SNestor

33 minutes ago, DzinEye said:

Nice video as always Steve.  Nothing at all to disparage the other video makers here, they're all great, but yours are definitely the cream of the crop. 

Definitely not having to search for an icon to click-on for everything is a huge time-saver.  

Thanks so much. Greatly appreciated!

49 minutes ago, JoeinNorCal said:

I'm switching computers - from one MacBook Pro to another.  I've moved my license, so Chief is running on the new machine, but it's not customized the way that I like it.  Where are the little, but important preference files saved on a Mac so that I can move them to my new computer and getting Chief looking and behaving the way that I'm used to.  Thanks.

Here...I'm using a MAC but it should appear similar if you are using Windows.

Using hotkeys with Chief is one of the best ways to increase your efficiency with the program.  I made this video related to Hotkeys a while ago but you may still find it interesting.  
 

1 hour ago, steve_stuart said:

Sounds quite simple, are you doing this in the Wall Type? If so, won't that increase the width of your railing as the railing width follows the wall thickness, correct?

No. When you increase the width of the wall type assigned to your railing...only the wall width increases. The railing width components are defined separately under the railing tab.  

Keep it simple.  Just increase the width of the railing wall.  Done. 
 

Chief centers the rail on the width of the wall.  

On 7/1/2020 at 9:21 AM, tommy1 said:

I'm sure it varies in areas but in Houston, TX, all new foundations whether new construction or remodels are required to have an engineering stamp. For that matter here, any new roof, load bearing walls that are moved, and any opening over 10' wide, or any engineered beam whether wood or steel needs to be signed off by an engineer to get a permit from The City Of Houston.

Yikes!  I guess I don’t know how good we have it here in the still somewhat free state of Indiana.  

@StephenGreene - agreed. I only put the gable there because it was on the original plan.  But - the hip is a big improvement 

I recently experienced a similar issue with an object.  I would paint it white - save the object and when placed in plan the material was invisible.  

I gave it a shot...but I agree with comments above.  Start from scratch...this roof is a disaster.  Here's my plan file if you want to see what I did...Designer100 - Plan Fix Roof 01.zip
@Designer100 Newel - I didn't see your design comments above so this may not work for you. 

Also...there are a lot of little things wrong with the plan also.  Walls that don't align....etc.  I also fixed the tray ceiling.  

You need to give us a bit more info...like post the plan or at least a small sample plan.  And...you might take a screen clip of the roof dialogue box so we can see some of the settings for this roof.  Thanks!

1 hour ago, LevisL said:

I'm pulling my hair out with this one! I have a small portion of the north wall above the trapezoid windows that pokes through the roof (plan attached), as these screenshots show. I can't figure out why or how to fix it!

 

I've tried:

- dragging that small portion down in section view, but it pulls the rest of the wall down too.

- checking/unchecking 'Default wall top height'... doesn't change anything.

- checking/unchecking 'Stop at ceiling above'... also doesn't change anything. 

- I also checked for errand attic walls or mis-aligned roof planes, but all seems good there.

Living Quarter Addition to Shop.plan

All I did was click on the wall and make it an "attic wall"....done.  

A quickie video on how I build screen porches...

16 hours ago, robdyck said:

Here's the plan with door. A pretty good starting point for 2 minutes of effort. To clean this thing up...convert to fixture...delete surfaces...convert to fixture. When complete, place the fixture onto the wall and either create a hole in the wall or use a blank doorway (no components) with a roundtop arch in the same location.

Fix the inside.plan

Rob - nice work for a quick look.  But - don't open the door!  But really...for an elevation view it's fantastic!

2 hours ago, kwhitt said:

 

Eric - attached is the final plan with all the tricks/tips mentioned in this thread. Thanks to everyone for the help!

CHF_TEST_Addition_06-27-20.zip

Excellent work @kwhitt.  

But - I'd build my Screen Porches like this...so much faster.  

6 minutes ago, rgardner said:

Sorry was finishing up a deadline.

 

This is what worked for me:

Thanks.  But - if you look at this wall in framing view the posts do not extend to the floor.  I thought that was the goal?  Also - when you select panel the wall cap is assigned to the top of the panel and not at the top of the pony wall.  

