VHampton

This is the ideal way to do it. The truth is...you will need stairs and a finished space to get to the roof top balcony. One the program knows that you have a third floor, the rest is cake. It's also probably better not to call it a deck but rather a balcony. Otherwise it's going to create all kind of deck posts and stuff that you don't need or want.

HI Richard, Why not draw the wall conventionally and then add either a molding poly-line or a poly-line solid to show the existing portion? The contractor must have one of the Ancient Aliens levitating gizmos on site to make the new pour go ok, but let's not get into that.

I used the client viewer on a recent project. The owner was beyond thrilled to see his house come to life. He also jokingly cautioned me that I never should have done this. He was right. It was basically like handing over the car keys to a twelve year old. He'd open the plan file each day and start making changes. Every afternoon became a design session where I'd have to open the plan one more time so we could revisit where he wanted to make adjustments. A long story short, be careful who you share your 3d model with. Trades people yes....clients no! Keep the mystery in what we do is all I can say. Right on.

Exactly. Then draw white lines over the higher portion of stair treads to help show the floor area below the stairs. If this doesn't work to your liking, you can always turn the stair layer off. Draw the first five or six treads and railing with CAD lines and create a break line.

Noticed something similar. As always, turning off the undo feature in the preferences fixed the lag time. It's as fast as ever.

Sorry for the confusing image file....I am in X7... I just wanted to show how the feature used to display by showing the missing tab in an X6 file. Thanks again for pointing the way. Val

Awesome. Thank you. Here's where it's always been for years... Glad to know it's still there!

In every previous version there was the ability to open an object's dialogue box and under "Materials" you could select a material from your plan. This was far easier than having to navigate through the library all over again to find the certain material (and recolor it if need be). Why did this feature get removed in the new release? .

Nick, Make sure that your material texture starts out as plywood. It appears that you have the type set for tile....which is correct. If in doubt...downlaod the sample plan which I posted. Open it and open your current plan at the same time. Copy and past the walls from my plan into yours and give it a new name under wall types. That should do it. All the best, Val

-Hi Larry, I started using the "raised region" or "lowered region" tools. Place the blob into your plan (while in terrain mode) and start shaping it using the break tool. Give it a height (in the dialogue box) and what what happens when in a 3d overview. I keep both the plan and camera view open on different monitors so that I can watch how it's being shaped.

People can be inserted as images. You'll find them in the Chief library. If you are looking for 3d people, the Sketch-up warehouse is a great resources for any and all things 3D. Just download whatever you are looking for to your desktop. Then mouse over it and hold the left click down... and drag it into your floor plan. (You can also import the object by using the Chief prompts, but this method is super fast). 3D people

Wendy is a long time user and this is her business. http://www.artformhomeplans.com/index.a5w All plans are made in Chief. This could be a good start.

That's a very good solution. Brilliant. You could also make your own casing out of a polyline but it won't be recessed into the brick thickness as Charlie pointed out.

Here ya go Scott. You is correct. I was happy with the look nonetheless Why the heck do they have a Joint width for tile then?!! Untitled 1.zip

I did this once using plywood as the siding material. Change the color accordingly. Then what you do is change the pattern to tile. You can change the proportion very easily along with the groove depth. The dialogue box allows you to create the groove by changing the grout thickness (aka Joint width) If you are using "standard views" with your camera, just play with the x and y scales in your texture box to make the material read correctly for 3d renderings.

Thanks Guys. ...you're right Perry...Nvidia is known for being the preferred card for Chief. The excess whirring is coming from the video card fan which I suppose is quite normal. (it's an ATI). On a side note...every computer that I've ever had always revved a little faster when sending an elevation to layout for example. It's just that the Ray Trace process makes the video card fan spin like crazy (during the entire process) and I'd rather not wear the thing out. ...So what I'm gathering is that ten passes should be a typical parsing period for an exterior view. ...and if your fan sounds like an F15 ready for take-off, it may or may not be normal. I should have posted a poll, bu how long do you find that a Ray Trace takes on average (exterior view)?

-Hi All, The rendered views which Chief can create are absolutely amazing. For those of you who have the patience to do the Ray Traces, how long does it take to do a typical Ray Trace for an exterior? I started watch each 'pass' during the process. By the time the counter made it to pass number 10, the computer sounded like it was about to blow up. ...My first I thought was, this can't be good....so I bailed out. Just curious if this process should take only 5 minutes or more like 45 minutes? Thanks for your feedback!

Thank you both so much for taking the time to do this! I tried the reflected arch, but for some reason it wouldn't go the first time. I really appreciate it! All the best. Val

Thanks Robert. I'll have to remember that in the future. It's attached correctly now...in both the initial post and here... Untitled 1.zip

-Hi All, The attached window symbol was created using polyline solids. It appears in the library correctly and behaves as a window in plan view. The only problem is that the siding doesn't meet up the window frame. Am I missing something? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. Val Untitled 1.zip

I would recommend the flitch plate method as well. They do not need to be posted onto steel columns as is required with I beams. What you've drawn will definitely work, but check your local codes on the requiremenst for steel posts at each end. Flitch plates can be supported by (3) 2 x 6 posts in our area. I beams need columns. BTW....We design everything with an L/480 minimum which results in less than a half inch deflection on any given beam which spans upwards of twenty feet. A double 1/2" x 11" flitch will have far less deflection than the size that which you've selected. A W6 x 12 works better as a window header that it does a floor girder. Definitely get that checked out by your steel fabricator who may be able to run a beam check if you're going to go this route. A W8 is probably more like it.... Very nice details by the way!

I drew the door very quickly...not showing all the clips.Also...typically they would want to hinge off of a wall ...not the door (for the ideal strength), but it can be done. In this case (per the orginal post) they would very likely add a section of metal frame at the top of the staitonary panel to help make everything rigid since the glass isn't being clipped to the door header. And yes country...those clips are very strong. It does indeed looks very precaraious but that's how they typically do it. ...good method Joe on drawing in the doors. Like that one! Tnx

You have the best solution by using solids for making a glass door inside of a doorway. Draw your glass in 2d view where it will wind up on the back wall of the shower after it's converted to a solid. Take a look at the attached plan. Notice how I locked the wall and door layers so that you can grab the solid in plan view and force it into position inside the doorway. Polyline solids and moldings are the way to go everytime you have a unique condition. Untitled 1.zip

I would let the gable over the one story carry all the way through. If you think about it, that room wants to be a cathedral. Why not let the roof ride along the wall plate the entire way? The lower roof will also stop the main roof from diving down and creating that gable end wall condition which is slightly awkward.

You have your answer in the image which you initially attached. Break the roof where it's stepped back and force it to make a "return" as shown in the forward gable. It needs to have a small hip which will connect it to the return section...the same way it does in the other gable return.