Founder: ChatGPT Astra replicated 3 years of framing-solver work in SketchUp in 10 minutes
natesiggard · x · 2026-09-25
Software founder Jeff Hopfenbeck says his team spent 3 years and tens of thousands of engineering hours building a framing solver, yet ChatGPT's Astra with computer use did most of it in under 10 minutes. He gave Astra a residential plan set plus the team's framing logic and had it build the house in SketchUp via the Ruby console. The first pass was 90–95% correct: stud spacing, window ROs, kings/trimmers/headers, floor framing, most roof framing—even splitting walls into panels and tagging members with attributes. "Now I just provide rules and computer use, and it builds the model."
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