GeneDavis

Hi, 566043364. Try this. Out in open space, no walls, no nothing, draw a roof plane. Take that roof plane, the rectangle, select any edge, and add line breaks (keying the number "3" activates the break tool), then drag breaks around to edit the shape. See the pic attached here. And consider editing your profile here at the forum so we know your name. Very few of us have digital names. While you are at it, create a signature line that displays details about your Chief software, and the hardware you use to run it.

You can raise and lower a roof plane or a whole collection of roof planes, by selecting what you want to raise or lower, and using the transform/replicate object tool, moving the selected roof or roofs by entering the appropriate value in the z direction box. That is the quick way once you have the roofs built but want to change things. To get the roofs to build the way you want, before placing planes or doing auto-build, you'll need a good clear understanding of specifying and building walls, and doing room specifications.

Have you tried shaping the edge of a flat roof with the editing tools?

Question for Alan the OP: How automatic do you want this to be? Be real specific here. You have already seen how Chief will table the openings by floor.

Or as you probably know, control the placement by casing width, using the wide casing that locates your jammed door correctly, then select all doors placed thusly, and change their casing widths. Chief does not have an auto-placement feature such as what you may want, but you can go on the Suggestions forum and make your case.

Thanks, Michael. I was able to force the break where I wanted it in elevation. The job's a wrap.

Here is the plan file of the job that is giving me fits. I gotta get this thing done. https://www.dropbox.com/s/4lhxbqskpd4ldcn/Barn3A.plan?dl=0 I can live with the behavior, mentioned above, where the breaks will place and allow pony wall heights to be specified differently, but the north wall near the NE corner cannot be broken where wanted. My plan file has heavy red CAD lines I placed for guiding me where I want breaks. The wall appears to break where wanted and the pony wall heights are specified, but as soon as the dialog box closes, the wall breaks further from the corner. And only this one behaves this way. Why?

A job is to have brick wainscot on exterior walls, and the top of wainscot varies. I place wall breaks where the top of brick changes from 60 inches to 135 inches, and all is well. I set the top of brick in each segment in the wall dialog box where I specify upper and lower wall and height of lower. All looks good in 3D and elevations. Coming back after adjusting some window heights in the wall, and needing to adjust the height of brick in a segment, I click on the wall to select, and lo, my breaks are gone. The pony wall height is called "no change." But viewing in 3D and elevations still shows the segmented wall, or rather it shows the up and down brick heights as I set them earlier. I've lost the breaks, and if I specify pony wall height in the dialog (where it says "no change") the wall is edited for its entire length. What's up with this?

I'm sorry, but I do not get this math thing. I am using X7 and can get addition and subtraction to work, but only if I include the inch symbol following my numbers. Thus 96"-40" returns 56" when I either press ENTER or TAB, but without the inch symbols, 96-40 returns 96. To add to the strangeness, I can get good results by dividing with the / (dash) symbol, and 96/3 returns 32. I cannot multiply using the asterisk, and Chief gives me a warning message if I try 32*3, saying that the * is not a valid number.

The math works in the dialog box, but I would rather not have to type in the inches symbol. Typing in just the numbers (i.e., 96-42) returns 94 and not 54.

But, what's the best route to the look shown in the original post. I'm thinking CAD, use a grid, and draw the brick-lines using snaps. I'm trying to imagine the custom hatch that would deliver that look. It would have to be a great big thing to be able to have the nice randomness of what was shown. A suggestion for Chief for next release?

Yup, there it is. Third from the bottom. It's not easy to find Waldo when he's a blank!

Thanks, all. I tried both methods and both work. So, Bill, would you change your wall-move way and use the invisible wall junction way?

For the brick wainscot wall I have on a face elevation, client wants it to wrap only 12 inches on adjacent sides. Framing is 2x6. I have this as a pony wall and need the pony wall length on the return side to be 12 inches. I cannot get (or force) the wall break for this pony wall to be that close. Closest I can get is 14 and a fraction. What controls this?

Thanks! That was it. Closed the section view and, voila!

I wish for the section camera, which I am displaying as a callout on my floor plan for layout, to only display in that plan for layout. It is in my framing plan and I do not know how to turn off its display. Please advise.

It may be worth it to learn enough Sketchup skills to be able to do symbols like that.

You all are correct in saying I did this bass-ackwards. I have since schooled myself and corrected the model by using the foundation build dialog. All is now perfect. Thanks!

Thanks! That did it for me.

Anybody? I need to know how to get the file linkages right, model file to layout file.

Well, mine was set to that in the wall spec, but the monoslab foundation edge went out to the outside of the outside finish layer. Not the slab, mind you, but the integrally-poured perimeter footing underneath it. I had to use the foundation offset feature to get things to look right for me.

To get this building to model with a thickened-edge slab, single-pour, I specified the walls as "foundation," and set the spec for the foundation to align to wall. See attached. But Chief models it with the slab edge to the outside of finish. How do I correct? Edit: Fixed it. Unchecked "align" and specified the appropriate offset. Sorry to make you look!

Got it. Thanks.

Here is the file link (DropBox): https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17835038/16080%20Ivanhoe.plan All was going well until I started to edit the foundation, which is a mono slab with perimeter footing. I have lost my proper walls. Somehow I did a wall spec wrong, and I cannot figure out the recovery. Trusses are as I want them, and sidewalls are framed correctly. But walls left the scene, somehow, and I cannot now frame the gable end walls under the end trusses.

Lock it.