SNestor

@PMMully - same house - this time with roof over porch. The roof is a hip/flat roof...well, I put a 1/4" pitch on it. I raised the main roof to clear the flat roof...

@PMMully - instead of trying to fuss with a "roof"...build a new blank floor (if this is a one story home) and build a "balcony room" with invisible walls. You can then open the room and adjust the floor size/type...and the floor finish could be "asphalt" roofing. It won't have a pitch..so that may not work for you.

@PMMully - use a railing wall. Post to beam... You can set the newel spacing in the DBX...or, you can place breaks in the wall and place newels exactly where you want them

@DomaniHomeDesign - I made this video a while back but it may help you understand how you can used saved plan views to show what you want on the foundation level. The method Joe mentions above is also a possibility...and may work better depending on the site conditions. But this simple video may at least shine some light on the issue for you... One note: In the plan view dialogue you can actually specify how pony walls are displayed...the PW display can be unique for each specific "plan view". There's no need to go to defaults and change the pony wall display.

What causes Chief to reduce the width of a mulled door unit? The images below show the before and after of mulling a door unit. The sidelights are "fixed door" units. Not sure that matters...but as you can see after mulling takes place the casing does not reach the baseboard.

What Michael ☝️ said...

@renosud - not sure you want to do this...but you should try "recessing" the door to the sheathing layer. And...it doesn't look like you have two "frames" abutting one another. Each unit (door and sidelight) should have a frame which would provide some thickness to the separation.

I don't think you'll get exactly what you want from Chief...but you can get close: See attached pics...hope they give you some idea on how you could create a wall type that is close to what you want.

Thank you Doug...

You can change your default roof structure...or, use "edit all roof planes" command and change the structure. See attached screen clips...

@Darrellx - made you a quick video. Darrelx - Dormer Cheek Wall Issue — Watch Video

Thanks! Like a lot of things in Chief...I discovered this "fix" by accident just trying to get a dormer to work.

I'm no expert on rendering...but, there are some simple things you can/should do. First - Click on "Edit Active View" icon (which should be on your top tool bar)...looks like this: In this DBX (dialogue box) you can "adjust lights"....turn on or off lights in the active view. You can also change the color of some or all of the lights...you'll need to experiment to get what you want. You can also edit the sun angle so that enhances your camera view. Click the light bulb in the top top tool bar, then click the adjust sunlight icon. You can adjust the "tilt" and direction" by unchecking the "sun follows camera" box (if it's checked).

There is no way to change the default settings for P-solids...they always come into your plan or section as concrete, 1" thick. You could however create some solids of varying thickness and save them to your library for future use...but, it's probably more trouble than it's worth.

Post your plan or maybe a simplified example plan so we can understand what you have done...or are doing. It'll save us all from "guessing" and possibly giving you the wrong advice.

@steph_en - quick video: Creating a Hole in a Roof Plane — Watch Video

This video may give you some hints...

@JPAK2021 - I have created a number of dormer and roof videos on my YouTube page...

You would assume that these things you recommend would not need to be stated...

@larsonem - I gave your design a shot...326375991_Dugan8D - Steve Edits.plan

Get in line with the "wants" and "needs"...the first thing to be fixed has to be the stair tool. And...I'm not holding my breath.

If you post your sample plan someone here will explicitly answer your question. Thanks

New to Chief? Need some training? I offer 1:1 Chief Architect Premier Training...learn more about it on my website WWW.MYCHIEFSKILLS.COM

Made you a quick video on how I'd do it...fairly easy. Deck Joist Flush with Beam — Watch Video

@ChiefUserBigRob - I made some edits to your plan. Made a few minor changes. I noted the things I changed on the plan. Hope some of it helps you... Harris_Ward-BigRob Fix Plan.plan.zip ALSO...The Chief "residential" plan template is a nice start...and it's great that they provide this template with some "saved plan views"...however, most of the layer sets attached to these plan views need some big help. I'd suggest to everyone using this template to start with the "roof plan" view...and turn off these layers; "gutters" and "overhang". Also...change the roof plane layer to "solid" line type and make it a bold color and at least 50 in the line width. Also...in defaults change the sun to "always follow camera"... And...in all camera views...lower the setting for "ambient occlusion" to at least 40. (default is 100...) And...I'd set the number of "lights" to 100...default is 20 I'd make a number of other changes to...but this is a good start.