HumbleChief

Any updates to share?

Yes Joe, I try and keep it there throughout the day...

Here's mine... Have no idea how I ended up with a medical dictionary but it's come in handy...

NICE!! I can't tell you how long I searched for that simple (and now obvious) setting. THANKS Scott.

Framing a deck and the rim joists are defaulting to stucco and I can't find where that setting is. I selected them individually and changed them to treated lumber but on a rebuild they changed back to stucco. Where is that material set? Thanks DECK RIM JOISTS.plan

Depends on how accurate you need the model to be and fortunately I only need the 'look' for now. In the case of the roof I am working with, the structure has a new 1/2" layer of plywood over the skip sheathing/purlins. When the 3/4" lookouts are moved/duplicated/replicated they end up higher than the 1/2" plywood and roof surface. Easy to fix visually by increasing (inaccurately) either the plywood thickness or the roof surface thickness but structurally it's not quite right - perhaps only in this case - but even a true skip sheathing will end up with the lookouts above the roof surface. Framing will look OK and without framing/roof rafters layer on it might be OK in 3D. Michael's solution will probably work the best, until X13 comes out, but haven't made time to try it yet.

Thank you for all the help. I used a lookout and repositioned/resized/multi copied/and reflected about the ridge. Worked OK but messes with roof layers a bit.

NICE FIND - Thank you Eric.

Message sent

Tasty... Do you know of a way to get the lookouts to rest on top of the rafters auto?

Gonna try that...

Interesting as the current lookouts are let in to the rafters instead of riding over them.

Thanks Michael, I think X13 will auto frame these 'purlins'?

Thanks Chop, X13 will do this auto? And perhaps that alludes to Michael's post labeling them purlins that can be auto framed in X13? I can get the lookouts sized and spaced to look OK then I guess I can turn off auto roof frame and manually place them. Was hoping for an auto method but perhaps X13?.

Can it be done? Thanks

Your confusion is understandable. The ceiling break lines cannot be selected individually and then their layer turned off. You have to simply know what they are. I once turned off all layers and ran through layers one by one to learn what those lines are and now just know, but otherwise there's no real way to understand what they are.

Thanks for posting that video Michael. In my experience it's the small changes that make work flow just that little bit better even though there probably won't be a blockbuster feature that will change that work flow in a large manner but the little things add up.

Todd, looks like a worthy upgrade and these threads can be very valuable for future purchases but can't quite understand the details of your test. You ran a RayTrace on a file - which file? Under default in Chief? What is default under Chief? Can you please post a little more detail, or even the RT file so we can get a better grip on the results? THANKS ...and typically RayTracing use the CPU and not the GPU but I wonder how much effect the powerful 3080 had on the results - if any.

Thanks Steve, I've got a system in place but will make time to watch your videos to see what I can learn. Larry

The framing model above was created using Chief of course and was created with the client's desires (for one) to run T & G ceiling boards longitudinally along the rafter/beams hence the purlins (or whatever one chooses to call those cross members) and by using TJI span tables and anything else I thought was relevant to the structural design. All of my designs leave my desk to a structural engineer's, every time on every job, to work up beam sizes, shear, foundation, connection etc. details. That framing plan was a very heavy lift with Chief and as I posted above, was intended only to show Chief's capabilities, minus the pain it took to get there. "I knew that Revit was the most-powerful-but-cumbersome program, and so I figured that it would give me the highest skill and ability ceiling.... thing is, even with that consideration, I still underestimated just how cumbersome the program really is." I am still surprised at how 'cumbersome' Revit appears every time I see it in action but have never used it so grain of salt and all that. I have also found that certain software programs will fit certain brains better than others. For example I tried SolidWorks and the interface made me nuts, settled on OnShape for my CAD work as the interface fits my brain better. Your brain might fit Revit's workflow and interface and obviously some are not only comfortable but more than capable using the program. I have fought Chief's interface for years and my brain just works differently than its paradigm and design intent. Multi story buildings are modified from the top down, not like you build from the bottom up and where else, and in what program, when moving down to a slab foundation would you get controls for room ceiling height? And a floor height? And the option for a roof? And some arcane "Room Supplies Floor For Room Above" nomenclature that many here on this forum can make sense of and operate through that bit of crazy with no problems. I've been using Chief for over 20 years and cannot understand how, when moving down to a slab foundation any of that is possible but it makes my point about the importance of the interface and whether your brain can deal with the paradigm and intent of the software you choose. I'm posting a pic of the dialog box you get when moving down to the foundation 'floor' with a monolithic concrete slab - notice you are in a Chief version of a 'room' - still do not understand it but maybe you will? Either way best of luck no matter.

Keep us posted on how this comes out please.

Instead of creating a ceiling plane that's 24" lower, Rise the roof height 24" as in the dbx below to get the results in the pic. ceiling truss.plan

Hooty, trusses will draw between roof and ceiling planes so the idea is to create a ceiling plane that's 24" lower that your roof plane, same slope obviously, then draw a truss adjusting heights as needed for your outside walls. The trick is then to get the trusses to rest on the outside wall top plates and perhaps the smart guys can help with that? I think there's a setting but it's eluding me. ceiling truss.plan

Great points John and brings up another issue we all run up against, dealing with plan checkers then field inspectors. We try and get plans through plan check by hook or by crook then rely on field inspectors to approve any deviations from the plans that still represent competent and code compliant building practices. The dance is always the same and we have all experienced both reasonable and clearly incompetent plan checkers and inspectors as well.