HumbleChief

yES TRIED BOTH OF THOSE SETTINGS NUMEROUS TIMES - KEEPS REVERTING TO A VALUE OTHER THAN 0" (caps sorry)

I change "FLOOR TO swt" to '0' (from the 4" it reverts to) and it all looks good until I re-open the dbx and it sets itself back to 4". On the plan you fixed there's no -28" just all -24" in all 3 dbx's- can't get that to happen. Can't get rid of that extra 4" step.

I'll use your plan Perry and can't thank you enough but am defeated by the structure dbx once again.

Also on the first floor 'room' I can adjust the floor height to -24" but when I re-open the structure dbx it goes back to -28"

Here's the dbx that's killing me. These are the settings I'm getting for the foundation 'room'. Perry's setting have the first 3 settings as 24" But when I set them all at 24" then reopen the structure dbx I get this. I can re-set them but still can't get the 24" to 'stick' in all the setting fields. This is certainly why I'm getting that weird 4" 'extra' slab but I can't duplicate the settings for some reason.

I adjusted each thickness to 12" - didn't know what else to 'adjust'

In the original plan I duplicated every setting I could find in every dbx and still failed to get the same section as in your corrected plan. Wow.

Thanks VERY much Perry - it looks great. Still have NO idea what you did and that's the frustrating part but REALLY appreciate the help. Sorry about the 2 threads, confusing and not that cool but appreciate all the help. BTW tech support didn't know what to do other than delete the walls and draw a slab with footings..

I guess that was why I posted. Could NOT figure it out with the 'room and footing settings' - maybe never will. Tech support suggested the above solution.

Tech support. - I deleted the foundation walls and drew in a slab with footings - adjusted the height and it's all good. Not as nice a look without the shovel cut you get with a mono slab but it will do. Thanks for your help Mick.

Maybe the brick ledge but I don't even know where that tab is to change it, nor would have changed it from all the other slabs I've built. I think it has to with the stem wall, mono slab combo that's working out. If I delete the current foundation then I'l also delete the stem wall on the main house so I'm now wondering how to build the two different types of foundations? Maybe I'll call tech support.

You might be right Mick. I'll check that out. Come to think of it the main house has a stem wall and the guest house will be on slab. That must be it. I don't think I've built 2 different foundation types in one plan before. Can it be done?

I've checked and unchecked mono slab a thousand times this morning. Changed the SWT another thousand times. Rebuilt everything a hindred times. With a new plan and a floor height of 0" everything works great but as soon as i lower the floor to '24" all the SWT's and all other incomprehensible acronyms do a number on the section and my brain. Sigh - very frustrated.

Here's another version I get.

Thanks Perry, Should be data there now. Never seen this before.

I'm not sure I will EVER understand the Room Structure tab and if there's anything I would change tomorrow about the program it would be this 'feature'. I've built a thousand mono-slabs but for some reason I cannot get this slab to look correct in a back clipped section. The floor height is set at -24"and I've tried every thing I can think of but I keep getting this short stem wall or even an extra 4" slab in the section. I'm sure it's simple to someone but my brain does not work well with the structure tab. Any help greatly appreciated. Here's my latest section cut. Plan FOOTING STEP 2.zip

Built a thousand mono slabs and footings but this one has this weird step along the outside edge. Couldn't do it if I tried so can't fix it either. Any clues? Plan here FOOTING STEP 2.zip

Only downside of the rec polyline is it won't follow terrain like a sidewalk will.

STOP Doug!! That's not the way I've learned to do it in the past and I CANNOT learn anything new - please stop now!!!

Whaaaat? NEVER knew that. Great tip. BTW I have an employee who uses ACAD and he was showing me how to draw lines etc. and it was crazy making but I got used to it for small tasks and editing ACAD files. Never used the click-release-drag-click-release method in any other CAD program so had a hard time getting used to it but I managed.

Joe, I'm no real advocate for Chief and as I stated above totally understand your frustration but the example you gave above is a perfect example of re-learning the nuances of a new program. Chief doesn't work like ACAD, it works like Chief and if you're not willing to learn how Chief works then I get that but another approach on this forum might be to ask how people handle interior remodels. You might be surprised at the help and answers you get. I've done interior remodels for over 15 years using Chief and there's a technique that works pretty well but it is unique to Chief. Without that knowledge it has to be frustrating. So again, another approach when you get frustrated is to post your questions here and see what comes up. I even think there's an SSA video on remodels and if not there's more resources that can show you how Chief handles remodels. If that doesn't work for you then Chief may not be for you. I totally get that as it drove (drives) me crazy for years till I began to really understand how Chief operates. Best of luck either way and as has been said this community is an amazing resource you will not find anywhere else.

I just checked the overview linked above (at full screen which was no problem on my computer) and am wondering what you really want - to learn Chief Architect or to complain - about something. Really curious - which is it? I am asking because the overview (again at full screen) is an excellent video resource for the beginner IMO but I've been frustrated before and needed to rant about something even though everything I wanted was really right there in front of me so maybe re-think what it is you want. If you want to learn Chief Architect I suggest you join the discussion here and the help will amaze you. If you just feel like ranting then I personally get that too but it won't get you much real useful help.

Make sure your attic walls layer is turned on and are set to auto rebuild (Alt-Q). Check the height of your glass doors and sometimes if you pull the roof planes back, then re-locate they will re-cut any intrusions and sometimes even get your attic walls back. Also try hitting F12 to rebuild.

Joe, I think Chief has an extremely steep learning curve with no short cuts that I can remember and your frustration is totally understandable to me as it took a VERY long time for me to grasp the paradigm that is Chief architect. What I have learned over the many years is that Chief does indeed have all the features I need but accessing them efficiently took a long long time to figure out. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed but I have a feeling Soft Plan would be equally as difficult to master but it might fit the way your brain works better than Chief does. If they have demo give it a try but if you do decide to stick with Chief I guarantee it has all the CAD tools you'll ever need as well as other tools to get any residential job done.

...well there you go - your mileage may vary etc etc etc...Have you tried the above method? Not sure it works on invisible walls but seems to take of other Layout update gremlins...