JonathanWilliams

My plan reviewer is asking for floor plans and cross sections which show the thermal barrier locations. Using X12 I've imported them to a layout page and tried to draw lines to highlight where the thermal barrier is but I can't make the colored lines wide enough or partially transparent as I'd like them to be. Anyone have methods they have used for this or any ideas?

5 hours ago, joey_martin said:

You have a gap there because the ceiling in the garage is higher than the roof plane and there is no structure filling that spot.

Thank you. I'll try to figure out what I did wrong.

3 hours ago, solver said:

 

Did you watch my video above?

I missed that response with the video, just watched it. Thanks. I didn't know Chief would create hipped trusses to match the roof plane. I had previously watched a Chief video where they did that process with a gable roof and when they used the multiple copy tool it created identical trusses. I assumed it wouldn't change each truss as I copied. 

So I deleted the roof framing and tried this and it works pretty well. Getting the Girders and diagonals correct is a challenge and if any are off then some of the jacks then generate as cantilevers rather than raised heels. 

Thanks for your help.

10 minutes ago, joey_martin said:

Draw all the trusses in, hold SHIFT and select them all, open bdx and check energy heel. Take 20 seconds.

How do you draw all the trusses so quickly?

16 minutes ago, solver said:

Happens all the time. Sometimes an easy fix, sometimes not.

 

It helps to have your plan file to work with -- saves lots of back and fourth.

 

Close Chief and attach for the best help.

Plan attached. I deleted some content to get it under 25 MB. Thanks for taking a look.

BL72 PlanA CURRENT 2.11.21 GREAT RM 3.22.21 COPY 4.16.21.plan

Joey, I didn't know that Chief wouldn't generate the trusses when the box next to trusses was checked. I learned that the energy heels can be depicted by other means but it does make for some inaccurate cross sections that have to be edited. 

I can not figure out how to fix a few voids in my exterior walls. I know they come from my raising the roof planes up 16" to create energy heel trusses and then manually editing the roof planes back down at areas which are not over conditioned living areas: the front porch and the garage. I've tried re-building/re-framing the walls and the roofs but the gaps will not disappear. 

I can convert the images to CAD and edit out the lines but I'd like to use the perspective drawings without the problems. 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Michael, 

I am also a builder who draws my own plans and I totally rely on truss manufacturer drawings. The issue I have is that my drawing elevations will not be accurate if the energy heels aren't accounted for in Chief. That +/- 16 inches of exposed exterior wall above the top plate needs to be forced into the model. Doing hipped roofs makes it (much) more complex, if I were to try to draw each truss individually. The copy feature wouldn't be able to be used more than a few times.

Eric, thanks for the article link. I've come across it before in my struggles. But it really is geared towards a simple gable roof rather than a hipped roof which will require me to build 50+ custom trusses with energy heels. By doing just steps 1, 2 and 3 I can generate the roof at the correct distance from the top plate and this will allow me to generate the elevations I need for my drawings. And leave it to my truss manufacturer to fill in the missing area.

Thank you very much for the help. Even though Chief can't generate the raised heels automatically it is very helpful to know that is the case rather than my continuing to struggle with it. Thank you to Robert as well.

Eric, I deleted the roof framing. I wasn't aware of the "Delete Objects" function and have been trying to figure out how to do that. Very helpful.

I wasn't aware that Chief doesn't auto build trusses. I assumed it was an either/or with how the roof was created.

I have read the "Creating an Energy Heel Truss" instructions but haven't attempted that approach as it looks like it would require opening each individual truss, edit it and rebuild. I can't even get the trusses to generate so that I can open and edit them.

Using the "Build Roof" tool, I select Trusses. (I'm fine with a framed roof but that hasn't worked with the raised heels).

Then I put 16" in the Raise Off Plate box

check the "Build Roof Planes" and then click OK

It generates a roof structure floating above the upper level ceiling.

I've attached the "Print Image" from within Chief, not sure why it doesn't show in my message. Does it need to be a jpeg?

I've watched videos from Chief website, consulted the X12 Help, looked on YouTube, searched the X12 Tutorial Guide and the X12 Reference Manual. Nothing found in regards to hip roofs and raised energy heels. 

Image of Roof Framing Problems 4.13.21.pdf

Image of Roof Framing Problems 4.13.21.pdfImage of Roof Framing Problems 4.13.21.pdfI can't find any way to create roof trusses with energy heels for a hipped roof. The videos and Help content talk about how to edit individual trusses and copy them but that wouldn't work very well for a hipped roof design as there are so many unique trusses. And even though I am checking the box for trusses when I auto build the roof it always builds with rafters. An image of the latest attempt is attached. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.