable tasks (symbol/device classification, schedule extraction, count reconciliation) and slot them in task-by-task wherever they beat third-party calls on regression. Payoffs: lower inference cost, reduced vendor dependence/lock-in, domain accuracy.
Explicitly out of scope: building a general-purpose foundation model from scratch — wrong cost class and not the moat. Sequencing follows corpus growth and unit-economics signals, not a fixed date.

Accessibility control

Stakeholder ask: Optional accessibility panel (saturation, contrast, font sizing, spacing, cursor, blink blocking, captions/magnifier, statement + feedback).
Implementation: Offer when contract or sector requires it (public sector, ADA-driven); per-project or per-org toggle so default UI stays clean.

Already implemented

Elevation and survey in demographics: Master prompt + schema expose demographicData.elevationSummary and demographicData.surveyInfo; Demographics UI and plan metadata surfaces them when present.

Schema / prompt changes (elevation/survey — done)

DemographicDataSchema: optional elevationSummary, surveyInfo.
Master prompts: locale & demographics section writes into demographicData; JSON schema includes fields.
Estimate / plan metadata UI: hasDemographics and display paths updated.