Joe_Carrick

What version of Chief are you using? X10 has a Niche Tool and also the ability to insert a Symbol into a Wall. Prior versions can be done with a Symbol blocked with a "Wall Material Region".

I moved the Laundry room about 3 feet so it would be within the 14' limit

Alan, Check with the local building department. In San Diego they would not accept the in-line booster.

Fills are not materials. Only materials have texture. Use a thin solid or psolid with a material.

Michael, I gave you a point for that reply. I'm actually shocked that Scott wasn't aware of the differences between those tools.

No, but you can put "D-" to precede the number for Doors "W-" to precede the number for Windows

What happens if you change the Default Wall Cabinet to "Framed"?

Robert, Nice solution. I use a lot of custom OIP fields but I hadn't thought of that one.

If you are using X10 you can enter information in the "Object Information Panel" rather than using the "Components". You can even set this up in the "Defaults".

Open the Railing dbx and check "No Half Post at Wall". There are other selections for Newell/Post spacings as well. In general, you will need to experiment to get exactly what you want.

I've been busy working on some Plan Check corrections so I haven't been able to finish this package. I'm still working on a few refinements before I do a video. I have some questions about Wind Adjustment Factors on IRC Table R602.10.3(2) Item 1 - Exposure Category: What are Conditions B,C & D ? Item 2 - Do I need to include the Roof Eave-to Ridge height Adjustment ? Items 5-7 - Can I skip these Adjustments ? Thanks.

Yes, but I haven't figured how much yet. It will probably be between $150 and $200. It's taken about 6 hours so far to get it working the way I want and I don't know how many people will be willing to purchase it. Obviously it's going to save me (and anyone else) several hours per project so I think it's definitely worth the money. ps: my PayPal account is chriscoll@dslextreme.com

Yes, as long as they don't include the same type of Cabinet (Base, Wall, Full, Shelf, Partition). In this case I am limiting the Schedule to Shelves. I don't include Shelves in any other Cabinet Schedule. I put the Braced Wall Panels in a Furniture Schedule - need it to get the panel sizes, floor, etc.

I've almost finished the Seismic (including adjustment factors) and will be working on a video Monday night. I have a system set up so that the standard OIP fields for the Braced Walls and Panels are used to set the variables for the adjustments. I'm using "Cabinet Shelves" to define the "Braced Wall Lines" and a "Furniture Symbol" to define the "Braced Panels". It's turning out to be a really cool system. Macros attached to the "Braced Wall Lines" determine the base panel lengths and also set the adjustment factors which are multiplied by those lengths to display the "Required Lengths". "Braced Panels" are then added to the model and lengthened as needed to meet the requirements. It's all Displayed in a Cabinet Schedule limited to "Shelves". The next step will be to incorporate all the Wind requirements. That's going to be fairly easy to do - since I have the system worked out. When finished I will have both Seismic and Wind Requirements all within a Single Schedule.

There are also icons on the Edit Tool Bar when a cabinet is selected so you can show/hide them individually per cabinet. I think this was available with X9 - but for sure with X10

I use StruCalc for everything but trusses and I do stamp the calcs.

Ahhh.... They take my stamp and they will take the Residential Code prescriptive lateral bracing.

OK, that will be for Wind. I will make the system work for both Wind Zones and for Seismic Zones. It's just a matter of including the Code Table data.

Perry, This would be for using the requirements and allowable bracing values in the Residential Code - Chapter 6, Tables R10.3(1)(2)(3) Use of these tables eliminates the need for engineering calculations. With the CS-WSP (Continuous Sheathed Walls) you generally don't even need any HDs - Just ABs. I know that many engineers don't like using this Method but it's perfectly fine. Most large builders use it because it eliminates a lot of fussy foundation work setting HDs. Programming the requirements into a Macro Package makes it possible to automatically determine the requirements for each Continuous Braced Wall Line. Then it's a simple matter of adding the Braced Panels to meet those requirements.

Do I need to allow for: Wind Loads? Different Seismic Zones? Any Methods other than CS-WSP? Masonry veneered walls? Which adjustment factors? Anything else you can think of? All of the above require extra variables within the macros to determine the required total panel lengths. They also require a way to initialize those variables. Either macros to set them or inclusion in the BWL attributes. It's really a matter of preference as to how these things are defined.

You can resize the columns to reduce the width. Also, renaming the column headings can reduce the column widths.

I am making progress with the prescriptive method. Currently I am able to get the required data from the model (with some extra cabinet partition & shelf objects). These items have been added to my user Library for easy addition to the model in a manner very similar to Rene's example. I have been able to put that information into a Schedule. Braced Wall IDs Braced Wall Lengths Sum of Braced Wall Panels on each Braced Wall Line Floor Number Number of Stories Story Heights. My next step is to add the Residential Code requirements and values into Chief in such a way that I can retrieve them and perform the calculations to determine what the code requires to compare with the current state of the model. This will allow the model to be modified to match those code requirements. I should have a working example by next Monday.

Yep. Actually a 2.25" Radius would match the overall outside diameter of a 4" drain pipe.

You have little faith but in a way, you're right. It's going to take several macros - at least 4-5 - as a package to do the job.

FWIW, I'm working off of the 2016 IRC and will incorporate that code as much as possible. In some cases it will require setup by the user to allow proper calculations but for this exercise I'm limiting it to CBWLs.. Note that the Adjustment Factors and Loading will have to be established and specifically entered into a text file or macro depending on the job.