GeneDavis

Scott Hall hosted an excellent session via GTM yesterday afternoon, the topic being Saved Plan Views. We had participants who had no SPV experience and needed to know what they are, exactly, then how to get started. We had at least one SPV power user. Some said that with SPV, that annotation sets are kaput, and will disappear in future. But we came to a different conclusion after discussion. Annosets are here to stay and are as powerful as ever, with the focus being on using them for all the other camera views beyond straight-down plan views. It would be great if Chief would do a series of videos showing all the uses of default sets to control the views for full-house elevations, sections, clipped sections, wall elevations, and more. Here, let's see if others can contribute in this thread, with some hints about their use. Joey Martin's use of default sets in doing elevations and sections would be a good subtopic here. One takeaway I had after yesterday's GTM was that now with X12 and the SPV functionality, it might be best to do a complete review of all the layersets and default sets I've built and saved, and maybe throw out 90 percent of it, restarting with Chief's OOB X12 and its panoply of SPVs, and rebuild from there.

Wow, Joey! The section cut with the beyond all in fog and the sections lines all crisp and black. How is that done with an anno set?

Show us the dialog box for the parts when selected. And same for a nearby that gets treated as expected. Notice how they differ in plan view from others. Copy one of the nearby joists that are labeled and edit to proper length.

Thanks, Scott! Informative session.

It varies by region, but in the northeast it is common to see 8 foot and 9 foot ceiling heights specified at 1-1/8" over for rough height, and the lumber yards stock precut studs for both these heights. Some markets also have precuts for 10 foot walls at the same "plus 1-1/8"" logic. So it is common for me, or had been until now, to do ceiling heights for walkout basements so as to use the same precut studs for wall framing. It turns out it can cause problems at build time, if using Chief material lists for framing, due to the inaccuracies of foundation wall building and floor slab pours. I use the material lists to provide resonably good takeoff info for builders, and I know the info gets used. I advise it's just a guide and to add for waste and errors and bracing, blocking, etc. For all the 2x4 and 2x6 material, I have the material list structural reporting (I generate the buy list) set up to count just the precut stud lengths, and 16 footers. That is it unless there is some (rare) balloon or tall wall framing happening that needs 18, 20, 22 or even 24 footers. A walkout project with a big footprint and beds baths and closets and more on floor zero can end up with hundreds of 2x6 and 2x4 precuts in the tally, if the walls are set to that precut wall height. And if the contractor buys to that list, the problem rears its ugly head when the wall height needs to be taller than specified, something that a less-than-precise foundation build can cause. It would be the pour from heaven if for a big walkout basement job, the framers could build all the wall frames using precuts, laying on the slab, then stand all up and have to top plates all nice and level, and level with that big perimeter of mudsill that has been bolted down on the concrete wall tops. What really happens is that string and levels and lasers come into play and every stud is cut to a mark, and the framing is all a bespoke suit. But you cannot stretch a stud. If the variance is plus, meaning the walls need to be taller, you either quickly call the yard and get 350 10/0 lengths and return the 350 precut 9s you have, or you extra-plate, usually at the wall bottoms. Then you need more 16s. So now I go to the nominal number 8/0, 9/0, or 10/0 for the ceiling heights on floor 0, let the material list still count the studs as precuts, and figure that if the pours are perfect, they are gonna whack 1-1/8" off all the studs. And I hope that the poor joe doesn't have a job that went 1-1/8" the other way. What have you been doing for floor 0 ceiling height?

Hmmmm. Who to up and who to down?

Filename dot plan please. Pics help, but need the model.

Here are the plan views a really complete set of con docs might have, and each one can have a saved plan view. Plot or site plan: bounds, setbacks, building location, driveway Grading plan: cut, fill, retaining walls, boulder and rock walls, all the stuff you do to modify existing terrain. Landscape plan: the plantings and hardscape, including pools. Foundation plan. Floor 1 plan. Floor 2 plan. More if needed. Floor 0 plan. This is the buildout in or on floor 0. Roof plan. Ceiling plans for any floor needing them. Floor framing for each structural floor. Roof framing plan or plans if one has them scattered. "Zoom" plans, which I call any plan that needs a closer look to get all the built stuff defined, and kitchens and baths are included here, but staircases, home office, media rooms, studios, anything with a little cabinetry or complexity is included. Electrical plans for floors 0 on up. Plumbing plans. One of my guys always wants the DWV figured out and diagrammed. Your con docs might have more needs than these, but whatever they are, it is worth the full day or however many hours you'll take to build your template plan (or plans) to have these. As for "working" SPV, I think a no-dimensions version of the floor 0, 1, 2, etc. is right for that. If you are needing to render to show furnished and accessorized interior and exterior spaces, take copies of those un-annotated plan views and make a set for floor 0 on up, for your rendering needs.

