KnotSquare

LM Lighting L47 Stair Light.calibz These came out pretty nice. Thought I would share...

Mick, I get an error message related to libraries that are old. I can ignore it because I know it is due to having old library items still in the file that I use. They may get a new name with updates, but if you delete the old catalogues you can lose stuff and sometimes in commercial work I find oddities that are "close enough". It is strange in this case that I am unable to delete the extra library item or catalog after I have installed the web version. I do think I know what you are getting at though. Thanks, Mark

I created a short video and placed it on YouTube that demonstrates the two issues. When the library says the object is not available, but can be downloaded, I do so. It then says I already have it. Sure enough, there it is and now there is a duplicate. This has happened previously, but I never found where it landed, so now I likely have more duplicate folders. Is this just a CA glitch, or is it me? Also, the preview prior to download is 3D and in color. Once downloaded, the preview turns 2D and red, at least in the Filter Results window. Sure, the Preview window is 3D and color, but it was nice to see them in 3D as a group as well. That video link:

Oh, the floor framing is 12" deep floor trusses.

RT Ray Trace: My home has 9' ceilings built using pre-cut studs, plus 3/4 T&G plywood, 1/4" foam pad and 3/4" engineered hardwood floors. The settings I landed on are: I then placed a post in the center, opened it up, changed it to round with a 3" radius and stretch it up to match the railing height. I set all materials to Black Brushed Metal. I am happy with the results. Good luck with yours tomorrow. Mark

Here it is in position. A little fine tuning and I may have it. Mark

FYI: R311.7.10.1 Spiral stairways. The clear width at and below the handrails at spiral stairways shall be not less than 26 inches (660 mm) and the walkline radius shall be not greater than 241/2 inches (622 mm). Each tread shall have a depth of not less than 63/4 inches (171 mm) at the walkline. Treads shall be identical, and the rise shall be not more than 91/2 inches (241 mm). Headroom shall be not less than 6 feet 6 inches (1982 mm).

Jim, @JKEdmo I am getting pretty darn close to a spiral using a straight stair, selecting the end and then bending it into a curved stair holding down the ALT key. One I got it curved, I am now in the process of getting the settings as close as possible to what I need and then will move it into position and see how it works. See if these settings give you a good head start. I will follow this topic, so let me know if you learn anything significant. Thanks, Mark

Jim, Dealing with spiral stairs myself and looked it up just in case a new feature was added. Not that I know of, and it is a PITA as far as representation goes. It is not visible from floor to floor in plan view. I included the block I use in case it is better than what you have found. Good luck. Mark Large Spiral Stair.calibz

@mthd97 Method 97 (guessing), The message prior to yours from me to SNestor has a zipped drawing attached. In there are at least the sections as described in what I wrote on a Layer named AUTOCAD BLOCK. I have the "reduced" plan open at this time going through what Eric had sent earlier, mostly working it out with his help, but getting a couple of glitches he did not. In this drawing, meaning that most likely in the zipped drawing last sent, the floor plans from AutoCAD are also on their own layer and part of the Chief model. Please, let me know what you think. You can turn the ACAD off and on at will with the layer set, or the layer itself. I will be updating hopefully by the end of day tomorrow. I am making progress and have a couple if ideas why I may still have some glitches and want to try to work them out before pestering anyone else. There are so many settings and the labels and descriptions in the help file can at times be cryptic. Mark

@SNestor I have placed my AutoCAD sections over the saved section views for A-A & B-B in the plan I am attaching. This is how I go back and forth to ensure that I have not only drafted it correctly, but that Chief is building it as I desire. Both the Detail Layer set for Sections and the Section View Layer set for Elevations have been copied and appended "w CAD" with the AUTOCAD BLOCK layer turned on. I am sending the area of interest you were asking about, concerning the top of ICF wall and how it is to lay out in an image. I call the "BASELINE" on buildings where I can maintain a continuous vertical outer line of bearing by this name. You can see where I pulled down the wall at the back of the garage to allow framing over the furred wall as it reveals the slab and insulating foam, etc. through the joists in Section and Elevation A-A. Section and Elevation B-B appear to be the same, but the floor trusses will not be visible here, and are incomplete. At this location the section cuts through the Garage and no floor trusses will be visible. In section A-A, the stairs from Chief let me know that I forgot the underlayment in my AutoCAD section. Many Chief users have criticized me for still using ACAD, but until I have the confidence that I am building my structures with complete accuracy, I have to do this to ensure that I put out the product I let my clients and builders know I will produce, to include an accurate Materials List. Thanks to ChiefTalk and its members, I am getting there. I feel I am getting close to a point where my understanding will make it worth my while to hire someone offering instruction money to hone my skills. This project and the Fisher Residence on my website are larger projects due early spring and complex builds from my perspective in Chief. I know I will have to get assistance in the next couple of months to ensure this is on schedule. Our building season is short up here and people get anxious. Let me know if you might be interested and how you conduct one on one please. I appreciate your time and hope to give back by next year. God would I love to work in the CA offices and help them truly get a handle on how things are built in the real world and that many areas now enforce codes that should make products like Rockwool and Thermafiber part of their Manufacturer catalogue. I believe they would benefit from having wall and roof systems from Building Science as part of their catalogues as well. I will be creating better details for you and Eric after my meeting. Mark Peck C7 (Reduced).zip

