Mackenzie

5 hours ago, Kbird1 said:

 

Ahhh , i wondered if it was just a layer display issue , I would suggest you work with the ALDO (Active Layer Display Options)   OPEN , i keep it on one of my other monitors to turn LAYERS on and off quickly, change line colors, text sizes or Lock them so they are not selectable.

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03122/displaying-the-active-layer-set-control-on-the-toolbar-or-in-the-aldo.html

 

I think I see Roof Planes on your Garage ?  so house is two story ?  or no roof on the house yet?  you can make the Roof planes show  on the floor above or below if they are on the upper floor ?  with the quick icon on the edit toolbar when the RP is selected.

 

M.

 

small additional question, what is the quick Icon under the edit toolbar? I looked for the word quick under the edit drop down from the top but think I'm misunderstanding

4 hours ago, Kbird1 said:

 

Ahhh , i wondered if it was just a layer display issue , I would suggest you work with the ALDO (Active Layer Display Options)   OPEN , i keep it on one of my other monitors to turn LAYERS on and off quickly, change line colors, text sizes or Lock them so they are not selectable.

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03122/displaying-the-active-layer-set-control-on-the-toolbar-or-in-the-aldo.html

 

I think I see Roof Planes on your Garage ?  so house is two story ?  or no roof on the house yet?  you can make the Roof planes show  on the floor above or below if they are on the upper floor ?  with the quick icon on the edit toolbar when the RP is selected.

 

M.

 

That Is a great Idea, I didn't realize I could drag those off to a separate screen but that's going to be a huge benefit for screen real estate. especially if the library browser moves as well. 

The house is two story and the roofs are all on I'll get my ALDo on the second monitor along with that link you shared to me and see if I can get things looking proper.

1 hour ago, Kbird1 said:

 

Nothing wrong with that method to learn Chief, and one I recommend to new Users all the time as it easy to get more info and figure out why something might not be "working in chief as it should"

 

Are you aware of the Tutorial Guide link right in the Help Menu?   This is a PDF that Chief, I think originally offered to academic institutions  like high schools and colleges as a step by step,

as if your not sure of something Hit F1 on your keyboard and the context sensitive help should pop up.

 

I'm not sure what the difference in the views are you are seeing ( or not) are? 

 

M. 

I was not aware of that tutorial help link but I did just find it and am looking forward to the new resource, thank you. I also didn't know you could turn on the context sensitive tips with f1, it has given me trouble in the past that some icons have a pop up name and others were mysteries to me so thankyou for that as well.

The difference I was hoping would be to have my plan just display the roof lines and plot lines of the property. I didn't draw the entire house interior accurately (or at all in some cases) but I know the exterior dimensions and property line are accurate so was hoping to only display those. Primarily I think I want to display the roof frame floors 1 and 2 as well as the terrain but playing with the active layer display options doesn't seem to be helping.

8 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

 

 

Chief has a very good KnowledgeBase (KB) full of short FAQs and Tutorials , including on SVP's....        ( PDF can be downloaded on right under green button )

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03185/understanding-saved-plan-views.html

 

as well as Videos of course

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/videos/#playlist-100

 

 

Mick.

Thank you, I've learned a lot from those videos but will have to go back and get the fundamentals down as I've been mostly learning as I build and haven't had a lot of separate study time, Do you know if Chief also has practice prompts to try and build? I'm working on drawing my own home for practice but it's a fairly basic home layout wise.

I also seem to have run into another problem that I assume is a simple fix I'm unaware of, when I opened my plot plan view for my drawing it did not go to an overview showing the roof lines and property lines like the example in video no.1930, do you know what I need to do to get the same view as in the lesson video?

Thank you all and yes, it quickly became apparent to me I was missing some fundamental basics and appreciate all your help in catching me up to get a better understanding on how plan views are meant to be used.

Hello, I'm looking to make a site plan for an upcoming project and when watching the chief tutorial on how to do that it starts with selecting the plot plan view from the plan view drop down bar but mine does not have that as an option. Learning more about the plan views is something I'll need to spend more time on soon but was hoping for help with this one, I was able to make a new view called site plan in the layer display options but that doesn't transfer over to my drop down bar and seems like it's maybe altering the ones in my drop down bar so I stopped playing with that.

