GeneDavis

Thanks! Got it.

Hey, thanks all! I am liking that lighter approach that Chris and Michael have shown, but am stumped as to how to get the pattern lines lightened in color from black. Roofs and siding are far too busy to use black in these black and white renders for my goal in elevation views. I am able to change the color of the pattern lines to whatever I want but when I turn color off I am getting black. What is the secret here? Does Chief have a tutorial about how to change all this style stuff when going to elevation views in layout?

Thanks. Do you change sun angle for each elevation to get the shadow effects you want, i.e., change north to south so a building's north elevation gets sun? Do you bother clipping the tree images somehow so as to get 2D trees behind the building so foliage appears above the roof? Edit: Send those trees to the back drawing group! Duh. How do you get your foundation to be lines only and no color? Have you just done the walls in white, or is there a setting for my concrete gray walls to go white in elevations.

I searched here but couldn't find. What techniques or settings make these pop?

But if you check that option, you retain the framing even if you don't delete the room. I guess I'm asking why would you want to keep all planking, framing, posts, and piers and have no deck "room."

So in Rene's setup, using "Smith" as jobname, and "Lot2ElmSt" for both a .plan and .layout file, we would have folders within "Smith/CAD" for each session of revision, right? Thus there are multiple plan files, each with a linked layout, each set stored in a folder ID'd with date and progress level?

By deleting the room I presume one removes on of its walls that keep it closed, or just disattach one enough to break the room-wall polyline. What circumstances might there be for one to use this option? If your deck is to have Chief-generated railings, I cannot see this in play unless doing the wall disattachment works, as for example, a deck with stairs to ground, and the wall for the stairs opening not continuing through with a doorway. But if you wish to use this option, don't you then have to use CAD to show the extents of decks in plan views?

So for plans, FILENAME never changes, but the folder structure does as revisions keep happening. Right? What is the top level folder called 19 about? And as for layouts and linking, does 190927-AB have a layout file?

Or use Dropbox. Many Chiefers use it for all their plan and layout files.

Default seems to be arrows in. Can this be toggled to arrows out?

I modeled these in Sketchup and imported into Chief, but in doing the con-docs for foundation, I just drew CAD 2D rectangles and annotated them for the foundation-level pads. Chief has pad and pier tools, but they don't work for this instance of an upper-floor bump being column-supported and bearing on piers and pads. What is the preferred way to work in Chief to achieve this? I can do it with p'line solids, moldings, slabs, and annotate all in CDs with CAD details and plan notes, but I am wondering what is the most efficient way to model it. I don't want to miss out on something.

Did a screened tub on a deck with outdoor shower adjacent. Here's one to show the client the view from the tub. Her name is 3D Warehouse, and she blew my Chief file up to twice its size. The out-of-box backdrop looks almost exactly like his private woodland lot, with its stone driveway in same place as for realz.

Thanks! I'll try that. As for my straight symbols, I'll correct them to have differing materials for all the wood parts. I am also shortening them by 6" so the railing height is 36" off deck. The Simpson tension tie product tech details enlightened me. 36 is right for residential and 42 is for multi family and commercial. 36 uses a different tie with a less cumbersome blocking detail underneath. The "Cable Rail Run Panel" and "Cable Rail Corner Panel" models will be uploaded to the 3D Warehouse this afternoon. Edit: trial fit of the SU symbol I built late yesterday for the staircase and landing railings. Final editing to be done. 42" railings up will be corrected.

You know what I mean. My elevated deck has been successfully railed, but it has an L stairway to the ground. Two flights and a small deck that's the halfway-down landing. Wizards awake!

Images of the two SKP models, highlighted to accent everything. I imported each into Chief, set stretch planes, saved, then mirror imaged, did save-as opposite hand of each. The straight is a 4' module. The corner reaches 4' from the post with the cable runs. I used three different colors so it can be textured the way one wants. My detail calls out for the posts as PT SYP lumber, likewise the 2x4 top stretcher, with the 1"x5-1/2" top rail as ipe.

For you perfectionists in 3D, here's a couple symbols that can be used to replicate my setup, and gives you a true as-built corner. I used CableRail on a house I built, and still have the hat Feeney shipped with my order. You can mirror-image them and place stretch planes, to make a useful set of R and L straights and corners. Cable rail post corner R.skp Cable rail post L end.skp

I'm a Sketchup guy, so I tried it the easy way, for me, after failing to understand how to do the invisible layer and offsetting the rail. Here's a repeating symbol popped in at 48" intervals. I can readily edit the SU model as needed to do special spacings at corners and ends.

Now THAT'S an idea I had not thought of, Rene. I'll play with it now. What is the chance of my getting the chamfer cut on the newel bottom, shown in the picture?

See the pics. I prefer deck railings done with newels fastened to the outboard face of framing, or for stairs, outboard the stringers. Is this possible?

No, I learned one thing for sure on my first go-around with this, and that was not controlling this at the individual wall level. I had been trying that and it did not work for my con docs needs. It is all controlled at the Pony Wall Defaults level, and I hope it is cemented into my brain for future use.

Voila! Eric to the rescue. I did not scroll down below "exterior wall" to get to "pony wall." Thanks!

Just did that to no avail. In the screencaps here, I point to the exterior walls that are pony wall spec: framed wall up, stemwall down. All are carrying the default of no specific selection for view, i.e., they are not set to show upper, or lower, or either of the other radio check boxes. I then try and change the display by going to DEFAULTS and changing the display to DISPLAY LOWER, and nothing happens.

I still have no idea how to change my display through defaults. I don't even understand the whole defaults thing. The only way I know for changing the wall default or anything about wall is to click on the wrench symbol up on my OOB toolbar and select Walls>Exterior Walls> File attached. I watched Steve's tutorial and cannot understand a.) how he has his plan views in a dropdown on his toolbar, b.) how he has a tool palette going and what's in it, and c.) how he has something in that palette that brings up pony wall defaults. https://www.dropbox.com/s/01hgiyeqhc1enx3/Irvin Whitney.plan?dl=0

I messed up something in this plan, and am unable to get my lower pony wall to display. See the attached which is what the pony wall dialog looks like in the DEFAULTS. As can be seen, even though the lower wall is specified as concrete stemwall, and BTW the concrete stemwall is set to show properly in wall defaults, the stemwall in the preview is looking like a thick version of my siding wall, and is showing siding on all surfaces. Help me recover from this, please.

It's what I just did. Sorry for the whine.