Joe_Carrick

Bill, That's interesting but it appears that it's allowing for 9.5" maximum riser heights. My experience is that 8.5" is maximum. Maybe there's been a code change that I'm not aware of. IAE, I try to keep it around 8" just for comfort.

Yusuf, I watched your video. 360 degrees - yes, but more than 360 degrees - no. The problem with spiral stairs is that to meet code requirements for minimum tread size and maximum riser height is that for anything over 8' you have to have 13 treads and they can't be less than 30 degrees per tread. IOW, 390 degrees minimum.

OK, I see how it was done, but it's only 360 degrees and the treads are too small to meet code. The maximum would be 30 degrees and for a 9' floor to floor height it would take 13 treads at 30 degrees to meet the code rise and run requirements. The bottom line is that this doesn't provide a legal spiral. That said, it is still an excellent use of Chief's limited capability to do spiral stairs. For anything up to a full 360 degrees it works.

Sure, the output (last line of the macro) would be: %room.area.internal%*0.08 or the macro could be: DLO_REQD = %room.area.internal%*0.08 return DLO_REQD

It's possible with Ruby but more work than it's worth. The problem is that there's no connection between the window and the room. You can get the room area into a global variable but you would have to have a separate macro for each window that would access the global for the room that it's located in. OTOH, it would be fairly simple to have that data displayed in the room label - at least you would be able to see it so it would be easier to add to your schedule.

FWIW, here's the "Doorway Rules" that I did about 5 years ago.DOORWAY RULES.pdf It's a bit complicated and not that easy to understand - largely because it's very complicated - but I don't think anything substantial has changed since this document was written.

Maybe if time permits. Doorways are a subject that would almost need it's own workshop. Someplace I have a "Doorways Rules" document that itemizes all the nuances of that symbol class. I'll see if I can dig it up and put together a demo.

There is a saying: Doctors can bury their mistakes. Architects have them built for everyone to see.

It is unfortunate that this thread has deteriorated into a bashing contest. Every client deserves quality design and no designer (Architect or Not) should be excused from providing that level of service. For most people who simply want a good livable and attractive home there are "Plan Shops" with stock plans that can be modified a bit. For those that want something special they need to hire a professional who listens to what they want and does the best possible job for them. Forcing a design on a client that is contrary to their wants and needs is unconscionable. I have no objection to unlicensed designers doing residential projects but I can't respect anyone that just puts out a cookie cutter home design for a custom home. That's cheating the client. When I was just starting my career I did some tracts for builders. I did some that I think were excellent and some that were just so-so. I made a reasonable profit on those jobs. OTOH, I have done many custom homes and just as many remodel projects that I am proud of and probably spent 2-3 times as much time as I got paid for. Chief Architect has made it easier to do my job but the thought and time that I put into the design itself hasn't really changed. At one time I would expect to spend about 50% of the time on design and 50% on the Construction Documents. Now it's about 85% on design and 15% on ConDocs. IMO anyone using Chief Architect that isn't close to a 4:1 ratio is either a design genius or not a designer at all. btw, I have not designed a perfect custom home yet and I've been doing this for over 45 years. Personally I don't think there is such a thing as perfection - but I keep trying. The problem now is that in most cases I am my own client and I'm really hard to satisfy.

You just need to suppress the casings and specify that the doorway has a full arch. Note also that my doorway was designed for a room with a 13' minimum ceiling. Once the doorway has been inserted into the wall and appears correct you will need to select a door symbol from the library and place it in the opening.

Perry, I never try to scare anyone. OTOH, a good designer is an investment that shouldn't be taken lightly. It is true that only licensed Architects are legally able to advertise "Architectural Design" but that doesn't mean that all Architects are excellent designers and it doesn't mean that there aren't those who are excellent designers but are not licensed architects. Julie should determine what she needs and interview both Architects and others who might provide the services she needs to select the person that will do the best job. She might need just a simple set of drawings for permit or she might need much more. A local Architect or Building Designer using Chief Architect would make sense due to the efficiency of taking her existing HD files and proceeding from there. Local would be best because of familiarity with local conditions and practices - but that's not absolutely required.

