Joe_Carrick

Sorry Glenn, It's an X8 Plan so I can't post it in this Forum. Only X8 Beta users would be able to open it. IAE, I checked the Wall dbx - Structure Panel..... "Stop at Floor Below" wasn't checked. I'm not sure how that happened but that was the problem.

I'm using SIP walls and I can't get the 1st Floor Platform to frame to the exterior face of the SIPs. Chief insists on making the SIP's go down to the sill plate and puts the Floor framing inside. Is this normal? Do I need to make a stud wall with 48" stud spacing to get this to work?

Right, You can change PlainText to Rich Text but you can't change Rich Text to PlainText.

In addition, with Rich Text, any individual Letters, Words or Lines can be different. With just plain Text everything is the same.

Glenn, Here's the problem: My method places a full height post on each floor (1,2,3,4,5....) and it appears correct in 3D as well as on each Floor Plan - but there's more than one in the materials list or framing schedule. Your method shows correctly in 3D and is correct in the materials list and framing schedule but can only show on 2 Floor Plans using a Reference Set. With more than 2 Floors the Reference Set will not show the post on all Floors.

Brian, I think the only way Chief could do this would be to have a "toggle" to "Show on all Floors". But that wouldn't work either if you wanted it to show only on specific floors. Here's how I would handle it: 1. Place the Post on Floor 1. 2. Open it's dbx and lock the Bottom. 3. Set the Top Height as needed 4. Close the dbx 5. Copy (Ctrl_C) 6. Go to each of the other Floors and "Paste Hold Position" (Ctrl_Alt_V) There will actually be multiple Posts but it will look the way you want - all of them will be at the exact same location in the model but will be visible on all floors. It's not perfect, but the only real downside is that the material list (and maybe the "X8 Framing Schedule") would be wrong.

Less elevation data will always produce a smoother terrain. Also consider some small (strategically placed) elevation regions which will tend to make smoother transitions from level to sloped areas.

I do it with custom user macros. Chief hasn't provided that capability in their Global Macros. Join my Macro a Month Club and you will have that capability very soon. Check in the "Services Offered" Forum for the "Macro a Month Subscription"

This really points out why dimensions from floor to floor can't be relied on when using Lumber for Floor Joists. Green vs Dry can be 1/4" different. But if you think that's bad - Log Construction typically must allow for at least 2" shrinkage per Story/Floor and the Door and Window Openings need to allow for a minimum 1-1/2" shrinkage.

X7 allows multiple Framing Layers in a Wall Type.

Joey, Try this - use a 2" stud wall with a finish on only one side. Turn it back on itself as shown (3 segments). The Shower wall can then be moved freely without clipping the stud wall.

Keith, I'm also a descendant of the British. My ancestry goes back to the Rhode Island Colony in 1626. IAE, the 2x_ was originally 2" rough cut lumber Then at some point in time (early 1900's I think) they started planing them to make them smooth so that splinters were less likely. Hence the 1-3/4" size. About 1950-1960 they reduced it to 1-5/8". I'm not sure exactly how that came about but I believe it was about shrinkage as the lumber was dried after milling. In the 1960-1970 time frame they reduced it to 1-1/2" - probably just to save material (more yield per log).

There are a couple of possibilities: 1. Make the Garage just 1 Floor with the Ceiling Height equal to the 2nd Floor Ceiling of the rest of the structure. 2. Make the Exterior Walls at the Garage "Balloon Thru". #2 is the best solution IMO. You only have to do that for one wall. Chief will take care of the rest.

Keith, That 1/2" was lost incrementally. 2" 1 3/4" 1 5/8" 1 1/2" It's also interesting to note that the metric equivalents are not the same in all countries.

It would be a lot easier for the entire world to adopt the "Carrick Calendar" which is based on the lunar month than for the USA to adopt the Metric system of measurement. OTOH, we long ago adopted a decimal monetary system

Glenn, From that standpoint it's very easy. But from a standpoint of working between an Imperial and a Metric country it gets more complicated because the sizes of the manufactured materials are just not equal.

I remember 0.18/gallon. That was a few years after I helped Amenhotep build the Great Pyramid

That's a nice wish but be careful what you wish for. It would cause a lot of teeth gnashing when trying to do a remodel in the USA. All of our existing construction is based on 12" increments. (304.8 mm) which would be a b****h to work with. A meter is a nice module but I think (I could be wrong) most metric sheet goods are 1200x2400 mm (just under 4'x8'). Maybe it's 1220x2440 which is just over 4'x8'. IAE, it's not really as simple as just changing the units. Lots of manufacturing would have to be changed an a lot of old guys would need their brains re-wired.

Just a note: The "Room Box" edit handles work the way I would like "Square Post Footing" edit handles to work and vice-versa.

No, I made a boo-boo when entering the date - I fixed it in my OP.

My SSA is current until 8-30-2015. I may have to pay for the next year by 1-16-2016 to save $50.

Sherry, I found that you can make a room larger and then superimpose another room to "notch out" a corner to create an "L" shape of the underlying room. I would really prefer that the "Room Boxes" could be broken and shaped. IAE, once "Build Floor" is selected the walls can be edited. I still think it's a pretty good way to get a basic floor layout. OTOH, it wouldn't bother me - in fact I would prefer - if it didn't put any doors in since they usually aren't what I want and I just have to change them. BTW, I prefer to have the overall Floor (Exterior Walls) as a guide/constraint to placing the Room Boxes.

My educated guess would be that the Foundation (Floor 0) is being used as the "Reference" for the Basement Plan (Floor 1)

I've been experimenting with the Space Planner (not the Room Planner App) and have found it useful but in a some ways limited. 1. The Room Boxes can only be rectangular 2. Rooms don't allow for Ceiling and Floor Elevations to be edited 3. Once converted to Walls (Build Floor) the Room Boxes can be toggled back on but they do not reflect the current wall locations that have resulted from edits to the Floor Plan 4. Fills are not automatically transparent so current walls, stairs, etc tend to be hidden, making it difficult to edit the Room Boxes to match the Floor Plan. OTOH, I find that there is an advantage to using this tool to quickly get a basic configuration on each Floor.

I've had clients that pulled that kind of thing. But it hasn't happened to me in the last 40 years. The only way to avoid it is to be careful chosing who you want to work for. Get advance payments! Don't do any work until you've been paid for the next phase. You can break the project into segments with a specific fee or hourly rate. If the client won't agree to that arrangement then walk away before you start any work. The chance are that you'll get stiffed.