builtright3

You mean "Auto Refresh Dimensions"? You turn that on in the default dialog box? And then when your done you turn it off?

When you say "draw over it" do you mean drag the handles to change the string to what you want?

Clarify last post, I work mostly for the working class, young, to middle aged couples with one or two incomes that are growing their families and just need more space. Wealthier people with plenty of income can afford a full design without limitations. I have defined the group of people I work for. Some prefer the bigger projects. Joe

Thanks guys, I have a better understanding of showers now.

When I walk into a customers home I sell them a conceptual design right off the but and I have it done for them in a couple of days. Then I put together a proposal to do the work. This way I get paid for something even if they don't use me to do the work. But I get 95% of the jobs that I design. Once we sign a contract I finish the Architectural drawings in a few days and send it over to the engineer. He has it one week and then I take it to the city for submittal. The reason I'm telling you this is because to answer your question. I can't find anyone that can move this fast for me. You have to strike wile the iron is hot or you loose the job. I want not only the design but more importantly the construction. Once I sell a design, if I had someone that was willing to go out and measure and move that fast then I would hire them but every designer I have meant wants to take a month or two and then complain about not having enough work. Remember the saying "The early bird gets the worm". We are in a world where people want it now. They don't want to wait and they will pay more to get it now. If I drew plans for other contractors I would work out a low cost deal to come in and draw a design with enough information that a contractor can come in and give an accurate bid on the project. This way a home owner doesn't have to invest to much and then find out they cant afford the work anyway. Many times Architects/Designers will sell a drawing to someone for thousands of dollars and by the time they get done with the drawing and it goes to the contractor for bid its way to much money and they cant afford the project. The architect is happy because he made his money but the customer then feels like they have been deceived and are very unhappy (no referral for that designer!) because of the money they spent. If you do a low cost design and the customer is happy with you and you help them to stay within there budget by warning them that the design is getting to complicated and the construction cost are rising then that is what I'm talking about. Being a servant and looking out for the person paying you. Not just to line your own pockets and run. As a contractor/designer this is easy for me because I know the cost. If you are a designer that don't really know construction cost then you need to find some contractors that you can partner with and come up with a strategy that will help you, him or her and the customer. I call that a win/win/win. Or a trifecta! If you can go to a contractor and tell them that you will get them business and it wont cost them anything they would be a fool not to listen to your plan. The hard part is getting the right people to work with that aren't greedy and that have some integrity. So put together a plan and when you put It together think about how you can best serve people and help them to get what they need at a reasonable cost. No gimmick or coupons just honest work for honest pay. You Got Me Goin. Sorry to ramble Joe

Maybe you can make that suggestion to Chief to create something like that.

I gave up on CA area calculations. I just draw a poly line around the perimeter to figure out my square footage. Its more accurate that way and I know exactly what I'm calculating. A little time consuming but effective. The city planners have given me a hard time before so that is why I do it. Maybe CA will come up with a better idea in the future but for now I'm on the safe and accurate side.

Ok Perry, your right! "Wall Material Region" is a better way to go. Her is a picture and floor plan of how I put the shadow box in the wall

What about the other side of the exterior wall. Should I do the poly line solid and just color it same as stucco?

Good point joe

This is my preferred method using the slab tools. It has that revel at the edge. I created the shower glass walls and curb using the half wall with pony wall. Something new for me. Seems like a nice way to go. I need to figure out how to put in a shadow box (recessed shampoo shelf). Can anyone tell me?

Worlds ugliest shower! I know someone else started the topic but I improved my shower skills now. Thank You

Ok, so with the slab door you have to change the interior and exterior materials. Not just the door materials. That's better, no frame as all now!

I tried to change the door to a slab but could not change the material to glass.

Thanks Jim!

Got It! Go to your eyedropper on your wall glass and then zoom in on the frame and change the color that way.

I tried to change the color of the frame but I could not find a way.

In the attached picture is about as close as I could come to a frameless door. Check video 1553 if you want. It was from X3. I don't know if they came up with a completely frameless door yet in the new versions. At least I don't see it. If anyone else has some info on this please let me know.

That is not the door jam it is the panel frame. Go to the general tab and put 0 in the panel frame option. It will automatically put 1/16 as the frame size when you do that. I don't think CA will allow you to go to zero.

No worries, we have all been there.

Sorry Scott, the tilted head with sunglasses just doesn't work for me. Works good for Perry though.

No offense but I learned recently in this forum that if you want good answers you need to have more complete questions and to know your experience level and what you have and have not tried is very important to the one trying to help you. The more information the better and you can even attach a PDF of your drawing if need be. I've only been in this forum for a week and it has been a huge blessing but you have to help other to understand for them to help you.

I agree A little history of your experience with Chief is a fair question here.

Not sure if this helps but don't disregard the floor settings in the defaults. When I was making those changes that you are making now I was having trouble also. When I made changes for framing in the floor defaults everything worked after that.

I started my construction business 27 years ago when I was 23 years old. Have always done my own drawings by hand and then started using Chief 8.0 full version when it came out. Best program ever in my opinion and it just keeps getting better. I like the advice shared today. I would have liked to have here'd it when I first started but instead I learned totally by trial and error. The best advice I think I could give though is to be aware of what other contractors are doing but don't try to compare yourself to much or copy someone else's model. You need to be diversified a little to keep yourself busy but too much of that can be dangerous also. I think the best advice my Dad ever gave me in business was find your nitch and specialize in it. At that time I was all over the board. I would do anything that I thought that I could make a buck at but in reality I was so scattered and the quality of my work was not very good so I was always stressed out and I had people upset at me. Not a Good Place to Be! Now I have a good reputation that goes back about 22 years and I cant keep up with the referrals I get. I actually have to turn some jobs away. The Lord has blessed me greatly. I learned in residential construction especially you have to be a servant to your customers first. Have good communication, be open and honest, be willing to educate your customers and take the time to listen to what their wants and needs are. You should also figure out what you want or need for an income so you can figure out what your rates are going to be and don't negotiate your rates with them (you are not a car salesmen!). You can't give them your time and a quality job if your out chasing money because your not getting paid enough. I don't know what it is but when you allow someone to get you to lower your numbers I think you just lost respect or something because now they want a deal on everything. Been down that road a couple of times, not a good place to be. Not sure if this makes sense or helps anyone but I felt the need to share. I'm not one of those paranoid guys that thinks they are hurting there business by sharing with others. I prefer to help when I can. It's never hurt my business. I think the God has blessed me because I try to help.