Joe_Carrick

Alan, Create a 3rd Floor 1/16" tall (Attic Room - No Ceiling) and put your Floating Dormers there. They will not show on the 2nd Floor Plan but will show in your Elevations.

Lighthouse, When you select the "Fillet Edit Mode" you can then grab a corner handle of a Layout Box and pull it inward. This will fillet all corners at the same time. That is how it works. It is very different from the normal Fillet Tool.

Scott, Display a Plan in 3D - with the interiors (including interior walls, cabinets, appliances, etc) turned off. Then convert to Symbol as "Exterior Furniture". Charlie says not to include in the Library - but I don't have a problem with doing that since it makes the symbol more readily available. When placed in your Terrain they will sit on the ground - but you may need to adjust for the foundations.

Mick, The Layout Box knows what Plan it came from. When you open a Layout the associated Plans are opened - but not necessarily displayed in the Project Browser. However, if you double click on a Layout Box, that Plan and View will be located. Levis's system will work fine - even with multiple Plans.

I think Glenn means "Edit Behaviors". That does work to fillet the Layout Box.

I think the biggest problem is that if you "Paint" a Stucco Wall with Siding it will look like siding in 3D but the Wall Definition will still say it's Stucco. IOW, what you see is not what the model is.

Scott, This method can be done either in the Layout or in the CAD Detail Window. I prefer the CAD Detail Window simply because the Mask in in Real World Units whereas in the Layout it's "Paper Size".

Lighthouse, Create a Rectangle just slightly larger than the Layout Box. Select the "create a hole" icon and create a square the size you want the circle to be. Fillet that hole (radius = 1/2 hole size) Set the rectangle to have a solid fill (match background) and edit the Linestyle to the same color. Essentially you've created a "Mask" to cover the part of the detail you don't want to see.

No, it adds another color/texture mixed with the wall surface material. The problem is that you get a mix rather than a complete change.

Fillet the Corners

I almost always have at least 2 floors but often have 3-4 and when I send them to Layout I want them to be at the same location on different sheets. So here's the way I do it: 1. I have a rectangle (144' x 96') which I blocked and placed on Layer "CAD, Arch-D' and added to my Library 2. I place that on all my First Floor Plan so that it encompasses the Plan. 3, I then Copy and "Paste In Place" to all the other Floor Plans. 4. Next I lock that Layer When I send the Floor Plans to Layout, they are all located at the same location on their respective sheets. Then I go back to the Plan and turn of the display of that Layer - which turns it off in the Layout as well. Note, the (144' x 96') corresponds to the Arch-D Sheet size for a 1/4"=1' scale plan. For different scales or sheet sizes I use a different size rectangle. The key is to make the rectangle match the size of the layout sheet.

Bumped again

No telling, but it probably has to do with Layers (CAD Blocks and the underlying lines, fill, etc.)

Shane, There is so much wrong with those symbols. The CAD Blocks and underlying objects are on the wrong layers for example. I don't know who made them but the CAD Block is on the "Roof Layer" which makes no sense.

Larry, Select counter top open and select line style front group move to front ok

Window Symbols don't inset into Walls in Plan View. Other than that, yes you can probably do all of it with pieces - but how reuseable is it?

Post the Plan

Yusuf, Many niches are much more than just a framed opening the full depth of the wall. They sometimes - such as the "Washer Hook-Up" have other items inside them. Sometimes they have domed arches like a couple of my symbols. Most of the time they have a back that is not simply one material. The sides may be sloped, the niche may be only partially recessed, etc. My reason for preferring the Symbol approach is the increased flexibility.

I prefer niche symbols with transparent material regions blocked together. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/4413-wall-niches-library-revised/?hl=niche

Not only a complete dbx but also attributes that can be accessed to provide the needed information as well as allowing attributes to be modified resulting in modifications to the Plan. OTOH, we should be careful about "Code Compliance" in the software as it would be very possible to overly constrain what could be done. A lot of the IBC is unnecessarily limiting - exceptions are allowed with engineering documentation and backup. There are new products and systems appearing all the time that surpass what the IBC requires.

Kevin, I agree that StruCalc is a good way to go for final engineering and printed calculations. What it doesn't do is take the loads and framing member layout directly from the Chief Plan. If there was a direct export to StruCalc from a Chief Plan and a Import back into the Plan it would be great. What I'm trying to do is simply provide some basic preliminary sizing so the Plan doesn't have to be changed later. If the preliminary sizing is done directly within Chief then there's less chance that the results from detailed analysis like StruCalc or from an Engineer will result in problems.

Big-Rigs on the 10 Freeway - really scary when it blows. I've see a couple go over sideways. I also remember many years ago having my windshield pitted so badly on the 215 just north of San Bernardino that I had to get it replaced at Park City the next day (January) because the snow just stuck and it was impossible to see.

Only a 7.5 or 8 - not a 9.0 But I do see that you are in the special Los Angeles to the Salton Sea (Flat-Lander) wind zone - and most of your projects are 1-2 stories so the weight isn't as much which accounts for lower seismic forces. We don't have the same wind loads down here in San Diego County and winds up in the San Bernardino mountains are lower.

These questions are for everyone..... What psf wind loads do you have to design for in your local? What is your local?

Really Perry? You're practically sitting on top of the San Andreas. I would think seismic would be critical.