@SNestor I was creating a detail for Eric last night, but it was getting late. I will try to go through all you and Eric have offered this morning, but not sure I can accomplish it all prior to my meeting with these clients at 1PM to go over their electrical layout. I will do my best, but my office looks like a tornado came through. Have to take a little time to make it somewhat presentable as well. I will cut the detail for the porch for you as I will need that soon, regardless. In the meantime, just for clarity, we are going to use either lick-n-stick faux stone veneer or, my preference, real stone veneer, the think stuff that also applies with thinset and does not require a base for support. Real, thick stone, tends to be reserved for homes in the Yellowstone Club, Rock Creek or commercial buildings. Montana, Butte in particular, was on the level of Las Vegas for the west back in the 1800s, early 1900s. Wealth for many citizens waned with the development of open pit mining and the sale of the mines to Dodge/Phelps. Most wealthy people are from out of state and don't care for our 9 months of winter. Likely the only thing that the Series Yellowstone got correct. Wealth is not generated or spread to the locals. These clients are a young couple that migrated from the Oregon coast where they made almost enough money to afford this larger home in anticipation of setting down roots and creating a family. They have required the backing of their parents since prices of materials and labor sky rocketed since Covid. I push the use of geothermal and a little extra continuous insulation onto clients that are investing in their homes as a place to live, therefor the extra thick wall detail. But... to work. Thank you for your interest in my project. Many do not use AutoCAD in conjunction with Chief, but that is my specialty and I know it backwards and forwards, especially 2D. If you ever need assistance, please hit me up. Mark

@solver Eric, I don't know for certain, but would assume that the video card I have listed on my machine is compatible with Mac. Mark

@solver Eric, I had to upgrade my power supply with my card, so be aware that some of these new cards are quite thirsty. My 3080ti is quite adept at handling about anything I throw at it, with Chief, AutoCAD and ReCap running at once. It required a minimal 750W power supply, but that $2k card is likely quite affordable now as the 3090 came out while I was ordering the new computer that cost me the same as a video card and power supply alone. Just a tip from learn as you go upgrades. Mark

I deleted them because I was trying to reduce the file size to get it to upload to ChiefTalk.. If they want us to work things out without their tech support, they should not limit us to 15MB files sizes. This one was large.

@mthd97 Question about your suggestion... First, thanks for correcting my "stur" crazy. Never notice until after submit. If I have framed prior to working out all the issues, do you feel that the model is eternally altered even if I delete framing using the Delete Objects dbx? Thanks for the input. Mark

@solver Do you see why checking Shelf Ceiling in the Covered Porch Room Specifications/Structure dbx doesn't rid me of the attic walls?

I certainly do not know why checking Shelf Ceiling in the Room Specification dbx is not getting rid of the attic roofs over the porch. I am making a little headway, but have been working on getting this one roof correct since I got up. I am starting to go a little stur crazy.

Eric, You may have been the one that showed me the setting, Shelf Ceiling, but it may have been Glenn W. I cannot find that in my history in Chief Talk. I am certain that you have been on this plan in the past however. The clients decided to build a pole barn first, so this was delayed. They had to have a place to store their new Dodge Charger they bought before they were discontinued. Any thoughts on this? I see a link to YouTube with your message. I will see if you posted something there. Mark

A lot, including the lot, had to be removed in order to get this down to a size I could zip for ChiefTalk. I saved screen shots of primary dialogue boxes for ease of evaluating my scenario. As for the Porch Structure Room Specifications dbx.png, I have two versions. One when the ceiling was flat, the other in the current zipped file configuration. The roof has a few issues: I am seeking a flat ceiling over the entire Covered Porch, hugging the bottom of the sub-fascia. Once this is figured out, I want to extend the roof over the steps. I cannot seem to figure a means of making the exterior steps a room so that they can have a ceiling. Is manual the only method or maybe just the simplest? The roof framing had to be removed for files size, so I cannot ask by pointing out that the porch roof will not allow me to use trusses although it did previously. It states that it is too shallow. If I can get the settings correct and understand my errors, for a strong rendering, I may go back and create custom surfaces so that only the edge of the ceiling is vented. I added a video to YouTube if further explanation is required. Peck C7 (Reduced).zip

