Kbird1

make the 2nd storey from a blank plan ( don't derive from 1st floor) and draw your own walls where needed with the help of the reference floor layer. perhaps this will help too http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00904/

No Problem........I'll let you know where to send the 6-pack

$500 X6 , you are optimistic try these..... Corneila.zip assuming I did it right , the files with x6_HD (home designer) at the end of the filename should open in HDA 2015... See you over at HomeTalk..... https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/forum/5-qa/

ask the surveyor to provide the Data in Decimal Feet , which is what Chief and probably the Builder will use anyway.... or perhaps do a separate Site(terrain) Plan in meters and copy and paste the house outline into it you can use the secondary format in your dimensions to show meters as well as feet if needed too

switching the library view to Vector view may help those with slower cards with that issue ..... ( in Preferences>Library) I to have the slow print dialog issue but , don't use it a lot , so no reason not to stay in X7... M.

if done in X6 you would need HDA2105 and the plan Default set to allowing editing in HD Products , if you have HDA 2106 , then you need the plan opened in X7 and saved for editing in HD Products...which do you have? (you haven't filled in your forum Profile Signature to let us know what you are using.)

Thanks again Bill , not sure what I did different this time but after reviewing your Plans , your Technique worked great for me for anyone else , here is the Plan which includes Bill's How To and some of my own Notes in a Text Box. Fascia Mount Railing_Bill Emery Method.plan

Do you have SSA ? I would assume so with the Upgrade , so yes any video can be saved though a bit of a PITA by right clicking on the video's window as it plays and clicking "save video as" , you do need to play 3-5 secs so you get the save as in the RC menu though. M.

For new Users the KnowledgeBase also has MANY Tutorials and is worth a visit 1st it's here http://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/database.html Also Download the Reference Manual and save it to your Desktop for easy access available here on the "Getting Started Page" http://www.chiefarchitect.com/getting-started/ and don't forget all the good free videos at ChiefTutor.com http://www.chieftutor.com/chiefx1.html

Thanks again Bill , I have the Plan's now and will check them out , much appreciated ,as even with my years of using CA Software and lurking on the Forums, I have not seen this technique before and would never have thought of it. So I am happy that guys like you and Joe C. etc are willing to share your hard earned knowledge with us all. M.

that does look good Bill , thanks for posting the plan but I think you still had the plan open when you Zipped It as the file is empty. PS I think it might be the USER pushing the limits of the software in this case M.

Don't see the issue here either , perhaps video card related ? same computer throughout? The default material for the Porch (deck) Room is Drywall which was painted with Siding so perhaps Joe is correct? I tried a number of different configs with shadows which didn't change anything , more good evidence I think , not to Paint walls but to change the material in the Wall's DBX to the desired one..... You also have an exterior wall in the garage , (the left hand foyer/entry ) wall , and some other weirdness in the garage with the roof I think... see pic and it looks like neither wall of the Foyer/entry is align with the exterior wall it butts into...see pic

Thanks again Bill , that does look good , possibly the best solution yet....... I guess you don't have an invisible layer then? would you mind attaching your plan to the thread please , so I can look at your settings and wall definitions etc , my attempt has the terrain retaining wall sitting on the ground for some reason... thanks Mick

Looks interesting Bill , could you explain the significance of the use of Retaining Walls designation for the Invisible Walls and the use of Terrain Retaining Wall designation for the Railings . Could the Railing elevation not be controlled by setting the Deck Room's Ceiling height to say 42" ? (guard rail height here) with ceiling and roof turned off of course for the deck room. M.

Like you this is something I deal with too , but easily done by turning the auto railing OFF on the Staircase and placing your own straight deck Railing with the "follow stair" option set, along with the Newel Spacing at say 48" (see pic) . I haven't been able to get Glenn's method to offset the newels to work on stairs as it does for Deck edges ( there is no need to make 3D post extensions with his method ,or Bill's by the look) and I also have an issue with the stair railing joining the Deck railing in 3D ,as it joins the invisible offset layer ,not the Post. BTW the 2x6 Top Cap is a Room Molding Polyline ,which can be any material, though I haven't messed with how to do that on the Stairs yet.

you probably didn't hit the ATTACH button after choosing the pic to upload but here is a post of mine about how to attach pics and plans https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/221-how-to-take-pics-of-your-plan-to-post-here/?hl=pics

you can also add an invisible layer to the railing wall itself which will push the railing in or out depending on which side you add it , this question came up a few months ago here https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/1199-deck-post-fascia-mount-possible/?hl=%2Bdeck+%2Brails#entry9429 and if you want to fascia mount you posts you can add a 7" layer as seen here in a thread revived a few days ago https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/1199-deck-post-fascia-mount-possible/page-2#entry9892 I have found you can make one wall type and simply reverse it's layers being a railing and it not having an interior /exterior usually.

Ok , thanks again Joe , as you can tell I am a newbie when it comes to the inner workings of CA , there's no way I ,or many others I suspect ,even at what I think is "CA Guru Level" could ever figure this stuff out ,as I am not part computer programmer, so I will have to shamelessly use your work ,which I am always happy to see you are willing to share.

not so much here , think I must have screwed something up between this thread and the macro thread but perhaps I misunderstood ? as I thought it labelled the framing members and auto noted the spacing? after placing the library item I open the RTB ,delete text and insert the Framing Member(s) macro previously imported ( from this or other thread , I think they are the same?)

THANKS ALOT P. would not of done that , and would of wondered if I was going crazy (ier)

So I need the new library item in post #24 and then have to change the new library item's macro to the one in post no#27 ? (same macro as your other thread right? and RTB ? doesn't mean Return To Base I'm guessing

thanks for the tip , see what you miss when you skip a generation or two of the Software

you may need to change the Plan defaults>Window>General> minimum window separation setting too and perhaps some setting on the framing tab as well as there would usually be 2 studs + RO space either side of a window and door too. As for drawing an Oval room , one of the Gurus may need to help with that

making the window from 3 separate windows and then mulling them into one unit afterwards should work.

I had imported the macro into a new blank plan I had just opened to Start Chief , so saw in the TMM DBX that there was an evaluation error but when I closed the TMM DBX the macro disappeared , so I drew a box , put a roof on it , with framing on ,selected a rafter , then imported the macro again , and it seems to have stayed active/available to insert etc and works correctly , thanks again. You might need to start writing a Tips Book Joe , excellent work again , I like it a lot ...looks like I need to check the Library item post again too.