Joe_Carrick

Scott,

You need to find another source.  Grand Entrances is asking way too much.

Wait until next Tuesday (1-20-2015).  It's fixed in X7. 

I can confirm it doesn't work in X6 elevation views for anything except CAD objects.  I do not know if it worked in X4 or not since I don't have that loaded on my system.

Uncheck the move box.  Then use Rotate about point.

I think the lady was talking about her home, and I'm sure anyone can design that. Weather its good or not is to be determined. That was a correct statement

Spelling police on duty.  The correct spelling should be Whether unless you are talking about sunshine vs rain!

Ditto............

simply--NO

Perry,

If she has said:

thinking is that a good architect or home designer currently using Chief

wouldn't your answer be YES ?  You could probably have made that condition very early and we wouldn't be sounding like a couple of warring tribes.

So eliminate the Molding Polyline, Add a Base Molding to the Room and then create a new Room Molding Polyline - converting the Base Molding.

Todd,

When you create the Room Molding Polyline - select the Drop Down and select "Base Molding" as the one to convert.  That should make a big difference.

Todd, Select the Room and use the "Create Room Molding Polyline" Tool. Set that as a "Base" molding. The door openings will not have a molding. If the shape isn't what you want then it's probably because you have some invisible walls that define rooms. The molding should always follow the inside perimeter of the room. Polylines can be broken wherever you don't want a molding and then by selecting that segment you can specify "no moldinge on this segment".

Send them a PDF.

Why do you want to do this?

Richard,

Saving $15000 in additional Architectural Fees cost that person $2500+ for Chief Architect and probably $50000 in additional construction costs.

OK, so 9-1/2" maximum riser height and 6'6" clear head height.  The minimum Tread of 7-1/2" at 12" from the inside generally means that 30 degree treads must be used.  I can get the 6'6" clearance in most cases with an 8" riser so that's why I tend to use those dimensions.

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.

Joe,  this would be a good exercise to do in your workshop.  Funny,  I did a vid on this a few years ago and it worked pretty good,  but for the life of me I cannot remember how I did it.

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.