My general question is two parts

1) why dont I have a Site plan view option

2)How do I add/Import new plan views

Thanks again for taking the time to look at my question, this feels like a very basic thing I must have missed early on with the tutorial videos.

21 hours ago, robdyck said:

Edit the Crawlspace room so the floor thickness is zero and the foundation wall height is zero. Select the 2 grade beam walls and uncheck 'sill plate'. For the Addition Room, set the framing group to 2.

Also, it would be better to edit the default floor platform than to set the floor structure room-by-room or floor-by-floor.

Thank you, I think I have it all right now, I certainly have it well enough to convey my ideas to the carpenters which is most important.

On this plan I wanted the rest of the house to be full basement but then have that addition portion drawn as a different foundation, would you still recommend editing the defaults for that? I know I should start focusing on learning to properly use the defaults either way though as I'm surely wasting some time editing things

Screenshot to save from downloading more files.

37 minutes ago, robdyck said:

Follow along in the video and feel free to send me a PM if you need more help.

 

That wad great to get me on the right path, here is the drawing I'm trying to copy for the framing/foundation layout.

Addition Foundation.pdf

10 minutes ago, joey_martin said:

How are you generating? You should be able to simply draw the new foundation walls and not effect anything else.

 

using the build foundation tool is the only way I know right now.

3 minutes ago, robdyck said:

Are those 2 different things or just different wording for the same thing? 

All you need to do is draw a foundation wall around the addition. This will create a room so you can define the heights for that foundation room which will control the foundation wall heights.

Then place a pier, review it's settings and then copy it as needed.

First thing to do though is to have 2 different foundation wall types; one for existing and one for new.

yes, same thing but different wording. I should have caught that but used my phrasing the first time then the wording chief has for what I'm looking the second. It looks like that will work though, currently it's defaulting to a footing instead of beam on pier but I'll look over it and expect that will be an option.

36 minutes ago, rlackore said:

there's gotta be something I'm missing, whether that box is checked or not It deletes my basement foundation when generating the new and I'm not seeing the manual foundation building tools anywhere. 

1 hour ago, dshall said:

Turn off auto build foundation.  Build the foundations manually.

That's what I'm trying to do but I don't know how to do that.

Hello, I am working on an addition to a home and we have a full design already but I am trying to get a technical drawing put together for the city and builders we'll be bringing in.

The current building is a standard full basement but the addition will be a post and pier foundation and I'm having trouble getting the rest of the homes foundation to remain when I build the grade beam on piers option, how do I represent both at the same time on this print? 

You may notice the siding on the inside of the house, that is from the original/current home shape and the membrane roof portion is new. I'm working on setting new layer defaults so that I can better show the current layout vs planned build but that will take some time and hopefully that is the correct first step but not the issue I really need help with now. Thanks again for taking the time to look over my question.

Exterior 2.plan

Plan file

Attic 2 copy.plan.zip

Hello, I'm working on an attic render and am looking for some additional help.

My current problem is not knowing how to slope a cabinet to fit nicely against a sloped roof, I will attach two images as well as the plan file if helpful. The first image shows about where I want the cabinet and the roof line cutting through it, I'm using full height cabinets as that seemed the closest first. Second photo is just the cabinet pulled forward to give more context.

The compressed plan file was still too large so I will try posting that in a comment below

1 hour ago, Doug_N said:

2 x 6 ceiling joists may be able to support a floor, depending on the span of the joists.  Typically, ceiling joists are joined over a wall which may not be a actual load bearing wall because of support from the structure of the first floor.  I would recommend that you contact a structural engineer to review the loads that will be imposed by your proposed attic room.  That may be the best money that you spend on this project.  The cost shouldn't be prohibitive for a short meeting. 

 

You should also see if a building permit would be required for the contemplated construction.  If one is required, and you don't apply for one, and a neighbor complains, it could get very expensive quickly. 

Thank you, this project is definitely going to have a permit for the work, on top of being a rather difficult layout it is also in a Historic district that adds a bit of extra complication. A beautiful neighborhood to work in but not a convenient one.

38 minutes ago, SusanC said:

@Mackenzie,

You are doing really well to tackle an attic while being so new to Chief!  I find attics to be one of the trickiest parts to the program.  You might want to consider calling up Chief and asking for a private session with one of their personal trainers who will go through your plan with you step by step, teach you how the tools work, and can answer your questions as you work together.  I've used them many times and found it really helpful - especially when I've needed to figure something out to get a job completed.

