binkpear

Thanks for your help Charles! It is much appreciated.

I initially built this open air timber frame building and now I wanted to represent an option with exterior walls. The version I sent is the 'as built' representation. I now need to enclose the building with walls and represent a couple of siding choices. I had built this using walls as room divider around the perimeter so I could create the deck floor. I have started to convert the room divider into a real wall (the photo shows one wall that I converted) and I am stumped as to how to get a wall above the lower hip roof to enclose the gable and eave sections of the upper steep pitched roof. This is a one storey building as I had built it, perhaps that is why the walls I try to get into the gable only generate into the 'attic' space of the lower hip? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Brook Timber frame.plan

Thanks for the responses. Moving the terrain from level 1 to level 0 worked. I wasn't aware of that. I still find it confusing as to the best order to design a two storey house with a basement. Do you start with the basement (numbered 1) or start at the main floor? I wish there was a video showing that. Thanks Mark for the suggestion! I meant to mark your response with 'solution', but accidentally marked my own initial question!

I have a large building and I want to have ICF's off the front to allow for stairs to go down to level 0 and ultimately decks that will be supported on top of the ICF's for level 1. I have tried changing room types, but nothing seems to get rid of the terrain in this area. Also, when I build a deck, the ICF walls raise up to meet the underside of the deck, at least sometimes. I imagine it is something easy I am missing, but I can't locate it. Thanks for your time! Bret 5138 5th Ave.plan

Thanks Robert! That did the trick, easy peasy!

Hello all! I have a finished set of plans for a friend that was for a 3 storey 5 plex. He now plans on building another building exactly as the 5 plex except it will now be a 4 plex (17' less than the 5 plex). Is there a simple way to somehow delete one of the middle 3 storey 17' suites to get what he needs easily? I wanted to check with the forum before I start it from scratch again... Thanks for your time!

I am struggling with creating the attached detail in Chief X13. I have tried creating a pony wall but it cuts off my main wall and does not extend down to cover the face of the monolithic slab. I don't need to show the under slab detail of foam and rock, mainly want a way to do renders and ideally cross sections. Any help would be most appreciated! Chief help.pdf

Thanks so much for all of your hard work! I will give this a try. Thanks again...

The way I work, I prefer to specify to my window supplier RO's. Being a contractor, and typically building from my plans, I prefer clean measurements to specify the location of my windows during construction. This means (most of the time) whole numbers for the RO location in the plan and the top and bottom of the RO. Hence, I use a value of 0 for RO in the framing tab and ignore the RO in my window schedule.

I did just locate the RO setting for Automatic Dimensions, so that works. Still think I shouldn't have to work backwards from the RO for the correct window size and bottom location. A simple toggle for window size or RO would be sweet. Much like the toggle for finished floor, floor or absolute location of the height of the window.

Yep, I have it marked to find the RO in my settings. This seems very clunky to me. With that same 36" x 60" window, you are telling me I have to do the math backworkds from my RO to input the size of the window... and also do some math when it comes to the top and bottom placement of the window? When I set it up with my 5/8" RO allowance need to make an adjustment for the location of the top and bottom of my RO. As it stands with adding my 5/8" in the RO settings I still end up with the Automatic Dimensioning tool locating the window size and not the RO strangely. I would like to have the auto dimensions show 36" on the plan and in the window schedule I want the bottom of the RO to be 22" (it shows 23-1/4 in my schedule now) and the top to be 82". I know I can do the math for every window and make this work, but I am surprised Chief doesn't let you specify whether your inputs in the general tab pertain to the RO or the window frame size. The majority of the time I pick even numbers for my RO's and location of top and bottom, so the idea of having to constantly work backwards is not worth it. I guess I will continue to put a zero value in my framing RO and not put the RO column in my window schedule. I have included a test plan in case I am missing something. Thanks for your help! RO.plan

I am wondering if there is a way to input my windows in the design as my desired rough opening size and have chief do the appropriate calculations from there. Example: I want to input a 36" x 60" window that will show up and be dimensioned in the plan view as a 36" wide window. In my window schedule it would show the RO as 36" x60" but the frame size could be set by me (34-3/4" x 58-3/4" is what I would like it to show... minus 5/8" for each side). The way I have been doing it is just inputting the value 0" for my rough openings, but it would be nice to show the size of the window frame in the plans as well. If i put 5/8" in the RO I have to do the math and input the window as 34-3/4" x 58-3/4" but now when I try and dimension to the window it shows up as a 34-3/4" wide window when I want it to show as a 36" wide window. Am I missing something real obvious here?! Thanks for your help!

https://www.buildingscience.com/documents/information-sheets/basement-insulation

Which method works best when it comes to importing elevation, lot lines, etc. from my surveyor? I have tried a .dwg without success. Is there a preferred file system to use that makes creating a site plan with accurate elevations successful? I have a lot with large boulders and varied elevations that I have had a surveyor do an accurate representation. I just need to know the best way to cleanly get that into the program. My surveyor is able to send me a variety of files, the question is, which is the one that works best with Chief. Thanks!

OK, lesson learned. Thanks for the solution, I finally found it! Thanks for your help Eric and Michael, I really appreciate it.

Hello, I thought I would create a commonly used object I use in my designs. So I created it out of polyline solids and various library items. When I tried to group them together with the architectural block tool, it wasn't there. So I deleted some of the objects thinking maybe when I resized them that that might be the problem. Didn't do anything. I created a couple of misc. polyline solids and voila, they could be converted into an architectural block! What am I missing? My hope was to add the completed cabinet to my library for future use. Thanks for your help! Boot rm Cabinet.plan

I have tried searching, nothing seems to pop up for me...

Hello, It seems I am unable to create an interior wood window sill with the rest of the returns (sides and top) being a trimless drywall return. I think I can only change all of the return material of the window one type of material. Am I missing anything (I often am)... Thanks, Bret

Thanks, Eric! For whatever reason, I have been suffering not being able to convert my railings to an interior wall. I am sure I changed the wall type in the deep dark past, but didn't realize I needed to uncheck the railing in the general tab! Now I won't have attic walls in my plan where I don't want them, yay! I really appreciate your time, thanks again.

Here is the specific situation I am trying to accomplish. Like a said, I have a workaround, but it all seems lumpy to me for not a particularly unusual circumstance. When I try and expand the stairwell opening with the existing wall on the second floor in the way, it won't get out of the way. Then when I want to move the railing on the second floor (which I want to change from a railing to a wall, which was my second question) so you can turn and arrive on the second floor, the stairwell is lost. Thanks again! stair issue.plan

Thanks, Solver for replying. I was unable to do it your way, but I was able to achieve it by building the stairs and landing and creating the stairwell by creating an open below room. I just thought that perhaps you would be able to auto stairwell this scenario, but it appears the software doesn't like this situation. Stairs, landing, stairs - no problem, but not stairs, landing. There is one other issue I run across and that is when I want to convert the railings created automatically in the create stairwell option on the floor above into simply interior walls. It seems my only option is to turn them into attic walls... is this correct? I appreciate your time, Bret

All I am trying to do is create a straight run of stairs with a landing at the top (this landing would have similar riser height as the stairs such that you can arrive on the second floor to the left of the stairs). I have created stairs and then a landing and then stairs and deleted the upper stairs to achieve this but when I try and create the auto stairwell opening it says 'the stairs do not reach the floor above. You need to lengthen them to give them more treads.' Even though when I click on the stairs it says, 'steep staircase reaches next level' and shows number of sections as 1 and number of landings as 1. Am I missing something???