First off...everything you see when you are drawing is controlled by "layers".  Therefore...what layer set did you use when you created your plan "doors, windows & flood vents"?  Possibly you should copy that set and create a new set called "walls".  Then go through and turn on/off the layers you want to see. 

To help us all...why don't you post the plan so we can see what you are doing.  It keeps us from guessing...

9 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

 

You are right Steve it's a pony Wall , so I clarified my other posts for future Readers above

 

* This is a Pony wall for clarification - normal Siding 4 with Railing - Post to beam Above

@rgardner

Ok..so you are using a pony wall.  Still my question is.  How do you get a solid panel on the upper portion?  If the bottom wall is a siding-4 (modified to have siding on two sides) what wall type are you using for the upper wall type?  I'm not understanding how you get a "post to beam" railing wall, a siding-4 wall on the bottom and a solid panel in the railing wall?  

Can you post the wall definition so I can see what you are doing?  Thanks!

3 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

 

You are right Steve it's a pony Wall , so I clarified my other posts for future Readers above

 

* This is a Pony wall for clarification - normal Siding 4 with Railing - Post to beam Above

@rgardner

Thanks...I thought you were using a pony wall. 

One more thing however...can you display the newel posts in plan view?  I've been unable to get them to show...so, basically your screen porch room looks like a room with solid walls.  Am I missing something?

@rgardner @Kbird1

So...I'm a bit confused.  

If we use say "siding-4" as the wall type for a "post to beam" style railing wall...how do you then get a "screen material" on top of the siding wall on the bottom?  Are you using a P-solid and painting it? Or...maybe a molding polyline?  Or is there a way to get this railing wall to have separate materials on the top and bottom that I'm totally missing?

What Mick showed above is like a pony wall...but no one has suggested a pony wall...so, like I said.  I'm lost here...

@kwhitt - designate walls are "railings".  Then...select pony wall.  Create a new wall type for the lower section with siding on two sides.  Just copy the Siding-4 (or 6) wall type.  Put a cap on the pony wall. 

For railing - use "solid" panels.  Then paint the panel with a screen material.  Should work...

I've attached a sample plan...and a few pics. 

PLAN: Screen Porch Pony Wall with Framing 01.plan

I think we need to just say it...Chief - fix the dormer tools so that we can construct these types of dormers without losing our collective minds.  Jeez...

7 hours ago, LJKbuild said:

Hi Everyone. I'm struggling with adding a gable roof or a nested gable roof on the garage addition to the plan.  it won't do it automatically because of the mud room that joins the existing structure and the garage. 

please help. 

kGarageAddition.plan

I came up with about the same thing as Stephen Stuart did...I also fixed your rear garage entry.

I made the walls in this area "railing walls, post to beam".  I adjusted the ceiling height to match the garage ceiling height...and adjusted the floor height.  I also noticed the front garage wall was tagged as an "attic" wall...it doesn't need to be an attic walls. I also noticed you have some walls that you have made height adjustments to...I set those to be "default top and bottom".  Never pull walls up or down unless you have absolutely no choice...which is almost never.  I noticed that your ceiling heights are not "default"...not sure why, but you should probably set the correct default floor/ceiling height prior to starting the drawing.  It will save you a lot of headaches. 

I changed your hip on the main roof to a gable...just because I thought it looked better. 

Here is the "fix" plan: kGarageAddition - Fix 01.plan
 

To accomplish this roof you just have to see the roof in 3D and understand how each gable section "fits" together...it can be complex.  


 

5 minutes ago, Alaskan_Son said:

Yeah, it’s useful for a lot of random things. Another example I use it for is for closet rod plan view display.  I have a CAD block with I think four pieces of randomly position hangers/clothing.  I assign that CAD Block to a distribution line and then just copy and paste that around my plan and resize as necessary.  That’s just a simple one though. There are tons of other pretty great applications.

Great tip as usual from you Michael.  Thanks so much!

1 minute ago, Alaskan_Son said:

you can also use a distribution line to make changes to layout or placement a lot quicker and easier.

Good one Michael.  I never think about using that tool...

Yep...check out "Simpson Strong Tie"...in the manufacturers library.  1st folder listed is 3D object...there are hangers in the catalog.  Placing them at the correct elevation can be tricky...but once you get one in the right place you can use "multiple copy"...or, "transform replicate" and duplicate as needed.