DeltaHome

I am reading about Templates now.

Fixed the Schedule size or rather have made it too small so am working with it.

I understand that my Electrical Plan had Gray for color instead of Black on many of the check marks, so have now changed to Black.

Is it a good idea to save say the Electrical Plan to CAD Detail and then continue to work with it there?

Or is it a better idea to work with say the Electrical Plan in the general plan file and then when it is done save it to CAD Detail?

One more thing.  My Electrical Plan seems to be drawn with Gray lines rather than darker Black lines.  I looked for a way to change this, but have not been able to find where to change it.  I went to Edit>Default>Schedule  but no luck.  Any suggestions?

Just wanted to come back and say thank you.  Who knew that there was this powerful command called 3D>3D View Defaults>Auto Rebuild Walls/Floors/Ceilings

Turned it off and now I have rebuilt my walls without adding accidental roofs everywhere.

Thank you!  On my way to following your instructions now . . .

Reduce Font Size yes.  and to reduce Margins Row and Column widths for each line.  Also Symbol Size must be reduced.

Any suggestions if and where I can reduce those items>

I like to have my schedules on the bottom of the plan to which they relate.  Is there a way to reduce the size of the schedules>

I had the benefit of having my plans reworked by a brilliant user of Chief Architect for which I am very grateful!

I am now going through the reworked plans and changing and adding minor things like materials, colors, etc.

However, one big thing that I need to change is the length and width of the building footprint.  The foundation (i.e., "0"), the grade level floor (i.e., "1"), and the floor above that (i.e., "2") all share the exact same footprint.   The floor above that (i.e., "3") is one-third shorter.  And there is a roof above that (i.e., "A").

When I change the length of the stem wall on foundation (i.e., "0") it does not change the length of the wall at the grade level floor (i.e., "1"), same for the floor above that (i.e., "2") but everything goes to heck when I try to change it in that it builds roofs on top of every wall I try to change on level "2" .

Finally, the dimensions seem to change on their own.  Assuming that I get them right and vertically aligned.  Is there anyway to lock down exterior dimensions?

I know my mentor is swamped and that he will get back to me when he can, but in the meantime I would like to try to accomplish this on my own.

Any suggestions?

Eric I am re-watching the CAD training videos.  A fundamental deficiency in my drawing is my failure to use the point to point move tool.  This causes my alignments to be imprecise as stated by @rlackore.  However, now that I have correct dimensions for my objects, I should be able to correctly align them once I learn how to use the alignment tools.

It is my responsibility to do the tedious work to learn the tools before I ask questions here.  I am on my way to doing so.  Will be back with more drawings when I have more knowledge.  Thank you to all.  Carry on and have a Blessed Day!

Eric:   Thank you for taking the time to make the video!

You just exposed another thing I didn't know.  I had previously changed Default>CAD>General to " but double clicking on the ruler icon was better.

I activated the Second Format as in your video.  Now when I get the blue box with white numbers I do see that my measurement, for instance is actually 23 7/8" not 24".  When I try to change the length to 24" via the blue box, it still is not a true 24" in the Second Format.   I have angle snaps and grid snaps off.  This is frustrating because I am prepared to remove and redraw features in my CAD Detail drawings but I would like the features to be extremely accurate if I am going to go through the process.

@Alaskan_Son  Holy crap!  If I do the marquee and Transform/Replicate > Resize to 0.166 I get pretty darn close to 2' for my 24" H footing height!

Thank you for the nugget!

@Kiwideziner thank you for suggesting the Transform/Replicate > Resize tool!

Any suggestions for changing the expression of feet to inches for my CAD Detail drawings?  I changed it to Inch under Default CAD line but it still changes to ft/inches after 12 inches.

Also @Solver do you have a video that explains how to draw lines while showing the line length increasing or decreasing in real time while drawing the line?

Eric thank you.  Last night when I watched the video you linked and then again this morning, "He says in all cases we are drawing in actual size."  at 0:39.

So, it appears that if I start from scratch, with a blank CAD Detail screen, I would by default be drawing in actual size.

But what to do now?

To All:  Will it be helpful to post up a stripped version of the plan, or merely invite more distractions and derision.  (I was hoping to feed you the morsels of my ignorance a little bit at a time.) 

And solving the issue of this thread by converting the existing drawing to 1:1 scale prior to cleanup would help me move the entire project further.

