SNestor

@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

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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.

@dskogg - I think using an invisible wall and a railing wall with no room definition might actually be a better method...see attached. It can be tricky if you only want the rail wall pushed in a couple inches...you may have trouble getting the railings to join properly. But - the end result and railing display may be worth the effort. Stairs placed against the deck will not automatically create a doorway opening...but, that might be a good thing. Just place your own and size it as needed.

@dskogg - here's a deck rail example, brown fill, 25% transparency. The walls lines are turned off in the layer... I've also set the width of the wall to 9" wide on the general tab.

Open the railing wall, go to the Newels/Balusters tab; uncheck "use default"...and specify a color and possibly a transparency. Now...it's not a perfect solution by any means...because all the components take on the same color and transparency...but, if you use a solid color it will define the rail width clearly. You probably will have to play around with it to find out if it works or not for you. No doubt...it would be nice if Chief allowed us to turn off the wall lines...without turning off the lines that define the railing.

To tackle the wall line issue you could create a new layer called "walls, deck rails" and assign the "no line" line type. This allows your interior rail walls to work as normal..where you want to see the lines...but your deck walls lines disappear.

The "draw order" tool is a quick fix, which we all need from time to time and it'll give you the result you want for now - however, if you invest a little time to adjust the "roof plan" saved plan view and create a custom reference layer set ...you will save yourself a lot of time and frustration. It will work every time you draw a plan...without even thinking about it.

@ElkRivers - just curious. Where will the wall above align with your foundation? Will it hang over to cover the insulation...or, just line up with the concrete foundation? How do you protect a 3" layer of insulation from damage...either during construction or after? Thanks.

Glenn beat me to it...but, it's defined in Preferences...

Make sure you place the brick veneer into the main layer of the foundation wall. Your walls above are aligning to the "main layer".

Or...set up your "roof plan view" to use a custom ref set that displays the lower roof lines. You can define the line weight, color and style in the ref set for the lower roof lines however you want to...and, if you set it to display in your saved plan view it'll always show (unless you toggle it off using the F9 key)

@HumbleChief - Larry - I took my original drawing in which I had (2) floors...but the turret space was one big space with an "open below" room on the second level. Built the roof...and it cuts around the turret just fine...like you would expect. Then I went in and changed the "open below" room to "living"...and I got a floor in the room on the 2nd floor and the roof remained correct. So...you might experiment with this technique and see if you get the same result.

@sunrisehomestead - why not use a flooring material? The attached sketch shows a flooring out of the Carlisle Flooring Catalog...there's a lot to choose from. Probably not perfect...but, get's you close. You could adjust the X scale (length) by using the "rainbow" tool (adjust material definition tool) to "stretch the length" of the flooring texture...without changing the width.

@dbarbee - I'm assuming the video I provided wasn't much help? Contemporary A Frame Cabin for DBARBEE — Watch Video

@DianeP - I took some license and changed your front porch design just a bit. Instead of a railing wall..I used a custom wall type with brick on 2 sides...I made this wall 19" wide...just like the columns you had on the original plan. I then used doorways to create the arched openings...no jamb or casing, then adjusted the width so that each column is 19x19. I changed some of the roof pitches... also. Take a look...maybe you can use some of the ideas...maybe not. Good luck with this project...very nice home. 1471628026_BobbieWelchResidence - Steve Edits 01.plan

@HumbleChief - my plan attached. Round Room - Auto Roof Ex Plan 21-0204 ver-02.plan

@HumbleChief - I attempted to get your plan to work...but, no luck. However, I opened my template and I was able with auto rebuild roofs to achieve what you are attempting...so, might be something with your plan/template?