DeLayDesign

I think this is an issue we've had for a long while, but in the case where I have a window in the upper portion of a pony wall, it is showing a break in my lower wall as well; even though the lower wall isn't being 'broken' by the window. I have the walls shown as 'upper wall and lower wall outline' I really don't want to have to draw a line each time I need this cleaned up. I contacted support but their response wasn't all that helpful.

I think the only way the stairs will 'wrap through is if the are connected with a 'landing'. Because they are split by a floor they won't connect. You can achieve a similar look by adding in a railing where they should connect or use the 3D molding tool and align them custom.

We use 2020 DESIGN which is a cabinet design software to handle all of our orders - that said; we haven't upgraded out system in over 10 years because their current product is subscription based and costs thousands to 'lease' each year. The older version was a buy once and it's yours model. We get our catalogs from the manufacturers we buy from, but they also have 'blank catalogs' you can custom tailor for your own use. If you can get your hands on an old version of 2020 like vs. 10.3 this might be able to speed up your process, but ultimately - if working with the cabinets schedules works for you, getting faster at Chief may be a better option. If you find you're using the same 'cabinet builds' for multiples projects (eg - accessories) create a custom catalog in your chief library to pull from. At least this will keep you from having to duplicate work in the future.

I've done it a few ways. 1) Decide what your time is worth (example $100/ hour), then review their request and using projects you worked on in the past create an 'estimate' of time. 20 hours = $2,000 Don't forget a little fluff. 2) Create a retainer system for your clients. Explain to them that you 'think' it'll be 'x' amount of hours; but will start the work for a specific amount; let's say $500 to start the work.. When the $500 has been used up based on your value of time (again $100/hour or w.e.). Allow the client to see your progress and request additional funds to complete the work. I use this method a lot for new clients.

Check out 3D warehouse. Some models aren't great; but you might find something worth using there https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/search/?q=dog washing&searchTab=model More often than not I build my own using cabinets & shower components.

Hey Randy. My company has issues with our Chief printing line weights correctly - sometimes in PDF format and sometime directly to the Plotter. What we have had to do instead is 'export' the layout as a PDF then print to the plotter. I don't know the magic that's involved, but this appears to resolve the issue. Maybe @ChiefArchitectcan give us some insight. The issue has persisted since X13 for us.

@Suggestions Great ask - You give us the option to flatten the top; why not give us the same option for the bottom?

I remember this being an issue back in the day. Chief advised us to do the same with infinite scroll (turn it off); @distinctconcepts - can you try using a different mouse?

Runs fine on my PC; however, I did notice you had 'use backdrop image when available' turned off under the physics based rendering options. As for the interior render issue - I can't replicate the problem. Sorry.

Hey @KilianDraftingAre you accidentally changing between layer (annotation) sets? The folks I work for often have issues with their designers accidentally changing an annotation set (mine are custom sets btw - so they will look different than out of the box). These sets can be changed by hovering your mouse over the drop down (not clicking) and scrolling with your mouse scroll which is typically how their designers accidentally change the view on their screen - causing chaos! ha ha. Annotation Sets 07.23.mp4

I haven't used x10 in quite sometime and I no longer have it installed on my PC; but in X14 there is an option for the object to be scaled and even use the plan view scale I know this isn't much help given it's four versions near than what you're using, but I'm not sure when they implemented this change - so maybe there is a shot it's in X10 too?

@DIYJon If I'm understanding your request correctly - you can absolutely have a pony wall structure that is built with a concrete lower half and framed upper half. The 'railing' heights can be modified just like a pony wall. The same thing can be achieved with the fence as well - although doing this will turn the fence into a 'railing'

@shingabiss The only way I was able to get it to look correctly was to use a "material region", which I drew over the entire floor and notched out the section over the stairs. I thought perhaps it was a framing issue so I tried turning off the framing inside the walls - no luck. Next I tried to make the materials for the wall 'air gap' - No luck there either. I'll keep playing around with it, but for now - try using 'material region' and see if it gives you the look I was able to achieve. Note: I'm currently using X14 for this example. The best approach would be to turn your interior walls to partition. This will keep them from cutting through the floor. Your model has some errors in it; so when you do this you may still see the floor being cut at the closet just inside the front bedroom. This is because your floor in this one closet is higher than the rest of the floor on the second floor.

Eh - I'm not sure you're allowed to 'share' 2020's licensed textures. I'm not 100% certain, but you may want to look into this.

