Terms of Use

Effective August 22, 2026. These terms govern your access to and use of gude.co, plans.gude.co, dixon.gude.co, and evaluation.gude.co (the “Sites”), operated by Gude (“Gude,” “we,” “us”). By using the Sites, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Sites.

1. The Sites

The Sites describe Gude’s businesses:

  • Product READY — evaluation of building systems and products (evaluation.gude.co)
  • Dixon Engineering — licensed professional engineering (dixon.gude.co)
  • California Modular / CMDAA — third-party plan review (plans.gude.co)

The hub at gude.co is a directory of those lanes. Content on the Sites is for general information about who we are and how to inquire. It is not a catalog of guaranteed services, prices, or turnaround times, and it is not an offer to perform professional services until we agree in writing (including by a signed proposal, work order, or professional engagement, as applicable).

2. No professional advice on the Sites

Nothing on the Sites is:

  • Engineering advice, a structural or systems design, or a professional opinion you may rely on
  • A sealed or stamped document
  • Plan-review approval, a permit, a certificate of occupancy, or a substitute for an authority having jurisdiction (AHJ)
  • A product listing, evaluation report, code approval, or certification
  • Legal, insurance, or financial advice

Codes, standards, and agency rules change. The Sites may be incomplete or out of date. Do not design, build, manufacture, or submit to a jurisdiction based only on Site content. Your project is governed by the applicable codes, the AHJ, and — if we are engaged — the documents we actually issue under that engagement.

3. Inquiries are not an engagement

Sending an email, filling an intake checklist, attaching files, or using a contact form does not create a client, patient, or professional relationship. We may decline work, including for conflict, capacity, licensing, or scope. We are not obligated to store, review, or return unsolicited materials.

If we take an assignment:

  • A separate written agreement, proposal, or professional engagement will govern the work, fees, schedule, and professional responsibility.
  • Licensed engineering, where offered, is performed only by individuals licensed in the relevant jurisdiction and only to the extent of that engagement. Seals and stamps apply only to the documents they appear on.
  • Plan review, where offered, is an independent review. It is not a permit, not a substitute for the AHJ, and not a guarantee that a jurisdiction will approve the project.
  • Product evaluation, where offered, is not a listing, ICC-ES report, or code approval unless a written evaluation or listing program we administer (or participate in) expressly says so for that product.

These website terms do not expand, reduce, or replace the standard of care or limitations in an executed professional agreement.

4. Your submissions

If you send information or files through the Sites or email:

  • You represent that you have the right to send them and that sending them does not violate another party’s confidentiality or intellectual-property rights.
  • You grant Gude a limited license to use, copy, and share those materials as needed to evaluate the inquiry and, if engaged, to perform the work — including sharing with jurisdictions and consultants as the assignment requires.
  • We do not treat Site comments or unsolicited ideas as confidential except as described in our Privacy Policy or in a later engagement.

Do not upload malware, or materials you are forbidden to transmit (including, for example, export-controlled data you are not authorized to send).

5. Acceptable use

You may use the Sites only for lawful, professional inquiry and for reading the information we publish. You agree not to:

  • Scrape, harvest, or bulk-download the Sites in a way that burdens our hosting
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to accounts, mail, or systems
  • Introduce malware or interfere with the Sites
  • Misrepresent your identity or affiliation in an inquiry
  • Use the Sites to send spam or to collect personal information about others
  • Copy the Sites’ layout, text, or marks for a competing site without permission, except for ordinary quotation of short passages with attribution

We may change, suspend, or take down all or part of the Sites at any time, without notice, including if we believe these terms have been violated.

6. Intellectual property

The Sites, including text, layout, graphics, and the GUDE wordmark and lane marks (including Product READY, Dixon Engineering, and California Modular presentation on the Sites), are owned by Gude or used under license. You may not use our names or marks in a way that suggests sponsorship or endorsement without our prior written consent.

Project examples, photographs, or client names appear only where we have a right to show them. Third-party names (manufacturers, agencies, codes) are used for identification; we do not claim those marks.

Documents we issue under an engagement (reports, drawings, comment letters, calculations) remain subject to that engagement and to applicable professional rules — not these website terms.

7. Third-party links and tools

The Sites may link to agencies, code bodies, GitHub, email clients, or other third parties. Those sites have their own terms and privacy practices. We are not responsible for them. Opening a mailto: link uses whatever mail program you have configured; that is your software, not the Sites.

8. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SITES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GUDE DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT CONTENT IS COMPLETE OR CURRENT.

This disclaimer applies to the Sites only. Professional services, if engaged, are governed by the engagement and by professional standards — not by this “as is” website disclaimer.

9. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GUDE AND ITS PEOPLE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SITES OR RELIANCE ON SITE CONTENT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF THE SITES OR THESE TERMS IS LIMITED TO ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100). SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW CERTAIN LIMITATIONS; IN THOSE JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED.

Liability for professional work we actually perform is solely as set out in the engagement for that work (and applicable law). These website terms do not create a professional duty to anyone who only visits the Sites.

10. Indemnity

If you misuse the Sites, send materials you were not entitled to send, or rely on Site content as if it were professional work, you agree to defend and indemnify Gude and its people against claims, damages, and reasonable legal fees arising from that conduct, to the extent permitted by law.

11. Privacy

How we handle personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which is part of your use of the Sites.

12. Changes to the Sites and to these terms

We may update these terms. The “Effective” date above will change when we do. If you continue to use the Sites after a posted change, the new terms apply. For an active engagement, the engagement controls the work; these terms continue to control only your use of the Sites.

13. Governing law

These terms and any dispute arising from the Sites are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Exclusive venue is the state or federal courts located in California, unless a professional engagement specifies a different venue for that work. You and Gude consent to that venue for Site-related disputes.

If a court finds a provision unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.

14. Contact

Questions about these terms: office@gude.co. See also Privacy and Contact.