GeneDavis

That's the way I've done it. I used a polyline solid to close and trim the pork chop.

Thanks, Michael. Never knew that was there. As an exercise, use X8 Chief Help and do a search in Help for "edit all roof planes" and see what you get. One would think an actual command would get better visibility than this one does in Help.

I am still in the dark on this. Where is the Edit All Roofs tool? Any or all of the roofs displaying on a floor plan view are selectable, either by shift-select or by marquee-select (if only roofs are displaying). Selected, one can edit properties including framing, rafter tails, etc. Same type of selection options are available in 3D, and take note that while you can select multiple objects, they must be all from the same 2D plan display. If I have porch roofs on floor 1 and main up-top roofs on floor 2, I can only select multiple planes from one floor. So, where is this tool that when used opens all roofs for spec at once?

I am dying to know where this is. Can you be more specific, please? We are talking structure and rafter tails here, essentially copying and pasting a whole set of spec variables from one roof to a selected batch of separate roofs. The rafter tail parameters alone involve profile, size for W and H, and offset.

Out of curiosity, why the need for such 3D realism? If done in a gyprock-finished mechanical room, it's often hidden behind an access panel. And if not flush-built, the PEX lines are all going to be visible. If so, will they need to be 3D modeled, also?

Your Chief version, please? My library (X8) has multiple options. Here's one.

Or minimize their size to 1/16"

Dan of Chief Experts has a good video tutorial about platforms, and he leads it off by saying something very important. A platform is not just a floor structure. It includes the ceiling above it. His remark about the floor elevation line in the spec dialog box, when doing foundation "platforms" is interesting. He thinks Chief should delete it or blank it for specification, and I agree. His advice that one should resolve all the platforms correctly in a design, before doing anything else, is well-taken.

Your son did a great job! Love the design. How old is your Sketchup architect? Did he use warehouse components?

I don't find any way, working with the door specification, to model a center-set door-in-frame, which is what you are after for your commercial project. One could model door-in-frame units in Sketchup or even Chief, and place them as symbols in your plan, the openings done as door openings, but then you'll have to do CAD work to get your elevation views to be what you need in the con docs. Chief just doesn't do commercial, when it comes to hollow metal doors and frames.

I agree. Now let's talk about rakes and modillions.

That "door" costs more than a lot of new cars.

So only beta testers can open it?

What I was saying, Glenn, is what kept Eric from being able to do it with one molding polyline. I have done the same as Eric, using two p-lines and two moldings. The one-step solution, which we do not have, would be a wall layer that tapers in thickness from bottom to top.

I can do the molding polyline, Glenn, but the "no molding" segment at a window does not yield the cut molding under the window.

I downloaded your layout and am unable to open in X8. Am using the latest build: 18.3.2.2x64. What's up?

A question I have, with today's use of 2" thick faux stone veneer, is how this gets built. Do builders scab framing and sheathing atop already framed-and-sheathed walls, just hung on there and no bearing below, then do the veneer atop that, to achieve this look? If that is the actual build method, then the use of roof planes is a perfect way to do this. One will need to trim the planes at edges with 2D and 3D moldings to get good 3D realism, but the window cuts will be easy to do, and one can frame the panels.

I wonder if there is an easier way to do this, because one needs to perform, somehow, window and door cutouts in such a buildout. See my image, in which I show a simple 4-wall "house" with an window and door, and a 2D molding p-line applied. Getting it to cut at a door is routine, "no molding on this edge," but for the window, something more sophisticated needs to happen.

Doesn't the Save-As-Method (SAM) address this perfectly?

Without a plan to examine, I've no clue.

I'll bet you want the insanely-common sold-in-lumberyards-and-home-centers-everywhere patio door with two leaves, one leaf active, the other fixed, the active door hinged at the center (not the jamb). Try this.

What is the secret for getting that close? I downloaded what looks to be the same glass with whiskey and ice that the OP has, and just put it into a blank plan, no table, no room, no lighting, nothing. How do you get the camera just a few inches away? And what transparency setting does one best use for the ice cube surface?

Sort of off-topic, but I find it hard to believe that an HOA's review committee would require submittal documents that showed photorealistic renderings with brick textures absolutely matching something required. Wouldn't a note on b&w drawings suffice? "Brick on addition to match existing." How do property owners address this if their designer or architect has older software incapable of performing renders? Wouldn't the HOA be better served if the property owners were required to submit physical samples?

You likely need another tread. Stair math results are fixed by your floor elevations. The image you show has 17 risers from middle to top floor. If the only way to get a comfortable riser height less than 7-3/4" is to go to 18, you may have to alter your floor plan to allow for the extra 10 inches of space. Chief draws your stairs based on those elevations, but once you start locking riser heights and tread counts, you are off on your own and stairs may not "reach" the way you want.

Thanks, Perry. Went in and turned off legacy shadows, and things are good again.