Hey @DougDM @rgardner's method works great. The only issue is the door types you have access to are a bit limited in terms of it looking correct. In this example I used a panel door bottom and a glass panel door on the top. I then turned off my hardware on the top portion of the door and mulled them together.

@Renerabbitt Perhaps I'm a bit OCD, but I prefer my items to be cataloged in a specific way. I don't want to see EVERYTHING in my imported folder as I click through it. That being said, yes I do prefer to click on the previews instead of the drop down carrot. I suppose we work differently because I disagree that the drop down is faster. I'm a visual person and would prefer to look at an item and click it instead of having to read through a list of folder to find the right one, then read through another list of folders and eventually a list of items. Over the 14 years of using chief I've always done it one way - through the preview and I would appreciate it greatly if I could continue to work this way. It's how I design 5-8 models a day.

No. This is only about search capabilities but does not help with the overall appearance of the library window. Thanks though.

@Renerabbitt I fear the issue may have been that not everyone works the same way as users @ChiefArchitectmay have requested feedback from. I've discussed my issue with the catalogs countless times - specifically regarding my subfolders and them not showing up appropriately. I don't always use 'search' to find my items, but the search is funky now and was just one example. Sometimes I just know where to look for the items I need and how X15 organizes them is not conducive to how I'm use to working with Chief Architect. Example: X14 I use to be able to go to my custom user catalog and see my subfolders and dig deeper from there. However, in X15 when you click on a 'main folder' it shows everything in that folder instead of my organized subfolders: It doesn't matter if it's in tile mode or list mode. Both suck. I might be trying to get to my custom vehicle catalog for example. X15 has eliminated the ease of being able to click on my subfolder while still being in my CustomUser Catalogs subfolder... Let's say I can get past this and ignore this annoyance fine - when I click on the CustomUser Vehicle folder - again it doesn't show me my subfolders for this file and instead shows me EVERYTHING that's in the folder. X15: So If I wanted to get my 'ford' folder, I can't do this directly in the second panel which is now 'filtered results' anymore (I can in X14). I have to select each folder directly - this is annoying. X14: I understand the need to be able to directly connect to the cloud now that it's a yearly subscription service; but there has to be a way to give us a platform that works how we're use to it working with a more powerful search feature for people who use search for everything.

I'm with you @raltd9245 The new library layout/ organization has truly set me back when it comes to my ability to develop a project quickly. I spend way more time now than I ever had to to find the objects I would typically use. For example. Type in 'gas range' and in X14 this was at the top of the list: Now when you type gas range it's at least 30 items down the list and the first thing on said list is my imported object "800 series Gas Rangetop 36" followed by the apartment gas range, and a ton of the subzero/ wolf cooktops (doesn't even say range in the object names) Additionally, all of my imported items are categorized and placed in specific folders for me to be able to find. Now those subfolders are useless as Chief doesn't show individual content anymore. Pretty lame and I'm hoping for a dramatic redesign in X16 @ChiefArchitect

In X14 I relied heavily on the CPU raytracer, only because the PBR has issues with shadows not showing up from 2D plants but they do show up with CPU render, so in that regard CPU worked perfectly especially if you add in corrected sun properties and turn off the lights in the home when you run daytime renders. That being said, in X15 I started using 3D plants more - although the texture files the plants come with need to be modified by @ChiefArchitectbecause they come off really "bright" when the "sun" hits them. The grass tool is one of my favorites because it adds another layer of realism to the design, except - grass doesn't load in the CPU render. At least it didn't the last time I tried it; so I'm forced to use PBR.

I had issues with X14 when painting the deck. Doing so made the deck planks disappear. It doesn't sound like this is your issue directly, but perhaps it's related?

@rlackore - yep, pretty much my solution too. I wasn't sure if there was a way to tell Chief to push the floor below the footing; would be great to incorporate this into a future build @ChiefArchitect

Hey experts. Here in Chicagoland we do a lot of dig downs to create a better head height for basements that were built short. I have my work arounds to show this properly, but I've always wondered if there is a better way. So - how would you tell chief to do this? Thanks in advance!

There is a teacher here in Illinois that is teaching it at Harper Collage (not a high school, as you asked). I'm not sure I am thrilled with the 'teaching' they are doing though as we've hired a few from the class and well... they aren't really prepared for real life applications.

You'll want a pretty decent graphics card if you are wanting to run raytraces. I built my PC with Ibuypower.com A few years ago my system cost $2400 delivered; not sure what it would cost today - but it's pretty OP.