AI operations for the Northwest's best builders
Plain Rock embeds AI across your estimating, change orders, client reporting and back office, so your senior people spend their time building, not buried in admin.
Fifteen minutes with Tim. A limited number of firms each quarter.
Your pricing logic, built in
This estimating setup was built with a working Northwest general contractor, on the owner's own billing rules, so every option prices out the way the owner would price it.
Estimating is one piece of the system. The same approach runs through change orders, owner reporting and the back office. Tap a species to see the sheet reprice.
Deck replacement
illustrative pricing
| Ipe decking, 509 sf @ $19.00 | $9,671.00 |
| Framing repairs | $2,400.00 |
| Fasteners and hardware | $1,150.00 |
| Labor | $11,200.00 |
| Demo and disposal | $650.00 |
| Subtotal | $25,071.00 |
| WA sales tax 9.2% | $2,306.53 |
| Markup 20% | $5,475.51 |
| Client price | $32,853.04 |
Sample for illustration. Your rates, rules and line items go in during the build.
Want this running on your numbers? Fifteen minutes is enough to see where it fits.
Book a strategy call →notes
Where the hours leak
Even the best-run firms lose the same hours in the same four places. None of them are on the jobsite.
Senior talent on admin
Your best estimators and project managers spend hours rebuilding numbers, chasing approvals and formatting reports. Every option or value-engineering pass means redoing the math.
Change orders that slip
Scope changes get agreed on site and written up days later, if at all. Margin walks out the door one verbal yes at a time.
The inbox runs the office
Client updates, sub coordination, supplier back-and-forth and insurance paperwork eat the office manager's week before real work starts.
Sourcing rabbit holes
Finding the one product that meets the spec, the budget and the lead time can burn a project manager's afternoon.
What the office is costing you
Set the sliders to your firm. This is just the math on hours you are already spending.
Based on 50 working weeks.
See which of those hours AI can take first. Bring your numbers to a free 15-minute call.
Book a strategy call →A
What changes in your office
Same crew, same jobs, same software. The paperwork just stops eating the week.
| Job | Today | With Plain Rock |
|---|---|---|
| Estimates | Built from scratch in a spreadsheet, one option at a time | Your pricing rules templated; options priced side by side in minutes |
| Proposals | Site notes and photos sit on a phone until someone has a free evening | Notes and photos turn into a clean, client-ready scope the same day |
| Change orders | Agreed verbally, written up late, billed later or never | Drafted, priced and out for signature before the truck leaves the site |
| Client email | The office manager types every update, follow-up and reminder | Drafts ready in your voice; the office reviews and hits send |
| Reroof bidsRoofing | Measurement report in one window, spreadsheet in another, proposal in a third | Report numbers flow into good, better and best options on one proposal |
| Insurance workRoofing | Supplement paperwork and adjuster emails pile up after storm season | Supplement drafts and adjuster follow-ups prepared for your review |
How it works
Small first step, fast first win. Each phase stands on its own, so you only commit to the next one after the last one paid off.
Strategy call
Pinpoint the two or three places your firm loses the most senior hours, and what AI can take first.
Office audit
A close look at how work moves through your office, ending in a written plan ranked by hours saved. The plan is yours to keep.
Build and train
Two to four setups built on Claude or your preferred major AI platform, plus hands-on training for your leadership and office team.
Ongoing support
An operator in your corner a few hours a week, tuning what works and adding the next fix.
Phase 1 is a 15-minute strategy call. A limited number of firms each quarter.
Book a strategy call →Who this is built for
A strong fit
- Custom home builders, high-end remodelers and commercial roofing firms
- An established team of estimators, project managers and office staff
- Already on QuickBooks, Buildertrend, CompanyCam, JobNimbus, AccuLynx, Procore or plain spreadsheets
- Leadership that wants an operating edge, not another app
Probably not a fit
- Looking for a lead-gen chatbot or a marketing agency
- Want custom software built from scratch
- National chains and franchise systems with in-house IT
LinkedIn ↗
An operator, not a software vendor
Tim Burke spent a decade in senior leadership at Leafly, most recently as Senior Director of Content, running teams, budgets and the production systems behind a high-volume publishing operation. He built automations that turned raw submissions, data exports and URLs into structured output at scale, and led AI initiatives across video and localized content.
Today he also architects automated operations for a virtual care platform: patient intake, scheduling, care routing and member communications, in an industry where privacy and precision are non-negotiable. Contractors get that same rigor.
Plain Rock LLC is based in the Pacific Northwest and works with contractors across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. You talk to Tim directly, start to finish.
Questions contractors ask
What does it cost?
The strategy call is free. Most shops start with a fixed-fee audit, so the number is set before any work begins. Builds are priced as a fixed project and ongoing support is a flat monthly rate, a fraction of what a full-time office or operations hire costs. Tim walks through it on the call.
Do we need anyone technical on staff?
No. Everything is built for owners, estimators and office managers. If your team can use email and a spreadsheet, they can run it.
Does it replace Buildertrend or QuickBooks?
No. It sits alongside the tools you already pay for and makes them faster to feed. Nothing gets ripped out.
We're in Montana. Does that matter?
No. Most of the work happens over the phone and screen share, which keeps it fast and affordable. On-site visits happen when they make a real difference.
What if my team won't use it?
That is the most common reason AI tools die in a drawer, so training and follow-up are built into every build. Setups are shaped around how your office already works, and support continues until the habits stick.
Which AI do you use?
Claude or your preferred major AI platform, chosen for your team and budget. You own the accounts and the work.
Is our pricing and client data safe?
Setups use business-grade accounts that do not train on your data, with access limited to the people who need it. The standards come straight from virtual care, where privacy is regulated.
Run like a firm twice your size.
Fifteen minutes with Tim. Walk through where your firm loses senior hours and what an AI operating layer would change.
Prefer email? tim@plain-rock.com · LinkedIn
On the call
- Where your senior hours go today
- What AI can take on first
- What it would take, in time and cost