Predictika · Composite decking

An AI sales agent's decking order, checked before it goes out

An AI sales agent prepares a Deckorators composite decking order: the collection and color, how far apart the joists are, how the boards are laid, the fasteners, the gaps, the stairs, and any fire-listing requirement. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the installation guidance and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.

Scope: Deckorators Voyage, Summit, Vista, Venture and Altitude decking: collection and color, joist spacing, fasteners, gaps, overhang, stairs and fire listing. See everything this validator covers

This validator models the installation fit of a Deckorators decking order, not just the scenarios shown below.

  • Collection and color — Voyage, Summit, Vista, Venture and Altitude, with the colors each collection is offered in.
  • Framing — the maximum joist spacing depends on the layout and the use: straight and picture-frame residential decks, commercial decks and diagonal layouts each have their own limit.
  • Fasteners, overhang and gaps — at least two fasteners per joist, an overhang of at most 1 inch, a side-to-side gap that depends on the installation temperature, and boards acclimated for at least 24 hours.
  • Stairs — stair stringers must be at least 5 and no more than 9 inches on center.
  • Fire listing and approvals — a wildfire (WUI) or Class B flame-spread requirement is only met by some collections, and a deck over 1,000 square feet or a commercial diagonal layout needs a person to confirm it.

Any Deckorators decking order that touches these rules is in scope — not only the scenarios pictured here. Not covered: railing, porch flooring, fascia and prices; this page shows no price build-up. Collection and color names, joist spacings, gaps, fasteners, the 1-inch overhang, the 24-hour acclimation and the stair stringer spacing follow public Deckorators material. Applying the Surestone guide to Vista, Venture and Altitude, the colors of those collections, the fire listing of Venture and the approval thresholds are modeled from comparable products, not published by UFP Industries.

The AI sales agentBuilds the decking order from the conversation and says it is ready.
Predictika validatorChecks every rule at once and returns the verdict, each finding, and the computed figures.

6 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI sales agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI sales agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where rules-based CPQ gets it wrong
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Our assessment of what a typical rules-based CPQ (product rules, price rules and validation rules, as in Salesforce CPQ) does with the same cases. It is a judgment about effort and reliability, not a claim that nothing can be built.

    
What the validator caughtTypical rules-based CPQPredictika
Joist spacing that depends on layout and useOnly with care
The maximum spacing changes with a diagonal layout or a commercial use, so a rules-based CPQ needs a rule for each combination of layout and use.		The layout and use are fields of the request and the limit is computed on every call.
A gap that depends on the installation temperatureOnly with care
The minimum side gap changes at a temperature threshold, so a rule must read the temperature and pick the gap.		The temperature and the gap are compared together with all other checks.
Colors and fire listings that depend on the collectionOnly with workarounds
A compatibility table or one rule per collection, edited again whenever the range or the listings change.		The collection, color and fire requirement are checked together on every call.
Stairs whose stringers must stay within limitsOnly with care
The stringer count and spacing are rules across several lines of the same order.		The stair figures arrive in one request and are checked with everything else.
Every problem returned in one answerOnly with workarounds
Rules tend to fire as the quote is saved or a step is completed, so a person often fixes one error and meets the next.		All findings come back together, whatever order the choices arrived in.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the quote; approval findings need a person to sign off; everything else is computed.

    
1Joists are 24 inches on center; this layout and use allow at most 16 inches.
2Deck boards may overhang the last joist by at most 1 inch; the quote has 2.
3The installation guide calls for at least two fasteners per joist; the quote has 1.
4The side-to-side gap is 2/16 inch; at this installation temperature the guide needs at least 3/16 inch.
5Boards must acclimate at least 24 hours before installation; the quote has 12.
6Stair stringers must be at least 5 and no more than 9 inches on center; the quote has 4 stringers at 9 inches.
7The chosen color is not in the selected collection color list (Voyage: Costa, Sierra, Khaya, Tundra, Sedona, Mesa; Summit: Glacier, Boulder, Cliffside; other collections: Standard).
8Only Vista and Altitude are listed as WUI compliant and Class B flame spread.
9A deck over 1000 square feet needs a person to confirm the material takeoff and framing.
10A commercial diagonal installation needs a person to confirm the framing design.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Cold-weather install on wide joists: Voyage deck on 24 inch joists installed at 28 degrees F with a narrow side gap

