joey_martin

Hmmm...you're right, it doesn't work for curtains. I know it works for the appliances though.

Place the curtain in the plan, change the layer, then add it to your library. Now when you add it from your library it will retain the properties you gave it.

Honestly, unless it's a W.I.C. I don't label them any longer. My closet CAD block tells those that are looking it's a closet. 

Glass block is a good option. I have a couple builder clients that swear by this set up.

Even a circular staircase would have to have to faces that meet at the top for connection. Either make a small section of the upper area perpendicular, or as others have said, use the landing tool for the last step and make the connection. 

I use the cross box CAD tool to display my "posts" on upper floors. Then simply COPY and go to floor 0 and PASTE IN PLACE. Lock the layer you create for them, and now you have a representation of all the posts where they need to be, and on a layer that can be controlled throughout different plan view.

It's all the same floor. I NEVER put basements on level 1....my basements are my foundations. That's the only way I work. I use layers and the main layer only function to get what I am after. Here is another example where I simply turn off the interior walls of the basement, except for the walls I have assigned to a layer for WALLS, BEARING so that they can show on both the floor plan and the foundation plan. I use layer sets for everything.

Or turn off the option to automatically connect the island rooms.

https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/2967-chief-training/page-2

Add the frieze board....take an elevation view...select the frieze...break it at the windows and make it a different height above the windows.

You actually want that dim from an interior wall as an extra check for the framers. If the openings string goes from outside wall to outside wall, theres no real break for the framers to back check the opening. In other words if one of their openings is off somewhere, they have to backtrack all the way to the exterior wall to double check themselves, or do the math for themselves. Of course it's entirely possible that I am too picky, but I have been doing this way for since I started in the late 80's

Not as slammed with work as I have been the last couple of months. Ready to schedule some individual training sessions. My email is joeymdp@gmail.com if interested.

As Perry said, Chief does not locate your beams and piers for you, you need to do that yourself. And I might add...if Auto foundations is on, you just need to draw the floor plan and the foundation will build itself, then fine tune and add the structural elements.

Add the insulation layer to the foundation wall defaults. It won't put the layer on top of the step back though.

Everything you are describing is set up ahead of any drawing in the preferences and defaults. It can be done after the fact...but then you are chasing your tail. 

For the piers...in the defaults you tell Chief that you want an 8"x8" conc. pier (or what ever you are using) with a 24"x24" square footing pad

You perhaps need to spend a little more time familiarizing yourself to how Chief Architect work.

You would most likely need to stop the stair and the first notch and use single steps up through the notches. In other words, your single staircase is actually a series of different width "staircases" similar to how you would have to build them.

Chief is not going to do stepped foundations and other options Automatically.....like some think it should.....so it takes a little time and training to figure out the software. I have been using Chief since leaving AutoCAD in 2004....would never go back, and have never felt the need to "branch out" with other software.

Sorry...left out a step. After you turn off AUTO ATTIC WALLS delete the little triangle attic walls on each side of the lines. Then pull the exterior wall over.

You need to turn off the AUTO ATTIC WALLS and pull the exterior wall over each direction. The lines are caused by the different walls intersecting at the same point.

I see that a lot. Does it go away when you zoom out?

I can tell from looking at the picture that your staircase is installed incorrectly. It's backwards, and if it is meant to come from a basement below you should take a section through it, because I am almost certain it will not meet the 80" headroom requirement.

No...the actual Chief file, not pics.

When you placed the room dividers did you name the kitchen? I don't see on there.

Where exactly do you need to create them? If you have a room, and the floor is set to slab, you don't need to create it. Having said that, should you need to create a slab of an odd shape, simply draw lines into the rough shape, make sure it closes, and convert the shape to a slab.

FWIW...I use layer sets to show the foundation as hidden lines (which is proper drafting technique). As far back as I can remember, working for a couple different firms, and on my own, showing what is below grade has always been standard operating procedure.

The only way to convert any file from ".xxx" to a Chief ".plan" file, is to redraw the plan. There is no "conversion". You would either have to pay someone to re-draw your plan, or re-draw the plan your self in your software.