When anno sets were introduced it was the new hotness and designed to ease the job of setting up views for layout. The cool and powerful feature of annosets was the layerset tie-in. You could either choose to specify a layerset in an annoset, or leave it as "use active layerset." I thought of it, and used it the "active" way and created annosets that "drove" views by opening up views with the specified layerset active, and having defaults all set up for text, dimensions, etc., plus the desired active CAD default set. But now Plan Views supplants all that and brings in a technique where everything a "driving" annoset (one specifying a layerset) does, plus bringing in FLOOR specificity, and ZOOM, and reference layer choice. So I'll ask the power users of Plan Views, are all your annosets now "passive," i.e., set to use active layerset, or otherwise?

Just edit the framing to what you want. Make the framers jigsaw some lumber if you want to have a laugh. It is not uncommon to see bandsawn fill members nailed into an otherwise rectilinear and properly headed opening, so as to get the required backing for finish, and nailing flange bearings. But you know that.

You know the CAD block for a symbol is editable, right? You can edit it to look like a BB gun or a guitar. Whatever. If it is missing a line, put a line there. If there are too many lines, erase the ones you don't like.

Don't go outside! if you want to view the room through a doorway from an adjoining room, draw that adjoining room.

Watch the training video "Roof Design Strategies." Very useful info.

Move roof up or down a floor is a button icon at bottom dialog box when you've selected a plane or planes.

Thanks!!

Dimensioning in wall elevation, right? Have you watched the Chief NKBA training videos?

Cannot do Chief right now until I can get to a wifi place, but want to know. Basement with lotsa room division now needs to be 103-1/4 height rough floor to rough ceiling, and not 109-1/8 as drawn. And the stemwall height changed, of course. i don't do this often, but can remember there's a right way and a way that gets you into a confusing loop of errors.

But the problem here is unique to sites with multiple buildings, when one or more but not all need to reposition relative to the scheme. As in, "I now want the workshop building moved 20 feet east and the barn rotated about 15 degrees." Hasn't this been discussed before? Doesn't each building get modeled in its own plan file and then buildings done as symbols to place around on carefully modeled terrain?

I cannot try because no wifi. Does it work with Google sheets?

Here is one of many at the 3D Warehouse, and it matches Bilco's specs exactly. I thought I had made one, but it was this. https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/2bc7693a5bd3bf71db15b6fb58cfb250/Bilco-Basement-Door-Classic-Series-Steel-Sided?hl=en

I did one as just another basement room, with door between. Pretty sure the 3D Bilco hatch I made for it in Sketchup is up on the 3D Warehouse. If not there, I'll upload, and include the stairs which were of 2x PT lumber. I toured the finished job Tuesday.

Using rise times two plus run equals 25, and 6-3/4 rise, then ideal run is 11-1/2, which is OK for big spacious houses and budgets for special order treads at widths not stocked, but my ideal is 7-1/4 to 7-5/8 rise.

How 'bout a CAD patch on whichever elevations have this condtion? Fast, easy, onto the next project. If it must be 3D, a p'solid's as fast as the CAD patch. Or use a material region. I find there's a limit to these kind of things. When you compare what gets built to what you drew, the answer is "we always do it that way." And you wonder why you bothered.

That's better. Thanks. I can use the 4" slabs placed under the 4" floor slab, ID'd as FOUNDATION in the Components dialog. Itemized nicely in the material list, and easier and more flexible than using walls, for this particular plan.

I know that tool and can use it, but wish it had more options. If I've a 4" wall with a 16" pad under, I want it to go another 4", which requires a short invisible wall. i just wish Chief would add an option to the slabs and solids spec that would let the volumes tally in the concrete foundation counts. I'll make a suggestion in that subforum.