tswitos

This is why I'm researching Chief. I have to find a way to do this. I will start another topic. I have been watching training videos tonight for walls and foundations and floor joists, trying to figure out a way to make it all work together for ICF, because these isn't a specific video on how to do this. Thanks for all the input.

PDF file showing joist hanger. floor joist hanger 2.pdf

Perhaps I need to start another topic on joist hangers for ICF walls? You have already answered my question to this original topic, boxing in ICF walls.

Not exactly. The ICF will start on the footer, and the floor joist will integrate to the ICF wall via joist hanger. Here’s an example. There are several methods of doing this, and they vary depending if it is bearing or non-bearing. I don’t know if Chief can show these types of joist hangers.

solver, I was able to replicate the enclosed ICF walls, based upon your guidance. Thank you. What I am trying to design is an ICF home, but I am starting with the exterior wall along with the footer. But you stated that this is not the Chief way, and I don’t know what is. I thought starting with the exterior walls was the right approach. My approach to modelling is the same as if the contractor was building it. Footers/piers and ICF wall (with window/door cut-outs), floor joists, subflooring, interior walls, roof trusses, roof, etc. I guess I will have to watch more Chief videos to figure out the Chief way.

That's what I have been trying to do. Now I just have to figure out how you did it.

I can't go to the materials list until I can get Chief to make an enclosed perimeter exterior ICF wall with a footer without making a monolithic slab.

Chief should calculate the amount of concrete based upon the dimensions the end user entered for the exterior walls and footer and show in a table, somewhere, the required cubic feet. I’m learning Chief, a trial version for 30 days, and spending also 30 days to learn Softplan with its trial verson. Softplan does this with ease, as shown below, but I cannot figure it out in Chief. I want to design ICF homes, and I have to determine which software works the best. I like them both, and I’m not an expert in either one.

For now, I’m just trying to create a simple 4-sided building as I showed in my first post, with a footer, and calculate the total amount of required concrete. Then, as I add windows and doors, etc., I should see the amount of concrete decrease (automatic update). I want to establish the methodology on how to do this in Chief. I have watched a lot of the online videos, but I didn’t see anything on how to do this.

I should be able to sketch my ICF walls with the specified footer and calculate the total amount of required concrete. As of now, I don't see how to do that.

That just doesn't make any sense. Why Chief would allow you to make the default settings, and then it doesn't work.

That does not fix it.

If I start with a new plan, it will default to a different exterior wall type, and then I can box it. But that is not what I want. Below is an image of the wall type with the footer that I want to make, but I cannot get it to work.

When drawing a 3-sided ICF wall with a footer, it appears to work fine. But when I add the fourth wall, make it 4-sided, it looks like a slab. Please see the below images for clarity. How can I fix this? Thanks.

Thanks. I'm using Chief to evaluate it, as I want to design ICF homes, and it seems to have a lot more to offer when defining the ICF walls than what SoftPlan has to offer. I know Chief has a lot of training videos online, etc., and it will take some time to digest all of it. But I know the power of the forum to obtain quick responses, where it may take me several days to find it on my own researching through all the material.

Thank you very much for the timely solution. I can now draw icf walls. After I close Chief and reopen, I have to go set the default settings again for exterior walls. Is there a way to save the default settings for exterior walls so I don't have to keep setting them? Thanks in advance.

I downloaded the trail version of Chief x9, and for some reason, I cannot make the ICF wall with stucco. It just won't draw it. It won't make any ICF for that matter. Can someone assist me with this? Thanks in advance.