JJohnson

I had a cousin up there on one of the islands, but never got to visit. I read that Port Townsend has less annual rainfall than here, due to the rain shadow from the mountains on the Olympic Peninsula, but must be pretty cloudy there though. 2016 energy code requirements are causing some designers to show ridged foam "cladding" on the outside of structures here in CA. I'll be doing my first in a few weeks. Was going to be EIFS until we found out about the insurance issues. Now will be wood siding finish over foam, which, I prefer anyway.

Take a closer look, I see 1/2 ridged on the walls. Anyhoo, I am starting to see it here in NorCal brrrrr

Depending on where they are building, possibly Jeez has to "clad" the outside walls with the insulating sheets that bridge over all framing members.

Make the foam the first main layer for each wall in wall layers define dialogue A little strange structurally, kind of a cantilever.

That is a big file. Fill window takes about 3 seconds, and zoom in by mouse wheel about 1 second per wheel click, marquee zoom about 1 second, but I do have a new computer (see signature screen shot) Detail pages, and CalGreen notation pages would slow my old unit down too much, so I had two plan sets, one for drawings and one for details etc.

It might be opening to the last saved view, although you did say you saved while zoomed out

I'm working on another one so you can draw roofs flat and just add a note that they are supposed to slope. FYI, the note is from a plan set designed for build it your self clients, by a back yard cottage designer. There was even more to it, including a drawing of a vent fitting on a horizontal run needing to be at a 45 or greater degree take off.

If your are really going to draw the drains, you may want to throw in a note like this one. NOTE: FOR GRAPHICAL CLARITY, SLOPES ON WASTE LINES AND VENTS ARE NOT SHOWN. BUILDER SHOULD NOTE THAT GRAVITY WASTE AND VENT LINES SHALL MAINTAIN NO LESS THAN 1/4" / FT SLOPE. IN ADDITION VENT FITTING CONNECTIONS SHALL RISE AT A SLOPE OF NO LESS THAN 45deg FROM WASTE LINES.

I saw one in your detail of the railing wall.

In Sonoma Ca, it looks like a garage may count or not, depending on weather it is detached, or not. Should Joe add detached garage to the list ?

Nice tip, thanks.

I do not believe you need to uninstall and then reinstall the program, just rename toolbars folder something like old toolbars, then close and reopen the program to get default tool bars back.

I recently purchased this one Only two left

Thank you for the link. I had not heard of this, but I can see it being a plus in rainy climates. Should have been called 'rain vent' rather than 'rain screen' I guess. We do not see it here in Nor California, as we have an extended dry season, and things can dry out nicely. The rain free early fall here lets wine grapes avoid the dreaded cluster rot that will set in when bunches get wet. . .. ..

JE, I have not seen that before. How does that function as a 'rain screen' ?

Nice tools, thanks a bunch.

