coastdesign

Thank you very much for your help, Robert. It is very much appreciated! I have automatic sill plates now! Yay!!! Chris

No worries, I do understand that you probably got busy with other stuff on a weekend. You got me most of the way there, I can manually draw in the site plates until I figure it out. For some reason it's also putting insulation in the floor decking but that is a one button fix, "Delete" and it's resolved. Thanks again, Robert. Chris

@robdyck By the way, here is my email address: chris@californiamodularhouses.com I can invite you to a screen share through Google or you can invite me, whatever works, if that is easiest. Here is the most recent file. 2025_06_28_690_SF_G23_Ceanothusy.caproj

@robdyck Robert, So, I have changed the default concrete settings but the sill plate seems to really hate me. The random framing member seems to have gone away on this more recent version. For the sill plate, I have tried it on the main level walls, turning it on and off, as well as the foundation walls, turning it on and off. I had it turned on both for the main level walls and for the foundation walls, each under the foundation tab of said walls. I tried turning it on and off for each to see if it would build the sill plates and even that doesn't work. I am sorry to keep bugging you but you got me so close and I do appreciate the assistance. If easier, you can call me on my cell phone: 310-867-3993 and we can do a brief screen share. Chris

Okie dokie, I ain't no quitter. I haven't figured out how to default the insulation to the correct layer/color but at least I was able to get the floor insulation to appear. Making progress, just the sill plates are outstanding now at this point. Thanks again for your help.

Good day, Robert. I have changed the footings, glad you had me do that. I don't know where that material came from but I sure never liked it. As far as the "Auto Detail" tool, duh! I should have known that, won't forget it. For the insulation, it did create the wall and attic insulation. That's cool! It did not create the floor insulation for some reason. As Meatloaf said "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", I still can't get the double Sill Plates to work. I changed them, changed them back, turned on auto framing. I don't know what I am doing wrong. Chris 2025_06_27_690_SF_G23_Ceanothusy.caproj

Good morning, Shane. Yes, I think that you will find it helpful. It is an organization that helps bridge the gap between businesses like yours and mine, and clients. Here is a link to "What is a Building Designer". Please take a look at the video. https://aibd.org/what-is-a-building-designer/ Here is the Code of Ethics. It does give one pause before making a decision on a project. So, even this is a marketable thing for you and your business. https://aibd.org/code-of-ethics/ They do have a company they work with for Errors & Omissions Insurance if that is something that you have been considering or don't yet have, plus other insurance options https://aibd.org/aibd_liability-insurance/ There are also Design Awards that are done yearly. https://residentialdesignawards.com/ I sent this link already, but this one is for becoming a Certified Professional Building Designer. For me, a lot of the building code stuff was easy. Yet, structural isn't something I get into and it showed my weakness in that and also while I know the process of "Programming" and other parts of working with a client, this helped me to learn that there was really a name for it and a specific process for working with customers. In other words, clients prefer to work with people who just aren't some random person, and it also helped me to learn where I need to be better in business and what skills & knowledge of mine were lacking. https://ncbdc.com/ If you would like to give me a call and talk about it, here is my contact information. Since you are out of state, I likely won't pick up the call but I will happily return your call, please leave me a voicemail. You can also email me directly. Then, if you want to talk to someone about joining, I'll put you in touch with the right person. Here is my contact information, call me on my cell phone. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/profile/1398-coastdesign/ I look forward to hearing from you and hope that you find the AIBD a good fit for you and your business. Chris

Robert, Thank you for getting me so close. I went and changed the global settings. Yet, that didn't seem to change what was existing so I redrew the walls to get it to work out better. The framing is looking much more like it should now. Awesome! There are two things that I can't figure out where I went wrong. 1. The insulation doesn't show (I am providing a screenshot to show the layer is on). 2. The sill plates still aren't showing up. I did check the settings and the layer is turned on. Thanks, Chris 2025_06_27_690_SF_G23_Ceanothusy_Framing_Issues_V2.caproj

Ok, I was able to figure that setting out. Here is what I found so everyone else has the same information. To reset all walls to their default heights in Chief Architect, you can quickly use the global reset tool or adjust them in the Wall Specification dialog. [1, 2] Option 1: Using the Reset to Defaults Tool (Fastest for the whole plan) [1, 2] Navigate to Edit > Reset to Defaults from the top menu. In the dialog, set your Reset Scope to either the current floor or All Floors. Check the boxes for Wall Top Heights and Wall Bottom Heights. Click OK.

Hello, Robert. On this last one, how do I "Reset all walls to use default top and bottom heights?" So far, your clarity is exceptionally helpful, look forward to fixing the walls and hopefully getting this all to work out (I haven't changed the rim joist setting yet, will do that after I fix the walls). Chris

Thank you very much, Robert. I am excited to try this out. Thanks again. Hope you have a great weekend!!! Chris

Friendly Chief Architect Users, This is not an advertisement, I don't get anything out of this. Yet, it's something that I believe in and thought that others might find it useful also. I first heard of the AIBD over 20 years ago, signed up, let me membership lapse, resigned up. They have a hard working team, Raven, Rusty, Bernie, etc. to name just a few. Here is the main website https://aibd.org/ I am a Professional Member, my daughter is an Associate Member. https://aibd.org/join-aibd/ It wasn't an easy test but I squeaked by after a lot of practice. It might help those in business who want to show who they are and what they do if you are not an Architect or Engineer and aren't necessarily looking to be one. https://ncbdc.com/ If you would like to know more about the American Institute of Building Design, please give me a call or send me an email. Thanks, Chris P.S. If this is not the appropriate forum for this and a moderator wants to put it in a better location, please feel free to do so. The members here have given me hints and helped me out over the years, figured that I could hopefully give them back some information that is helpful to you them. Again, this is not a sales pitch, just something I believe in that a lot of members here might benefit from.

Good afternoon! I was having my foundation walls set 3" off from the wall above. I appreciate everyone's input so that I could fix that one on my own. I just downloaded CA 18 Beta to upgrade. My issues are with the sill plate. I have to add it manually to a plan, have always had to do that, not sure what setting is wrong. I sure have gone through the posts here and can't nail it down. Then, while I am asking, might as well see if I can get some help on other things. The left side shows what my settings are producing. The right side shows what I am trying to add and I put these items in green for illustration purposes. 1. I am to have a double sill plate lined up with the exterior of the wall, each sill plate is a 2x6 for a total finished dimension of 3" x 5.5". 2. There is to be a double rim joist that lines up with the framing of the exterior walls. Each rim joist is a 2x10 for a total finished dimension of 3" x 9.25". 3. There is to be a header over the window and that is to be a 6x6" with finished dimensions of 5.5" x 5.5". 4. There is to be a double top plate, each plate is a 2x6 for a total finished dimension of 3" x 5.5". New Item 5. I have never seen this before, not sure why the top of the foundation is sticking out like this, I didn't have this issue in CA 16, what I was using this morning. While we are having fun, does insulations have to be added manually, or can it be added automatically? I have my walls and floors and stuff set for: Walls: R-19 Floor: R-30 Attic: R-38 but it doesn't show up automatically. Not a big deal but it's always nicer to be able to minimize all the stuff I have to do for a section. I'm including an image as well as my CA file. Some help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Chris 2025_06_27_690_SF_G23_Ceanothusy.caproj

Thank you for the suggestion. It sounds pretty easy but I think that is going to take some time, gonna have to figure that out. ...it is a start in the right direction, that's for sure! Do you know of the link to a specific link to creating the panels and then turning it into a box? How do you make the frame a different material?