RobDesLLC

I specify the documents, drawings, and services to be provided in the Scope of Work in my design retainer agreement. As a standard practice, I retain ownership of all documents and drawings I produce, and then I license their use to the client for their specific project. They aren't paying for my drawings, but instead for a license to use my drawings. My work product may be a PDF of the plans, a Rescheck report, renderings, or video. I watermark my renderings and distribute them for client eyes only unless they pay extra (example - if they want to use them for marketing). The clients never really own any IP I produce unless we have a written agreement explicitly stating so. My clause reads as follows: "Consultant reserves the right of ownership and copyright to all documents and drawings produced under this Agreement, and does, by full and timely payment of all fees and expenses due under this Agreement, license the documents and drawings to Client only for their singular use in the construction of the project on the property described herein. Client acknowledges that the use of the documents and drawings produced under this Agreement for more than a single use, and/or on a property not specifically described by PID # or Tax Map # within this Agreement, is unauthorized and constitutes a violation of the intellectual property rights of Consultant. Client does therefore agree to pay Consultant for each unauthorized use an additional sum equal to 200% of the fees and expenses previously paid to Consultant under this Agreement, as well as all collection fees, attorney’s fees, court costs, or other expenses necessary to recover payment for unauthorized use. If Client reuses or makes any modification to Consultant’s designs, documents or work product without the prior written authorization of Consultant, or uses the documents without retaining Consultant, Client agrees, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to release Consultant, its officers, directors, employees and subconsultants from all claims and causes of action arising from such uses, and shall indemnify and hold them harmless from all costs and expenses, including the cost of defense, related to claims and causes of action to the extent such costs and expenses arise from Client’s modification or reuse of the documents."

I have several current projects where I've printed them on E sheets due to footprint size. I would rather print on a larger sheet at 1/4" scale than try to fit a plan on a D sheet at 3/16" scale. I have been involved in projects where plans were at 3/16" scale, and multiple subs got bids wrong and construction wrong due to overlooking the scale. I don't want that sort of disaster happening on my projects.

I either draw CAD details in the 2D CAD module or download them from the internet. I then save those details in my user library. You can then drop them into the layout as needed and link them to their corresponding callouts in the plan.

I order a new survey for every project (where required), so I leave it to the surveyor to figure out. It limits my liability. I also get a DWG of the survey to create my topo model from.

The only circumstances where I send a DWG are either to an engineer or interior designer working on the project. I also address this problem through an intellectual property clause in my contract: In my agreements, I retain ownership of every design I create, and clients pay me for the single use of a design. If someone wants a model they can build repeatedly, we can negotiate licensing terms, or they can pay me an excessive amount for going behind my back. Under no circumstance would I send a plan file to a client.

I've made a molding 1/4" thick by whatever the height is, made the material my wall tile, and ran it along the inside faces and end of the pony walls.

I would export the project to a 3D object file format (DAE, etc), and then share that. I share work product, but never working files. Also, consider setting up your own file sharing via OneDrive, Dropbox, etc, so you have some control over how your work product is being shared.

I have multiple X15 licenses. I'd sell one of them to you if you're interested (assuming there's no Chief Architect policy against it).

I've found that the skylight generates a shaft that protrudes through the soffit when the skylight is extended to the edge of the roof plane.

I use MS Teams for my projects. I use chat and posts for project communications, and I use SharePoint to share project documents. I conduct design review meetings in Teams, allowing me to share my screen with clients, builds, and subs, as well as having Copilot record and transcribe it for me. I can show the 3D foundation to the contractor and his foundation sub, and the full framing model with the framers and mechanical subs. The builders rarely take me up on the offer, but it could save everyone some headaches if they would.

Thank you! I like your method.

Yes. I have both. I use Lumion far more often for rendering images and videos, but I like the VR capability of TwinMotion, which Lumion lacks.

The first image is a 3D perspective in Chief Architect. The second is a rendering in Lumion.

I converted a wall cabinet into a batten. I created a wall type where the sheathing is a 1/4" sheet that represents a fibercement sheet product. The batten then snaps to the wall, and I adjust the height and positioning in an elevation view. I use the multiple copy tool to distribute battens across the wall, adjusting for windows and doors as needed. This results in battens with proper shadows in renderings, and I can estimate the material used for the battens as well. I have 2 example images below to illustrate it.

I've created custom gates using various polyline solids, which I then added to my library as symbols and then dropped into my plans (as doors) in fences (which are walls).