GeneDavis

You are right, Michael, but I am such a dummy that I don't know how to use it so the arc always goes tangent (horiz.) to the start of the arrow, which is my preferred style for anno (if I feel curvy when doing it), so I do it the two-step way. Is there a way to maintain horizontal tangency when drawing such and arrow?

For simple curved leader lines, see the pic below. The steps are, do text, do arrow, then select arrow by end point at arrowhead, press ALT, and take the point where you want. Try it.

I posted the plan. "DeckProject", above. No codes apply. Or rather, there are codes, but zero inspections. We can offset balusters, but we cannot offset panels, and railings center on the wall so a mid rail and toe rail cannot be made to work. These "rails" are 1x6s and fixed to the inside face of the 2x4 newels. What I really need is a much more rich spec for deck railings, in which one can offset newels, lengthen them down below deck elevation for attachment to fascia, and apply "panel boards" to newels on whichever side one chooses.

Thanks, but the gap between panels is still there. Solution?

This thing is driving me crazy. I have done a test deck with invisible railing walls, then did a railing wall as a standalone wall up tight to the deck, outfitted with a custom newel and custom panel. I'm unable to drag the bottom of this railing down the 8-1/4" needed to reach the bottom of the 2x8 rim (fascia). I am unable to get the 1x6 boards (the panel) to butt and meet at each newel. Any ideas? DeckProject.plan

The lumberyard that prints for me (free!) doesn't have 12x18 sheets, but they have 24x36. How can I rotate my sheets so they print "tiled," i.e., side by side, pp. 1 and 2 on sheet 1, etc.?

So if I created a CAD detail I'm going to send to layout at 3/4" = 1', but came from a view with anno all at 1/4", how can I set my anno?

Have you downloaded Nashville (you can!) and inspected layers? Yes, one can put framing on a floor on one layer, and that same framing (wall, for example) for another floor on another. It's work, but the tools are there.

Thanks, Mark. I see what you did, sort of. I am wanting to do this arrangement of railing on a flat exterior deck, not the ramp. And again, the railing goes on the outside of the rimboard and its bottom is same elevation of rimboard bottom, which is 1" (decking) plus 7-1/4" (structure) = 8-1/4" below deck elevation. So total rail height with cap at 36" off deck is 44-1/4".

If you have done custom panel railings, you know drill and can save me some time, and it would be a nice instructional for readers here. Attached is a screencap from a Sketchup model I did of a ramp for an exterior wood deck, and as you can see, the railing is an arrangement of 2x4 newel posts on maybe 36" centers, with a middle rail and top rail of 1x6, and a top cap of 1x6. I did this to match an asbuilt arrangement that is getting an addition, the addition needing a ramp, a wood-framed one. Note the railing is outside the deck rim. I'm thinking the symbol is made, one newel and maybe a foot or so of rail-rail-cap, and a stretch zone done, but you've done this, and so please, expound.

Link, please? I searched and could not find.

There's a workaround that's not too bad. Since I cannot spec a layer for framing in a wall framing layer at wall def time, nor after a wall is built (in the wall spec dialog), Chief gives a path in the wall detail. Wall detail is a special kind of 2D view that allows extensive 3D editing of all framing. If you frame a wall you've defined as having a framing layer (the array of spacer pieces that form the air vent cavity), that "framing" is in its own elevation view above the wall framing. Shift-select a box to open the whole array for spec, and change the layer. Mine's called "Framing, Rainscreen Spacer." Now a 3D framing overview can show only the structural framing, or all if one wants to see the furring. Since rainscreen's only done on exterior walls, it only takes minutes to march through the wall details and do this edit.

Those that are horizontal in the pic are copy-mirrored from the other side.

When we "draw" rafters in a roof plan, Chief models them in 3D per the specs of the roof plane. The roof plane's position in 3D space is all specified by us, with elevations, pitch, and framing depth (2x10, or such), and we "draw" to place a member in the 2D plan. I cannot get a couple of rafters to model right in 3D. See the pic. One side looks right, the adjoining roof plane has them wrong. The little 2x4 rafter is an overframe, the 2x6 in foreground is not. I tried deleting the roof plane that has them wrong, and copy-reflected the "good" plane, then redrew rafters, but same "wrong" placement for these. What could it be?

We build here with the foamboard atop the footing. Why would one do it otherwise?

Your floor slab structure will have two layers, foam under concrete. It'll show in sections, and for the 3D look, turn it up and look at the bottom side. Blue foam with the CA logo!

Eric is clearly showing he has to edit the string after initial placement, to get the snaps to footings.

COLOR! That did it. Thanks a bunch!

In Eric's pic the pitches are equal and the hips center on corners. Steve's got unequal pitches and irregular hips that are offset from corners. The framer can do either and his rafter calculator will give him all the cutting numbers, but what might he prefer? I'm guessing the irregular.

What you want is tapered edge openings on the inside. It is done with two walls, the inside one with a passthru opening larger than the window opening of the wall it abuts, then the bevel feature is done with a molding, the molding inside the passthru. Check the archives with SEARCH and you will find the specifics, as this has been discussed and solved before.

I am doing all the pattern line checking, etc., to no avail. Gonna have to do the fog masks and get this job done.

And need more explanation on how to control lines at layer level.

Thanks but still no workee. I selected the layout box containing the elevation that came in as plot lines. Changed the edge lines to thickness 1 and color to white, just to go extreme, and got nothing, even after updating view. Images: the asbuilt elevation in the plan file, shown vector view. The layout with the elevation brought in as plot line image, point to point positioned, brought front forward. The spec I did to try to make it a fade.

I have a remodel job in layout and want to show the existing building as if in the fog, with thin light gray lines, and the shadows in light gray. Beginning with the elevation in the asbuilt plan file, I make sure I am in vector view, shadows on, pattern lines off, and do the export to layout using plot lines, checking ON for use edge line defaults, and for use pattern line defaults. The pattern line check is not really needed, I guess, as patterns are OFF. So off it goes and appears on the layout page. I select the view, and go and change the edge lines to something like a line weight 3 and color to a light gray. And get no change. Why no change?

Is there a secret to this? I like the feature, that we can have this second framing layer in a wall, but if I want to do a 3D framing overview, I don't want the rainscreen furring to clutter up the model image. In 3D one can select a piece at a time, or shift-select a handful, and assign to another layer, but it's gonna be tedious doing this all around.