Here's a similar Doorway Symbol that I created a couple of years ago. It's not the correct size for your situation but it will provide an idea of what you need to do. You would also need a Door Symbol with a round top to fit your Doorway Arched Doorway.calibz

As a part of the Doorway Symbol. When the Symbol has been created and stored in the Library you can right click on the library object and open the dbx. There is a tab where you can specify the number of sections and identify each one as to function and size. This will control how it appears in Plan and where a door will be placed.

Create the Surround using whatever 3D Tools you like and convert it to a Doorway Symbol. You will need to specify the fixed and opening sections in the symbol can place a door (custom in this case) into the opening. There was a thread on this in the old forum but I don't remember where exactly.

The biggest problem with that is that it can't be 360 degrees or more and the handrail flexibility is very limited.

Sally, Take a look at the "ARCH" options in the Window dbx. It can all be done there very easily. You might have to experiment a bit but it is there. I or someone else could show you exactly - but you'll remember it better and learn more if you have to get there yourself.

Todd, You are very welcome. I could have taken your plan and done it for you - or I could have given you detailed steps. But I'm a firm believer in the "Learn by Doing" method so that's what I tried to lead you to. I'm glad it worked.

Todd, Copy all those lights to the "dummy floor" which is actually the floor that has the vaulted ceiling. Then delete them from the floor below.

There are some in the Library but they are limited in the n umber of treads and generally don't provide an accurate portrayal. I have a system where I use all the components which I've created as symbols to "build" a spiral stair of whatever size I need. Putting it together basically requires: 1. Center Post 2. 30 degree Tread 3. Riser (if needed) 4. Baluster(s) 5. 30 degree section of Handrail 6. Landing & maybe a Landing Railing Section. I combining these elements and then use "Transform Replicate" to copy/repeat/rotate to get the right number of Tread Sections with railings. I then convert the entire assembly into a symbol which can be stretched or compressed to fit the exact floor to floor height and diameter. It's a bit of work, but once done the resulting symbol can be used for future similar configurations. If the number of treads and risers needs to be changed I just repeat the process and I have a new Spiral Stair. btw, I have several different railing and tread/riser symbols that I can use to build spiral stairs.

Do you mean circular or spiral?

Just add a Floor and set the height to 1". I also use this technique for "Interstitial Space". Sometimes that's just a 24"-60" space between habitable floors dedicated to utilities.

Todd, There are relatively easy ways of solving this. One of the first things I would do would be to create a dummy floor about 1" high directly above and set it as open below. That will eliminate the wall intersections at the cathedral ceiling. The Shower can be done with specific wall types and aspecial opening (doorway) with a "No Room Definition" Wall inserted into the opening. I'm sure Scott is perfectly capable of making these changes very quickly. It's really a matter of knowing the tricks.

Johnny, I guess it's my woodworking and building experience that tends to make using Chief for this so easy. I tend to think in terms of the small components being put together into larger constructs. I just build my symbols the same way I would in real life. I've also grown quite comfortable with adding and subtracting 3D shapes using the boolean operations [add, subtract, union] in order to create more complex forms.

If you make one board (vertical) and convert that to a symbol, you can then place that Symbol and rotate it in any direction using the symbol dbx. Put 2 of those together to form the "A-Frame" and convert that to a Symbol. Note. If you carefully create the first board (including a face) you can assign a material to the face so that you have an advertisement. Building symbols this way out of primitives and other symbols is important because you have much more control of materials and orientation.

It will be much better if you learn how to create a Symbol. Basically, chief allow you to put together any combination of 3D objects in a blank plan - then display it in a 3D View and "Convert to Symbol". There are a lot of options in that tool so that the resulting symbol will function as an intelligent object (door, window, cabinet door, furniture, appliance, etc.) These symbols can be named in your user library so that you can easily retrieve them for future use. Some of the 3D tools you can use to assemble a complex symbol are: 1. Primitive Solids (Box, Cylinder, Sphere, Cone, Pyramid, Truncated Pyramid, Face) 2. Polyline Solids 3. Soffits 4. Slabs 5. Molding Polylines Really, anything in Chief that can be displayed in 3D can be used to build a complex 3D Symbol. The Symbol will automatically have a 2D Block that will be shown in the Plan View. Materials can be assigned to any part of such symbols and they will be a part of the symbol in the Library. Doing everything in CAD as you've been attempting is way to much work. Learn to use the Library and Symbol Creation and you will quickly be miles ahead of where you are now.