Alaskan_Son

Change the Baseline Height and Roof Pitch to match the design criteria presented in the plans posted by @tundra_dwellerand see if your approach still works.

Despite some of the posts above that purport there are wall, ceiling plane, or roof plane settings that will stop the walls from ballooning up through, I have yet to see any solid evidence of this and believe it to be a simple bug/program limitation. I'd be very interested to see if anyone can take the plans posted by @tundra_dweller and keep the wall from framing up through without changing anything about the roof structure and without turning off auto framing. I can get the walls to stop generating through, but not without changing the Baseline Height, Roof Pitch or some other crucial setting.

I agree that a second framing layer should have some options for how headers are generated but I don't believe you'll find any settings that will preclude them from generating. I think you're looking at manual framing modifications one way or another. It just comes down to finding the most effective way of doing that. I think this would make for a good suggestion. I'm not sure what the best implementation might look like, but I would personally like to keep any non-structural walls or extra framing layers from generating full headers and instead would like to have all those openings generate a generic header of my choosing. Maybe if we had 2 different header options for openings...a load bearing header and a non-load bearing header. We could then specify which header type any given framing layer was supposed to use. I don't know. Just spitballing.

Here's what I would likely do: Paste the picture into a blank elevation view Create the outline shape of the door using CAD tools Either convert the resulting polyline to a molding line and apply moldings OR create a full outline of the entire frame and convert to a solid. Select the resulting object(s) and Convert Selected to Symbol Click on the Options tab of the resulting symbol and set to Inserts into Wall along with the appropriate distance. Drop the symbol into a wall In an elevation view, select the symbol, and adjust the Wall Cutout Polyline so that it follows the shape of the symbol. Place an overlapping Doorway in the same location to provide a proper cutout at the floor and to optionally provide the desired trimmers and header. Here's a plan with a fully functional example: Doorway.plan Note: I didn't adjust the framing. The extent to which framing may need to be manually adjusted depends on your Doorway settings and on how they may relate to the Wall Cutout Polyline.

They've been adjusted manually so they're no longer automated:

I think you're presenting an XY Problem here. You're attempting to use the floor_finish_name to report information for what's underneath--something that it cannot possibly do. A crawlspace with no slab for example would still report a "concrete" floor. Even if we were to expand the idea and also check for an underlying floor structure, we would still have problems. A deck or patio with planks and decking for example would report as having "Sub-floor". In addition, an Open Below room would report its own floor data even though it has no floor and a Floor Supplied by Foundation Room Below would have similar problems. What you really need is to write a macro that checks for the room settings and then returns information about the actual model data based on that. I offer this and other Chief related consultation and support services and would be happy to help you set something up if you'd like, but here are a couple macro examples on the house just to give you a taste and get you started: Let's start with one that works exactly like your basic request: if floor_finish_name.empty? "Concrete" else floor_finish_name end We test to see if the floor_finish_name is an empty string. If it is, we replace it with the word "Concrete". Otherwise we use the actual floor_finish_name. And one that deals with your extra credit (but more properly): if floor_finish_name.empty? and floor_platform_layers.any? floor_platform_layers[0].material_data.description else floor_finish_name end Again, we test to see if the floor_finish_name is an empty string but this time we also check to make sure whether or not there are any underlying floor_platform_layers. If the name string is empty and there are any floor platform layers, then we simply report the actual floor platform material data (whether "Concrete", "OSB", "Trex Decking", or anything else). Otherwise we simply report the empty floor_finish_name string since there is neither a floor finish nor a floor platform. Again, there may be more things to consider as well, but that should get your started. If you'd like anything beyond that, shoot me over an email or send me a PM and we can take it from there.

I don't think there's anything to say. I think Chief just likes to automatically snap to the center of the object's 2D Block on the face furthest from the wall. The only thing I can think of is to change your 2D Block to something completely (or at least nearly) flat before using the Connect Electrical tool. Then change the Block back after the fact.

Ya, there are some nuances and your idea is still a good one. I was just pointing out that Charles did indeed realize that he could incorporate a wall to hold the outlet but that he was trying to avoid using that approach.