Check this out Article in San Francisco newspaper I thought the excerpt below to be interesting The California Department of Housing and Community Development plans to issue guidance on the law in a week or two and About two-thirds of California’s cities and counties have their own second-unit ordinances, but the state law is more permissive than most of them. Jurisdictions that have not adopted or amended a local ordinance that complies with the new state law by Jan. 1 will have to follow the state law until they approve a compliant one Or just read this, New California housing laws make granny units easier to build By Kathleen Pender December 3, 2016 California homeowners should find it easier and cheaper to build a second unit on their property, or turn an illegal unit into a legal one, thanks to two laws that take effect Jan. 1. The laws, along with a third that took effect in September, will ease or eliminate the off-street parking requirements and often-enormous utility-hookup fees that homeowners face when they create a second dwelling, often called an in-law or granny unit. One set of rules will apply if the second unit is created within an existing space — such as a bedroom, basement, attic or garage. Another set will apply if the new unit, whether attached or detached, adds square footage outside or on top of existing structures. Homeowners will still have to comply with local building codes, find a contractor and arrange financing. Sylvia Krug, who is looking to convert bedrooms in her Novato home into a rental unit, said she interviewed three contractors “and they all have yearlong waiting lists.” The new laws won’t come close to filling the Bay Area’s housing needs. But they could create options for middle-income renters who don’t qualify for below-market-rate housing and can’t afford a market-rate apartment. They also could help homeowners meet their mortgage payments, seniors stay in their homes with an on-site caregiver, and multigenerational families live together, but not too together. Thelaws that take effect Jan. 1 — AB2299 and SB1069 — amend the state law governing second units and rename them “accessory dwelling units.” About two-thirds of California’s cities and counties have their own second-unit ordinances, but the state law is more permissive than most of them. Jurisdictions that have not adopted or amended a local ordinance that complies with the new state law by Jan. 1 will have to follow the state law until they approve a compliant one. Under the new law, second units are allowed on any lot with a single-family home, but local ordinances can say where they will or won’t be permitted based on factors such as water and sewer services, traffic flow and public safety. The amended law will allow accessory units up to 1,200 square feet, but allows jurisdictions to impose lower limits and establish standards governing height, setback, lot coverage, landscaping and architectural review. The state law does not prevent homeowners from renting out the second unit to short-term guests or require them to live in one of the units. But local jurisdictions can require one of the structures to be owner-occupied and regulate rentals of less than 30 days, as San Francisco does. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Toni Gardner's grandchildren, Jonah, 5, and Amelia, 2, play in the small house that Gardner had built in the backyard of her residence near Santa Cruz. When a homeowner submits a second-unit application that meets state and local requirements, the local jurisdiction must approve it within 120 days, without the need to notify neighbors. The California Department of Housing and Community Development plans to issue guidance on the law in a week or two. “We are in a housing crisis,” said Paul McDougall, the department’s housing policy manager. “Local governments should embrace this as a way to create” accessory dwelling units. For most homeowners, the bill will remove a big impediment to second-unit creation: the need to create off-street parking. For units created within an existing space, cities and counties cannot require any additional parking. For units outside that space, cities can require one additional parking space per bedroom created. However, this requirement is waived if the home is within one-half mile of public transit, within a block of a car-share vehicle, in an architecturally and historically significant district, or if on-street parking permits are required but not offered to the second-unit occupant. If new parking is required, it generally can be provided as tandem parking on an existing driveway or in setback areas (the space between your home and property line that is supposed to be empty), unless this would not be feasible based on topography or safety considerations. The law also will let homeowners create a second unit within existing space, such as a garage, that sits within a setback area. The other big bonus is the reduction or elimination of certain fees. Today, some water and sewer districts levy the same hookup fees on tiny second units that they charge on a full-fledged home. These fees can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars. In the future, on second units built within existing space, utilities cannot require the homeowner to install a new or separate utility connection, nor can they impose a connection fee or capacity charge. For units outside existing space, they can require a new or separate connection, and can charge a connection fee or capacity charge, but it must be “proportionate to the burden” of the second unit based on its size or number of plumbing fixtures. San Jose has updated its zoning code to adopt the mandatory provisions of the new state law. “We had already started in the direction of making it easier to build secondary dwellings,” said Jenny Nusbaum, San Jose’s supervising planner. “We wanted to update our code before the the state law kicked in so we could, as much as possible, maintain local control.” Among other things, San Jose reduced the minimum lot size needed to build a second unit from 6,000 square feet for attached and 8,000 square feet for detached to 5,445 feet for either type.

Thanks, there is a 24x24 in there I can go with using multicopy to make the sizes I need. Thanks for the symbols ! What is your lattice plug in tool ?

We have lots in core and bonus, but do we have a plain 48" x 96", horizontal / vertical heavy duty * panel like the ones you can get at the lumber yard here in CA ? (* they are stronger, a little thicker slats )

Cool, thank for the symbol !

Very good news !

But what about the gap in the top rail at the corners, I may have it now, changed the top rail to 2x4 on edge at 40.5", checked post to beam, made beam 2 x 6, and dragged that down to 42" Now I have what a carpenter would more likely build in my opinion. I think adding the balusters to the library and auto placing may not face mount them on the 2x4 rails like I need to.

Is there any way to get newels to go all the way to the bottom of the top half of the top rail, or am I stuck with adding 4x4 posts. I understand why the program is drawing this way. Help yourself to the baluster, and top rail molding if wanted DecKorators Baroque Balusters.plan

Gene, I see now, that many Mansard roofs, and some of the most beautiful are in fact, curved. I agree that the OP did not mean Mansard, but I'm not sure what to call the two pitch porch roof that was shown. In a way it's a cool idea as you can have a nice upper pitch, over the deck floor, and the shallower pitched eve lets you nave something of a nice overhang, but less blocking of the view. Looks good too, to me anyway.