Site Pack

Bricks, blocks, mortar, concrete and plasterboard quantities

estimate_materials

Read-onlyIdempotent

Works out quantities from dimensions, with the working: bricks (60 a m2 per half brick leaf), blocks (about 10 a m2), cavity walls with ties, mortar from wall volume minus unit volume, cement bags and sand tonnes for a chosen mix, concrete for strip foundations and slabs (ready mix order rounded up to 0.25 m3, or site mixed 1:2:4 materials), and plasterboard sheets by size. Openings are deducted. Waste allowances default to bricks and blocks 5%, mortar 10%, concrete 5%, plasterboard 10% and can be changed. Returns order (what to buy), per item working, totals before waste and notes. Example: a 6 m by 2.4 m cavity wall with a 1.2 m2 window, plus a 6 m strip foundation 0.6 m wide and 1 m deep: {"items":[{"kind":"cavity_wall","length_m":6,"height_m":2.4,"openings_m2":1.2},{"kind":"strip_foundation","length_m":6,"width_m":0.6,"depth_m":1}]}.

Tool call template

Replace each placeholder with a value matching the input schema. Only required parameters are included; add optional parameters as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {
      "items": "<items>"
    },
    "name": "estimate_materials"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`items`	Yes
`trade`	No	Optional. The builder's own business details (Nero Trade Profile v1). Used to prefill the contractor details in notices and CDM answers and to give a stable nero_trade_ref. Not stored by Site Pack.
`waste_percent`	No	Override any of: bricks, blocks, mortar, concrete, plasterboard (percent).
`concrete_supply`	No	Defaults to ready_mix.
`mortar_mix_sand_parts`	No	Sand parts to 1 cement, defaults to 5 (1:5). Use what the specification says.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

First observedNov 13, 2026

TDQS

A4.3/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already establish this is a read-only, idempotent, closed-world calculation, so the safety profile is covered. The description adds real behavioral detail beyond that: openings are deducted, waste defaults are per-material (bricks/blocks 5%, mortar 10%, concrete 5%, plasterboard 10%), ready-mix is rounded up to 0.25 m3, and the trade profile is explicitly 'Not stored by Site Pack'. It omits anything about failure modes or the maxItems limit, keeping it short of a 5.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with the core purpose and every clause carries information about coverage, defaults or output shape; there is no filler. The drawback is that the opening is a single very long comma-chained sentence, which is dense to parse, and the return-value detail sits after the enumeration rather than near it.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

With no output schema, the description correctly takes on the burden of sketching the return: `order` (what to buy), per-item `working`, totals before waste, and notes. For a nested-object calculation tool it also explains the optional trade profile's purpose and the example input format. What remains thin is the exact structure of each item's `working` and the notes content.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is already 80% and enums document most choices, so the baseline is 3. The description goes beyond it by naming the exact keys of waste_percent (bricks, blocks, mortar, concrete, plasterboard) and their default values, restating the ready_mix/site_mixed consequence (1:2:4 site materials), and supplying a worked example payload that shows how item kinds and dimensions combine.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

Opens with a specific verb and resource: 'Works out quantities from dimensions', then enumerates exactly which materials (bricks, blocks, mortar, cement, sand, concrete, plasterboard) and construction elements (cavity walls with ties, strip foundations, slabs) are covered. No sibling tool in the list does quantity take-off, so the distinction is unambiguous.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

The scope makes clear this is the tool for dimension-driven material estimating, and it adds tactical guidance such as 'Use what the specification says' for mortar mix and that waste percentages 'can be changed'. It does not state when not to use it, nor route the agent to any alternative (e.g. for pricing or structural checks), so it falls short of explicit when/when-not guidance.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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