Lightweight automation, dashboards, and integrations — for the gaps off-the-shelf construction software leaves.
Off-the-shelf platforms are good at the 80% of construction operations everyone shares. They're bad at the 20% that's specific to your company — the way you bid, the way you track confidence on estimates, the way you turn scope documents into actionable line items, the way your superintendent's daily summary makes it to leadership.
Custom Tool Development is where I build that 20%. Lightweight, focused, scoped to a specific outcome — not enterprise software with a five-year roadmap.
What you get
Automation scripts
Python scripts that turn manual hours into background processes. Email parsing, document ingestion, data routing.
Data dashboards
Connect your existing systems (Buildertrend, accounting, Excel) into one view leadership can actually read.
Workflow integrations
When Tool A doesn't talk to Tool B but it should. Webhooks, API integrations, message routing.
AI-supported pipelines
Document classification, scope-to-estimate conversion, briefing generation. Where AI is mature enough to be reliable — and where it isn't, I won't use it.
Source code + docs
You own the code. You own the docs. You can bring anyone in later to maintain it.
Notable builds
Estimating pipelineConverts scope documents (PDFs, specs, plan markup notes) into job-ready estimates with confidence-flagged pricing. Reduces estimator time per bid on routine work; surfaces low-confidence line items for human review.
Executive-assistant briefing systemPulls signal from email, calendar, and project data into a daily actionable briefing for leadership. Read it over coffee, walk in aligned.
Cross-platform daily-log routingBuildertrend daily logs auto-routed to leadership Teams channels with the right summaries for the right roles.
What I build with
Python — the core of most automation and AI workOpenAI / Anthropic / Gemini APIs for AI featuresPostgres / SQLite for data persistenceVercel / Cloudflare for hostingExisting platform APIs (Buildertrend, Procore, Microsoft Graph, Google APIs)Power Automate / Apps Script where a no-code path is the right call
Best fit
Companies whose biggest workflow pain isn't addressed by any off-the-shelf platform
Estimating, scheduling, or reporting workflows that are still mostly manual
Leadership teams swimming in data they can't act on
Companies considering paying a SaaS vendor $30K/year for a feature that'd cost $8K to build once
Not for you if
You need a full enterprise application — these are targeted tools, not platforms
You can't commit a few hours of subject-matter-expert time during build — I need access to whoever lives the workflow today
You want a mobile app — for construction, an existing platform's mobile app is almost always the right answer
TimelineMost projects 3–8 weeks from scope approval to deployment.
What it costsPer-project fixed price after scope is approved. Most builds $6K–$25K. Larger pipelines more. Contact for a specific scope.
FAQ
Will I be locked into you for maintenance?
No. You get the source code, the documentation, and full ownership. If you want to bring someone else in to maintain it later, they'll have everything they need.
Do you build mobile apps?
Rarely. Mobile apps for construction are usually better solved by an existing platform (Buildertrend mobile is decent). I focus on web-based tools and automation.
How does AI fit in?
Where it's reliable — document classification, scope parsing, briefing generation, summarization. Where it's not reliable — anything where being wrong is dangerous — I don't use it. The estimating pipeline, for example, surfaces low-confidence items for human review rather than auto-bidding them.
Can you integrate with Buildertrend / Procore / Bluebeam?
Yes — via their public APIs where they have one, via screen-scraping or webhook bridges where they don't. Most of the construction platforms have decent enough APIs for the integration work I tend to do.