Good luck!

Susan    

Thank you! I wasn't aware I had that resource as an option. I think it would be very helpful for me to setup at least an hour training package for someone to guide me through some of the more confusing aspects in place of sorting through a lot of long videos to find the small bits of relevant info. The videos are all very helpful but the roof relevant ones have a lot to learn in them.

16 minutes ago, Doug_N said:

Hi Mackenzie,

 

I sorted out some of the problems that you listed in your post and adjusted the stairs a bit.  The pictures posted here were not my final version of the plan file (also attached) but it may help you get to the goal that you are trying to achieve.  I have suggested a 7' ceiling to get the widest flat ceiling practical using the 12:12 pitch that you mentioned.  It is not possible to see what the ceiling joists are for the first floor, but you should make sure they are sufficient to support a typical residential floor load. 

 

  

Attic Walls.zip 856.48 kB · 0 downloads

Thank you for all the help, I will be starting on the flat roof portion soon and your file will be an awesome reference for me on how to do it correctly.

Unfortunately our ceiling joist from the floor below (attic floor joist) are old full size 2x6 but we dont have them spanning over 10'.

is there an easy way to change the flat portion to be a flat roof instead of a soffit under the roof line? I dont think this difference will matter for the purpose of this print but I'm just trying to do more things correctly as I learn to make future projects easier.

18 hours ago, solver said:

 

Thank you! that solved my issue and the walls are rendering how I need them to know, I messed with too many settings I didn't understand when trying to get the roof line down into the room and the video cleared it up. Also the wall that you selected to move to 48" was the correct wall and measurement, I just had it at 46" when I took the screenshot and probably should have moved it to represent my question more accurately.

Hi Doug and thank you for taking the time to try and help me solve this.

I went back and checked the slope of the roof again and it looks to be a 12-12 when I measured off of a level but closer to a 7' rise over 6' when I measured from where the rafters meet the exterior wall to the flat portion of roof, I will attach some photos of the space as well since drawing it is an issue for me before I learn a bit more.

First photo is me trying to measure and show the slope one handed, the second is taken from about where the bathroom wall is drawn and facing the bedroom space, the third is facing the bath alcove while standing to the right of where I had the top of the stairs drawn and the final photo is a rough sketch of the flat roof size 97"x178" with a note that it is about 7' away from the west wall.

I think my main problem that I can identify at least right now is that wall not generating in the bathroom, I didn't follow what Eric was saying since the wall will work if it's below 43" or over 52" but just doesn't work at the 48" I needed.

I only started learning the program middle of 2023 so understand I have plenty left to learn, particularly in the technical framing portions of the program but would happily watch some training videos if you could recommend one/some that would cover most of this.

I'm trying to convey a lot of confusion at once so please let me know if there's anything I need to elaborate on and thanks again for your time.

Here it is, did the first plan file not come across correctly due to me having chief open still? 

Attic.plan

I seem to keep having the same issues with my walls rendering, It will show fine when drawn within 43" of the roof edge or more than 53" away but my problem is that I need the wall positioned at 48" and I only get the base moulding and missing drywall in that range. do you know why that is happening?

Hello, I'm currently drawing up an attic remodel and looking for help with some problems or even just a starting direction on what tutorials I could watch to learn myself.

We're trying to fit a bathroom and bedroom in this attic and I keep running into issues that I think come from not having my floor levels set properly or maybe the structural settings and I'm snappingg to the wrong floors.

It seemed to be working better when I just had the one floor but was concerned the stairs I'm adding wouldn't look right without a floor below. My current problem is that some of the walls I'm trying to draw will display only the base molding and then a portion of cut out drywall above but no wall in between.

To get the roof line in the attic I set the second floor ceiling height to 1" so that the rafters would start at floor level, unchecked the flat ceiling over this room box and then went around the exterior to shift + select all the roofs and set the pitch to be 12-12 so this step may be where most of my problems come from.

Additionally this home has a neat ~10'x10' flat portion of roof in the middle that you can climb up to, this is less pressing but what would be the proper start to changing part of my roof to be flat like that?

Attic.plan

Thank you all so much for all the help and examples, I'm going to go over this all more carefully later and expect I'll be able to learn even more than I expected when asking the question!