4hotshoez

Thanks Michael, whether I end up using that method for what I am doing, the video will be useful for other stuff too.

Roof Eave Test.plan

This is the way I want it. I did see such a detail on Houzz.com

I did not know that was possible. Where might I learn how to do that?

You can see the drawing in my first attachment. The gable comes down to the eave with a dickey roof, Chief wants to make a parallel fascia to follow each roof as shown on the left detail, but I want the fascia at the base of the gable to flare out so the so the bottom for the steeper roof extends to the bottom of the soffit where the wall connects. While the top of the shallower roof will extend to the top of the fascia. As shown on the right detail.

I may have found a way. It is not that easy, but not too hard. Using 14/12 and 9/12 roofs and a soffit. Plumb eaves on both. Draw the 14/12 roof on the outside wall edge as normal, but with the eave pulled back to the baseline. Draw a temp wall 12" from out from the other or whatever the eave depth will be, but pull the eave back to its baseline too. Set the top of fascia height to be the same for both roofs. The 14/12 roof and its baseline may need to move out 2 1/2" Join the roofs to get them aligned, then move the 14/12 roof edge back to its base line For the roof soffit, use a cabinet soffit to be the same height of the roof fascia. In Standard view you will not see any lines, but vector view(as shown) is not so clean. Elevations may need to be modified to look right. Anyone have a simpler way?

Is there a way in CA to create an eave like the one on the right rather than the one on the left? If so how?

I would like to flip the orientation of a plan. But I would like to know how easy it is to do a single floor or even two floors, but not a third.

The sequence of what gets built when is irrelevant at this point as the design is done and the construction docs are mostly done, but the client wants to know "what if" Walls and foundations tend to be sticky and create a mess unless they are moved far enough away, but then ti move them back requires careful planning if too close. I use two other apps that have a group feature. This makes it easier to select the whole group by selecting one element in a group and the group is autonomous in that it does not react with other objects of similar type, such as two walls. However, groups in these apps are also editable without destroying the group.

Like an old Sears and Robuck store in Chicago.

Is there a way to group and ungroup things together like a garage with its foundation, walls and roof configuration and then move them around and rotate in plan to adjust a design? Or is there some other way to do what I want?

I had a problem of X8 locking up. it was the video. NVIDA was not being used, just the intel one. Chatted with NVIDIA and they sent this procedure: 1. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel 2. Select "Manage 3D Settings" 3. Select "Program Settings" tab 4. Click "Add" button 5. Browse to and select the application executable you wish to create a profile for 6. Choose the preferred graphics processor to use from the drop menu My card and driver and windows are all newer, so not sure if this will even work for you. But it might be similar enough.

Thank you all for the input.

Yeah, I did both and it did go away for a while, but after a few edits, it came back.

Thanks Jonny, that worked easy.

This is what happens when I make the wall invisible.

Oops, it came back after editing another area.

I am not sure what you mean by offset, but I noticed reference layers were opposite from first to second. I switched the second floor wall ref layer and then pulled the roof back until it disappeared and than pulled the roof back in place and the wall did not come back this time. Seems like a small bug to me that I have seen before X8. Thanks for your help and the extra eyes.

I did that and it leaves parts of the wall showing, scarring the roof and gable wall. It looks bad, which is why I included the file.

X8 file. I am having trouble eliminating this wall which was not a problem in X7 where it was created. 1505T15.plan

But I have been told by experienced users that if I have a two story house with a basement I could have essentially 4 floors. floor 0 is the foundation, floor 1 is the basement, floor 2 is the first floor, floor 3 is the second floor and floor 4 is the attic even though chief automatically adds an attic level. It is supposed to be easier to manage or control as changes always come. But there are other reasons that escape me now. Which is why I am asking for help. Can I build a foundation on multiple floors that can be seen on one foundation plan? To me the answer is no, but if I were to post this as a suggestion, someone would come up with a work around solution.

I have heard it said that a basement should be a floor level and the foundation on a level below that. How does this work to create a single foundation plan with a Garage on the main floor with its foundation below that and then a basement as the next floor down and its foundation below that? IOW, the two foundations are a level or two some times apart, but I want them to be on the same Foundation Plan drawing. Surely this has been solved before. Please advise.

Is there a way to generate cut and fill data?

The 3D topo info was created using Google Earth, imported to Sketchup, Exported as DWG and Imported by crossing my fingers. I have no Idea about the fractional elevations and I do not know how to change the terrain elevation to a number I want. It may be easier to set point elevations or splines by referencing a 2D CAD of the contours or just reference the lines on the TOPO layer. What method of data input will be the best Splines or points? I was not aware that Chief depended upon the lines on the TOPO layer. I was going to delete them but forgot. Can I delete them? I erased the extra ones outside the Terrain.

Bob, the plan is attached in my first post. I would like to Skype, but I barely have 30 minutes in a 16 hour day for the time being. I am too busy to learn or sharpen the tools as they say. Glenn, I do understand the use of a Terrain Break. I should be able to do whatever I want on either side without effecting the other. And so it works well the way I use it. But that is not the problem as the problem I have began long before I started using the Terrain Break. Chief is desperately trying to keep my contoured terrain even when I modify it. When I rebuild the terrain I get violent waves in the modified area. The Reference manual ends with adding Terrain contours by importing data, but ends there and says nothing about editing or modifying such terrain. I may have too many data points for Chief to make smooth modifications, but how can I know that. <rant> There are many mysteries that remain unanswered and undocumented that only Chief Gurus can answer. I am sure a book could be written just on Chief Terrain or another on Chief lighting, textures and raytracing, not to mention many other tiny secrets that frustrate less seasoned users. So yes, I am frustrated. I am frustrated at nearly every turn. I do very much appreciate the dedication of many gurus who have been offering generous help, which is about the only thing that keeps me paying the SSA. So thanks. It will take me some more time to respond again, because I cannot find a break to get back on here. Skype would be great, but so would some decent documentation. Glenn, I am on Eastern USA time. What part of my clock are you usually available?