mgianzero

So I finally got pretty much what I was looking for for those that would like to see. I took some ideas from various people (thank you for your help). However, I ended up not creating two sets of walls using the "no room definition" attribute. Rather, I stuck to using railings but found out how to paste doors inside of a railings. It looks mostly what I was looking for, although I could't get the front doors to work since it would change even the lower panels to windows. Also, the underside of the deck is not exact but close - planking direction inside house is wrong and underside beam supports are not correct. But it's good enough for my demonstration purposes. Here are the plans for anyone who wishes to see. Teahouse Plans.zip Marc

Very interesting. I did not know that. Thanks Glenn!

Yes! That looks very close. How exactly do you do that? - 2 walls in the same space. Does one wall sit on top of the other one? And what were your wall types defined to be? I was attempting to do something like that using a pony wall, but couldn't get it to work like I wanted.

Darn - I like seeing how others do things by playing around with their plans. But CA is funny if you don't start with a clean template, you end up with all sorts of other unneeded info in your files. Yes, I've done some designs before with open below to make a "false" type ceiling. I did something similar to that in a home to make a sort-of trey ceiling. But actually the roof design was never really my biggest concern. It was the drawing of the single layer T&G inset panel walls that was my biggest issue. I felt I was almost there using the railing / fencing technique that surrounds a deck with an overhang since it looks almost what I wanted except for the ability to insert Shoji windows (or really any type of window) in this single layer wall. I also had it raised up on a deck as it's foundation which is almost exactly what I have. So I guess your saying it's better to define a single layer wall type with T&G panels and then you can insert any style window. But then manually add the perimeter framing around each 4 foot wide T&G panel set, correct?

Ryan, Okay ... I think that's looking more like it. Can you attach your plan so I can study it?

Yes Eric. Even though I figured out how to make the lower walls look mostly correct with T&G paneling, I wanted the upper half of these panels to really consist of shoji screens or windows that open if possible. It's not critical that they open, but I was trying to show homeowner some landscaping options from home that leads to the existing tea house on property. The tea house structure doesn't have to be too accurate, but I was hoping I could show the decking that holds this structure with somewhat accurate planking offsets with decking fascia board around it. The entire tea house stands roughly one foot above a concrete block wall that is also about one foot tall. You can see it in the actually picture I included in the original post. Marc

Sorry but I did not purposely mislead you here. That picture in original post is the ACTUAL teahouse that is on the property that I am trying to draw. So assumptions were made that it was more of a traditional framed shed with redwood paneling on the outside and it is not. That's why I said I could not build this with traditional walls with layers, but instead I was using "fencing with railing" as my walls.

Yes, I think you're understanding me better here. They are "inset panels" of T&G and they are 4 feet wide and 3 panels in a row on each side of tea house to make a 12 foot wall. There is no sheathing, but merely the T&G panels are seen from inside and outside. Problem with using railing/fencing as walls is that I cannot insert windows inside railing or fencing. This structure is really just a fancy gazebo - single walls with T&G paneling. But is has shoji style windows and doors on it.

I know I am not explaining myself here very clearly. That is why I provided a plan for everyone to see. Actually, it is NOT tongue and groove OVER framing. They are tongue and groove panels that have a 3 1/2" frame AROUND the perimeter of the panels much like that you would find on a privacy fence. A close example would be that of a "lattice fence" in CA. However the perimeter framing is 3 1/2" instead of the standard 2 x 2".

Ryan, Although I appreciate your efforts, this is not what I am trying to do. What makes this building a little different is that it is NOT a typical dwelling with framing covered with sheathing. Rather, it is a single depth tongue / groove panel wall with framing as part of the wall. Also, it is NOT a two story building although it may look from it from the exterior. If you are familiar with Japanese tea houses, they can have a unique raised vaulted roof but all single story - much like a gazebo. I think you'll see what I am trying to do if you look at my plans thus far. Although I need windows above the panels and making these "railing style" walls split, like pony walls, doesn't allow me to define the lower half with paneling and the upper half with shoji windows. Marc

David, I really appreciate your efforts. However, I think I mostly got it by using railings and posts with tongue & grove paneling. This looks more of what I'm going for: However, I still have a few problems I need to solve: 1) I really want the top half of the walls to show windows that open. Right now I have no windows. Windows are almost like shoji screens (with opaque plexi-glass and multi-paned). How do I do that? 2) The deck planking needs to extend beyond the actual teahouse, but off center (21 " on two sides and 18" in front and almost flush in the back). 3) The deck support joists need to support the overhang and almost flush to the planking all around with a deck fascia board around the perimeter. 4) I obviously haven't placed the raised roof yet. I will do that after I get it to look more what I want. Here's my attempt so far ... Teahouse plan.zip

Perhaps I didn't explain myself very well. I think I can make the roof design with two levels as David suggested above. But it's the walls that I find tricky. Each wall is made of 3 panels (tongue & groove) that are framed by 1x3's and each framed panel is then screwed to each other in line. So it's not a typical wall you'd find as part of a house or even a garage or shed (with wall types that include both framing and sheathing) on different layers but, instead, within the same layer, juxtaposed to each other - framing and panels. Then, the entire tea house sits on top of a deck supported by floor joists on piers. So it's also not a typical deck that surrounds the house but rather fully supports the tea house on top. Marc

Wanting to model a simple "teahouse" like structure on the property near house plan in order to determine more of the terrain landscape. It's mostly made of three 4 foot wide simple tongue & groove 1/2" panels with a simplistic 2-level roof design as shown here: I thought it would be easy, but didn't see an easy way to do it. Ideas? Marc

Yes, I'm getting a better gasp of things here. I'm using the paint can for just changing wall colors - it's fast and isn't a concern since it doesn't change the wall thickness. When I'm using a veneer such as stone or tile, I create a totally new wall type with the appropriate thickness. If I end up changing a majority of the wall colors to the same color, then I might just change the color of the drywall like you suggested.

Bingo! That worked. I actually did not "paint" the walls like many CA experts told me not to do since that can cause problems. But I didn't want the walls to have discrepancies in thickness due to a paint color change. So I figured the best way to do this was to redefine the wall type to have an outer wall paint color of 0" thickness which now causes Chief to not wrap the drywall around the windows properly. So I gave it a thickness of 1/16". But now my wall thicknesses are different again. So then what is best way to change the wall colors? Now I'm again confused about the best way to "paint" walls in CA. Do I shrink the drywall thickness by 1/16" of an inch so that I can add a 1/16" paint layer on it? That seems a little awkward.