There are a few solutions but the easiest is probably this: Defaults Settings>Electrical>General Electrical>Switch - 3 Way>Edit>Change Name to "2-Way Switch". Click Okay. Again, there are a few options but most effective is probably this: CAD>CAD Block Management>Three Way>Edit>Change the "3" to a "2". Close the Edit Window and click Save.

Charles already mentioned this method earlier in thread. Its the method he was trying to avoid using. As he said:

That looks almost identical to one that I modeled and posted several years ago:

You actually don't need to convert to an array. upper_layers[0].material_data.quantity should do it.

The only walls with these off heights were manually manipulated...

There are a lot of complexities, oddities, and options to consider including but not limited to: Your Auto Story Pole Dimensions Defaults. In particular, whether or not you have Primary Height Marks Only checked. If you have this setting checked, you won't pick up on any wall heights aside from the very first one Chief finds without having to cross the model. The fact Top of Wall has been renamed "Top of Plate". Might seem like a minor detail, but I think it might be worth considering what Chief is actually measuring to. The wall (parametric object) and the actual plate (framing object) are 2 different things. Your 1st Floor Defaults. If for example you change your default ceiling height to 121-1/8" your problem goes away. If not, Chief is calculating your Top of Wall based on the (Baseline Height - Raise Off Plate - Vertical Structure Depth) or the location at which your roof is cutting off your wall. Repurposing Top of Wall isn't your only option. You can also simply use Rough Ceiling which is specifically designed to return the numbers I think you're actually looking for. You can manually snap to any of the relevant elevation data points after the dimensions are automatically generated. You're not limited to just those picked up by the Auto Dimension tool.

You might try placing a Temporary Point and toggling Edit>Edit Behaviors>Rotate/Resize about Current Point. Using this approach you can use the rotate handle or the Make Parallel/Perpendicular tool.

I assume you're wanting the "Attached To" column in the schedule to report "Wall" instead of "Floor"? If so, you can use a Custom Object Information Field along with a custom macro instead of the built in column. You could also simply exclude any of those objects from the schedule. If you need them for the quantity still though, you could add the appropriate quantity into a wall off to the side just as placeholders.

You need to make sure that the plan is closed before zipping or else the resulting file is empty. Chief locks the plan file while its open.

Are those Roof Beams or are they Rafters?

Build Foundation>Edit Default Slab Footing OR Default Settings>Walls>Slab Footing and then click on the Wall Types tab, check Pony Wall, and set the upper wall to Room Divider.

Try setting your Default Slab Footing to a Pony Wall using a Room Divider as its main wall type.

Sorry, but I don't believe that there are any defaults that will control that setting. A couple tips though: In my experience, the Display Bounding Box setting is only checked by default if the objects in the Block are different object types. If objects are all the same object type, then the setting is left unchecked. This doesn't necessarily solve your problem, it's just something to know. The bounding box is controlled by the Architectural Block layer's line style. Changing that line stye to the invisible line style will essentially just make it disappear. If your goal then is to always have no bounding box lines without having to open up any dialogs, you can either make sure to only block items of the same type, or change the line style for the Architectural Blocks layer. The latter option does however mean that you couldn't check Display Sub-Object using Block Layer.

Click on Plan Defaults and see what they say in there.

This doesn't necessarily mean that they're using the same material. You can have 2 materials with the same name.

I currently do this in a roundabout way by placing a break in the wall at that desired location. A small section of perpendicular Room Divider Wall at that desired break location can help give more refined control over where the break takes place and can be relocated to move the break. The main downside of course is that you're no longer dealing with a single wall. To keep the wall from auto merging you have to either toggle Auto Merge Colinear Walls off or change something about the adjacent walls (reverse layers, change a structural setting, or just create a copy of the wall type).

There definitely seems to be some weirdness with the Inserts Into Wall Symbol behaviors when it comes to both railing walls and off angle walls. Not something I feel too inclined to dig into, but I can easily reproduce and see what you're talking about. Here's a couple ideas fro you to possibly play with though: You might try using an Inserts Into Wall Symbol or even windows for the slat panels instead of the other way around. This way you'll simply be attaching to a solid wall. If you decide you still have to use a railing, you may find that inserting the symbol before converting to a railing will behave a little differently.