For those of you who are instructors, just in case you come across someone like me in the future, here is my progression:

1.  Dining room table with No. 2 pencil and grid paper;

2.  Erasures, erasures, and more erasures...

3.  Thought:  There must be an electronic form of grid paper...

4.  Chief Home Designer.

5.  Start drawing with electronic grid paper, but in the same way I was drawing with the No. 2 pencil.

5.  Ok, but I need to draw a foundation, time to upgrade.

6.  Hmmm...  My drawings are "detailed" but imprecise, and seem to have no relation to the dimension tools in CA. 

7.  Time to expose my ignorance to the forum and ask for Help.

Alaskan_Son, so, yes, it is all manual drafting.

rlackore,  what exactly would I do to draw CAD at a 1:1 scale?  I assume that I would have to start from scratch, then anything CAD I draw would be 1:1 by default?  Or is there a default or preference I must select to draw CAD Details at 1:1 scale?

I certainly can turn off grid snaps and go with object snaps.

I am sorry for my misrepresentation of the scale. 

Is there a way to convert what I have to 1:1 scale and then go through and clean it up?

This quote may apply here:

"Anyone who thinks that they have designed something that is "idiot proof" does not truly appreciate the ingenuity of idiots..."

1 file was larger than 14M and was skipped.

I will make a stripped down duplicate of the plan to attach.

Carry on.

I will be back later today.

Thank you all for sharing for your knowledge and experience.

Brilliance shared is appreciated. 

Will do.

I don't know how to attach so I exported to dwg will that work?DELTAHOME.dwg

Hmmm.  Resize Factor: 8.0, I believe is 93' but the font is too small to read. 

OK, I've raised my visor, and I am looking around, but I am still keeping my flame retardant suit on...

32 minutes ago, Kiwideziner said:

I was trying to infer that with the one you already have use transform/replicate and scale it back to 1 to 1 scale.

I marquee'd the entire CAD drawing above and right clicked Transform/Replicate and chose Resize,  and just went with what was there which was "1"

But when I run the Tape measure down the 24" H footing/grade beam it still reads 12'

I get 24" = 3' when I resize to 0.25

Graeme conceptually I understand what you are saying.  Is there anyway I can take what I have already drawn (the above is just one drawing of many) and somehow in settings, default, preferences or elsewhere change it so that 1/4" on the grid = 1/4" for what I have drawn?

OK, I have my visor down, flame retardant suit on.

So here comes a stupid question, one of many to come.  I drew the following on grid using the CAD function in CA.

I just drew it over the grid, keeping 1/4" = 2" but I did not set or customize by Edit > Default or anywhere else any setting that 1/4" = 2"

So for instance if I use Tape Measure, the measurement it reports has no relation to the measurement I have drawn.

If you please, what should I do to be able to use Dimensions and how do I do it?

The good news is that I had to update my laptop for other purposes, and this new laptop (in signature below) is not laggy like the old laptop that I used for X12 Premiere.  Other good news is that a quick call to Chief and installing the program on the new laptop was simple.

Bad news is that when I copied my plan, layout and CAD and other files over to the new laptop, my layout lost links to my drawings.  I am slowly going through looking at the missing file name, searching for it, then copying it to the folder and then selecting that file as the "replacement."

This leads me to question what is the best way to organize our files?  Do you put all your files on a project in the same directory?  Or do you put them in different directories, etc.

I have no clue as to what is best, so help would be appreciated.

And I upgraded to X13, so my guess is that it will install its own X13 directory, so putting stuff in the X12 directory now would seem pointless.

Thank you Eric.  Unfortunately my upgrade without the $95 reinstatement fee expires tomorrow.

So, I would rather not wait until the June 3 Webinar . . .

I read the thread about the Release Date X13, but my question is simpler.

What are the differences between X12 and X13 and are they sufficient to warrant upgrading?

AKSon:  Yes, I do want the stem wall shorter as well. And my inconsistencies seem to be related to the two rooms.  So, I will try that.  Thank you!

RGardner:  Frickin' brilliant !!!!  Who knew that the tab could do that?  I like the idea of using "absolute."  I need to determine the difference between relative and absolute.

Dang, I have been trying to drag up but that it is a little inaccurate for my abilites.

I really appreciate being told to stop looking.  Your reply has save me time and frustration.

Thank you.

I have gone through all the defaults where I think it can be, but I cannot find where to uncheck "Automatic Footing Bottom Height"?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.