AI door advisor

The questions that drive a good recommendation are the ones salespeople skip: is the opening protected by an overhang, which direction does it face, is there any soft wood at the sill, and does the problem you're trying to solve actually require a new door. An advisor that gets those answers can tell you when the honest recommendation is 'replace the weatherstripping and spend nothing.'

What it cannot do: see rot behind your trim, measure your rough opening, know your local permit rules, or price your local labor market. Anything that depends on those still needs a site visit and a local quote.

Use the output as a script. Take the recommended material, configuration and the specific questions it raises to three bidders and see whether their answers line up. Disagreement is informative.

How to choose

Answer the exposure question honestly

Overhang and orientation drive the material recommendation more than budget does. A wood door in a fully exposed opening is a maintenance commitment.

Describe the actual symptom

'Drafty' and 'rotted sill' lead to completely different answers. One is a $30 fix.

Take the output to bidders as questions

Ask each contractor to agree or disagree with the recommendation and explain why. How they answer tells you a lot.

Verify anything local yourself

Permits, licensing and incentives are jurisdiction-specific. Confirm those with your building department and state board, not with a tool.