@Renerabbitt This string was left blank. I did not realize until trying to locate an old answer to a question that you had a further reply. My apologies. I have builders that appreciate the spreadsheet and homeowners that have difficulty getting decent bids. Napkins still pass as contracts in this state. Literally. It may seem like it is over the top in film, but your handshake means a great deal, almost as much as the builder you recommend being a relative or friend of a relative. The series Yellowstone is a joke! You can't order up a viewing of wolves eating an elk, nor have I ever seen a suit at an auction, not even the auctioneer, but we all have 20 guns and hate rules. I went to ASU, ran my business out of Flagstaff up until the 2008 recession and then moved to Phoenix to struggle until 2014 when I moved back to Montana to work for my father using SolidWorks to design machines we sell to the military and pharmaceutical companies. When the economy started showing signs of life up here in 2018 I restarted my design business, and my first project was a residence. When I called the county because I found the website unbelievable, they confirmed that I needed a floor plan and a wall section, even for commercial permits. Imagine a builder, that cannot get a license as a contractor, because Montana does not offer them (to this day), trying to produce a bid from such plans. Now imagine economically challenged families trying to get something built and how many builders go out of business during construction from not managing funds correctly. Getting the picture? It is improving, but not in a great manner. As of December 2018, Montana started recognizing building codes as a whole, but still placed all considerations upon local jurisdictions. A town of under 100 people does not have a Building Department and the state still does not tip their toes in residential construction. Larger towns, such as my hometown of Butte have embraced the code in the last few years and I am guessing that some where sent off for training as a couple of guys and gals at the courthouse are starting to know it well. Still, get outside of Silver-Bow County by crossing the line into Granite and you do not have a building department in the county. I have a community center in design that is not required to have a permit, but the land owners wish to go through proper steps as they are from outside of Montana originally and have seen how other states work. Wild west. Ever wish to visit, give me a jingle and we will pull out the guns or mountain bikes. Your choice. One thing Yellowstone did get correct. There are a lot of Dodge trucks up here. Mine is black like on the show, but rarely is it clean and shiny! What else do they not portray? 9 months of winter, that's what. Seems it is always warm. Damn, we wear sweaters around the campfire up at our cabins in July at night. It is currently almost noon and the frost has yet to leave the roof of my "black" truck and there has not been a cloud in the sky yet today. Every other man up here likely has an AR or two, but none of the Game Wardens carry them. Ha ha ha. I swear 1-5 people die from homicide per episode. add them up for all 5 seasons and you have our annual homicide count.

Glenn, Please look up two paragraphs for the pictures I attached. I used the @ symbol incorrectly the first time, but Kbird1 showed me how to fix it. This worked as you said in that simple model I put together from a Save As of the real model. I am unable to rid myself of extra ceiling layers in the real model using this same technique as hoped. I am sharing an image of the porch covered roof where the extra layers are visible end on. This model is quite large, but if you (or anyone) need it to check what is going on, I will simplify it and share it out. Thank you for the suggestion. It worked perfectly on the small text building I put in the yard of this home and then erased the main home, property, etc. When I opened up the roof planes of this area and each roof plane on the home, "Use Room Ceiling Finish" was checked. If it was already part of the autobuild, any ideas on why the Build Roof / Structure dbx was checked as well? Also, this is the first time I have used the @ symbol to point to a user. Please let me know if I needed to place it somewhere else. @glennw Thank you, Mark

@glennw, This worked as you said in that simple model I put together from a Save As of the real model. I am unable to rid myself of extra ceiling layers in the real model using this same technique as hoped. I am sharing an image of the porch covered roof where the extra layers are visible end on. This model is quite large, but if you (or anyone) need it to check what is going on, I will simplify it and share it out. Thank you for the suggestion. It worked perfectly on the small text building I put in the yard of this home and then erased the main home, property, etc. When I opened up the roof planes of this area and each roof plane on the home, "Use Room Ceiling Finish" was checked. If it was already part of the autobuild, any ideas on why the Build Roof / Structure dbx was checked as well? Also, this is the first time I have used the @ symbol to point to a user. Please let me know if I needed to place it somewhere else. Thank you, Mark

If you view this in 3D, there are 2 layers of drywall, one on the flat ceiling as it should be, the other under the top cord of the truss. I have checked the settings and cannot locate where my error is. This is happening in my main model, too large to upload. Thank you. Mark Double Drywall.zip

Thank you Eric.