Materials: find a material and get a catalogue

You work for [your company name], a construction company in [city, province], with the TektonAI tools connected to this conversation.

What the TektonAI tools do:
- Scaffold prepares 3D scaffold plans from the dimensions of the structure, or from the architect's IFC model or PDF drawing: dimensioned A3 PDF plan, calculation note, bill of materials in Excel and CSV, 3D model (STEP) and CAD plan (DXF). It revises an existing plan from its drawing number.
- Parts is our company's parts library: references, dimensions and weights. It imports our parts list.
- Scaffold plans use the parts of our Parts library when we ask.
- Fencing draws the site fence plan from the perimeter, or around a Scaffold scaffold along a street, with the public walkway: PDF plan, bill of materials in Excel and CSV, and the site's wind per NBC 2020.
- Materials keeps the catalogue of common building materials (drywall, lumber, insulation, hardware…) with our own items, and produces PDF and Excel catalogues from it. When I ask for a family, give only that family; accessories only when I ask for them.

How to work with me:
- Answer in English, in plain words and site terms. Produce documents (plans, calculation notes, catalogues) in English.
- Use the TektonAI tools for every plan, quantity or weight. Never make up a dimension, a quantity or a weight.
- Before producing a plan, show the configuration and the bill of materials, and wait for my approval.
- When a tool asks me a question through a form, let me answer it myself. Never choose the duty class (light, intermediate or heavy) for me.
- Leave plans at the “PRELIMINARY” status until I give you the names of the person who checked the plan and the person who approved it.
- For an import into Parts, show the preview and wait for my confirmation: a click on the card, or the word “Import” that I type myself. Pass my message on exactly as I wrote it.
- Remind me that plans are preliminary: a competent person must check them before erection.

Materials · Matériaux is the technical reference of common construction materials in Québec: over 800 items, in 12 families, from gypsum to lumber. This tutorial shows how to find a material, read its record and get the catalogue of a family for your team.

The example follows Julie Exemple, of Entreprise Démo TektonAI, who is looking for fire-rated gypsum.

What you need

• The name of the material, or its family: gypsum, lumber, insulation, hardware…

Step 1: search for a material

Write your request in your own words:

Find 5/8 in fire-rated gypsum boards.

Materials finds 11 items and lists them in a table:

11 items found, 11 shown.

Code	Description	Family	Dimensions	Weight	Origin
ED-GYP-58X	Type X gypsum board 5/8 in., 4 x 8 ft	Gypsum and drywall systems	2438.4 × 1219.2 × 15.9 mm	31 kg	company
GYP-X16-48x108	Type X gypsum board 5/8 in., 4 ft x 9 ft	Gypsum and drywall systems	2743.2 × 1219.2 × 15.9 mm	35.79 kg	base catalogue
GYP-X16-48x120	Type X gypsum board 5/8 in., 4 ft x 10 ft	Gypsum and drywall systems	3048 × 1219.2 × 15.9 mm	39.76 kg	base catalogue

The table goes on with the 8 other items: other Type X sizes, moisture-resistant Type X and lightweight Type X.

The “Origin” column says where each item comes from:

• “base catalogue”: the shared reference of Materials;
• “company”: an item added by your company.

Lightweight Type X gypsum has no weight in the table: no data sheet consulted gives it, and Materials does not estimate it.

It worked when: Materials answers with a table of items, with their code, dimensions and origin.

Step 2: read the record

Show me the record of the first one.

ED-GYP-58X : Type X gypsum board 5/8 in., 4 x 8 ft

• Family: Gypsum and drywall systems
• Company category: Gypse
• Shape: panel
• Dimensions: 2438.4 × 1219.2 × 15.9 mm
• Weight: 31 kg (calculated from the manufacturer’s data sheet)
• Material: gypsum
• Standard: ASTM C1396 (required by the NBC 2020, Sentence 9.29.5.2.(1), Clause (b))
• Grade: Type X
• Sales unit: sheet
• Mass per area: 10.7 kg/m²

Company item, which completes base record GYP-X16-48x96.

The record says where the weight comes from: here, it is calculated from the manufacturer’s data sheet. The standard is cited with the article of the National Building Code that requires it.

It worked when: The record shows the dimensions, the weight with its source, and the standard.

Step 3: get the catalogue

The catalogue gathers a family of materials, with an isometric view of each item. Ask for it as PDF and Excel:

Make the PDF and Excel catalogue of gypsum, with its accessories.

Catalogue ready: 127 items.

A request for “gypsum” returns gypsum only. With “with its accessories”, the catalogue adds the items from the other families that go with it. Here, it covers 4 families:

• gypsum and drywall systems: 32 items;
• steel framing: 51;
• finishing: 34;
• hardware and fasteners: 10.

The 4 items of Entreprise Démo TektonAI are in it too.

The PDF has 12 boxes per sheet. The Excel file gives one row per item, for a spreadsheet.

It worked when: You have the PDF and Excel catalogue, with the number of items announced.

Step 4: verify the catalogue

Each page of the catalogue carries a reference and a QR code. The QR code opens TektonAI’s verification page. It says whether the catalogue is authentic and whether the file received is identical to the original. See Verify a plan.

It worked when: The verification page shows the catalogue's reference as authentic.

Special cases

• Nothing matches your search: try the product name, for example “Type X gypsum”, or fewer words.
• A weight is empty: no data sheet consulted gives it, and Materials does not estimate it. Use the one on the supplier’s data sheet.
• You want one family only: ask for the catalogue without “with its accessories”.
• You work in French: write your request in French, or set the language of your profile. The catalogue then comes out in French.
• Your assistant does not see the tool: an administrator has to give you access, on the Access page of the console. See Your team in TektonAI.

Good to know

• Dimensions are actual sizes, in mm. Imperial sizes (5/8 in., 4 ft × 8 ft) appear in the description.
• Materials gives no prices. In an imported list, price columns are flagged but never imported.