    
The agent's request. Please quote Deckorators Voyage composite decking in Costa for a residential deck of 300 square feet with a straight layout, joists 24 inches on center, an overhang of 1 inch, 2 fasteners per joist, installed at 28 degrees F with a side gap of 2 sixteenths of an inch, and boards acclimated for 24 hours. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Joist spacing too wide. Joists are 24 inches on center; this layout and use allow at most 16 inches.
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  • Side gap too small for the temperature. The side-to-side gap is 2/16 inch; at this installation temperature the guide needs at least 3/16 inch.
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2. Cold-weather install on wide joists: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Deckorators Voyage composite decking in Costa for a residential deck of 300 square feet with a straight layout, joists 16 inches on center, an overhang of 1 inch, 2 fasteners per joist, installed at 28 degrees F with a side gap of 3 sixteenths of an inch, and boards acclimated for 24 hours. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Installation summary. 300 sq ft, joists at 16 inches on center (limit 16), side gap 3/16 inch (minimum 3/16).
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3. Fire-listed deck in the wrong collection: Summit deck in a Voyage color with a wildfire (WUI) requirement

    
The agent's request. Please quote Deckorators Summit composite decking in Mesa for a residential deck of 300 square feet with a straight layout, joists 16 inches on center, an overhang of 1 inch, 2 fasteners per joist, installed at 70 degrees F with a side gap of 2 sixteenths of an inch, and boards acclimated for 24 hours, in a wildfire (WUI) area that requires a compliant listing. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Color not offered in this collection. The chosen color is not in the selected collection color list (Voyage: Costa, Sierra, Khaya, Tundra, Sedona, Mesa; Summit: Glacier, Boulder, Cliffside; other collections: Standard).
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  • Fire listing not offered. Only Vista and Altitude are listed as WUI compliant and Class B flame spread.
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4. Fire-listed deck in the wrong collection: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Deckorators Vista composite decking for a residential deck of 300 square feet with a straight layout, joists 16 inches on center, an overhang of 1 inch, 2 fasteners per joist, installed at 70 degrees F with a side gap of 2 sixteenths of an inch, and boards acclimated for 24 hours, in a wildfire (WUI) area that requires a compliant listing. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Installation summary. 300 sq ft, joists at 16 inches on center (limit 16), side gap 2/16 inch (minimum 2/16).
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5. Diagonal deck with stairs: Diagonal deck on 16 inch joists with stairs on 4 stringers

    
The agent's request. Please quote Deckorators Voyage composite decking in Costa for a residential deck of 300 square feet with a diagonal layout, joists 16 inches on center, an overhang of 1 inch, 2 fasteners per joist, installed at 70 degrees F with a side gap of 2 sixteenths of an inch, and boards acclimated for 24 hours, with a stairway built on 4 stringers 9 inches on center. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Joist spacing too wide. Joists are 16 inches on center; this layout and use allow at most 12 inches.
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  • Stair stringers out of limits. Stair stringers must be at least 5 and no more than 9 inches on center; the quote has 4 stringers at 9 inches.
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6. Diagonal deck with stairs: The agent resubmits after fixing the errors

    
The agent's request. Please quote Deckorators Voyage composite decking in Costa for a residential deck of 300 square feet with a diagonal layout, joists 12 inches on center, an overhang of 1 inch, 2 fasteners per joist, installed at 70 degrees F with a side gap of 2 sixteenths of an inch, and boards acclimated for 24 hours, with a stairway built on 5 stringers 9 inches on center. It is ready to send.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Installation summary. 300 sq ft, joists at 12 inches on center (limit 12), side gap 2/16 inch (minimum 2/16).
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. An AI sales agent prepares a Deckorators composite decking order: the collection and color, how far apart the joists are, how the boards are laid, and more. Before it goes out, the agent sends it to Predictika, which checks it against a declarative model of the installation guidance and returns a verdict, every reason and the figures it computed.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. Please quote Deckorators Voyage composite decking in Costa for a residential deck of 300 square feet. It is ready to send. The rest of the request is on screen.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with two findings, all in one answer. Joists are 24 inches on center; this layout and use allow at most 16 inches. The side-to-side gap is 2/16 inch; at this installation temperature the guide needs at least 3/16 inch.
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  6. The validator returned two blocking findings in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the quote are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for joist spacing that depends on layout and use, a rules-based CPQ is error-prone for this.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the joist spacing on center to 16 in and the side gap to 3 sixteenths of an inch.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. This time the validator clears it.
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  12. Both earlier findings are cleared.
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  13. Two problems caught in one call, fixed in one pass, and a clean quote. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before they reach the customer. Now you can try the other scenarios yourself.
    14.