robdyck

I'm noticing that everything is slow. And in the NVIDIA Control Panel, I can't add Chief X18 to the program list. I had no speed issues with the Beta versions.

My mistake. I has accidentally selected the roof plane over the garage.

The roof structure over that area has a structure depth of 3.5". Change that to 9.25 and uncheck soffits. Then, select all the rafters and open-close the dialog box.

Hey Gene, can you share a plan file?

Hey Brett. Balcony is definitely the right room type. Here's a few other tips to consider: For the floor structure, let's assume that the room below will have a flat and level ceiling. So think about how you'd like to frame this floor in advance. Do you want to rip a tapered joist to provide the slope? Maybe you'd prefer to 'sister' a level ceiling joist beside a sloped floor / roof joist. Either way, the Balcony floor structure is often best defined using the lowest TOP point of floor framing for the structure. The Floor structure depth would be this elevation, minus the ceiling elevation below. In some instances you can use a roof plane to model and frame the floor. Experiment with unchecking Floor Under This Room for the balcony. You may not need these extra surfaces although you still want the Balcony room elevations as accurate as possible. The roof plane method can be helpful if you have an overhang and exterior soffits. You may also be able to also use a ramp to help model sloped railing and / or the sloped portion of the floor framing (instead of using a roof plane). You can add the railing to the ramp itself, or use a railing wall set to Follow Stairs. The ramp method and the roof plane method can be combined...it doesn't have to be one or the other. Each method has pros and cons and with a little experimentation you'll find what works best for your scenario. For this project I used a ramp to provide the slope, a custom countertop for the overhanging eaves and fascia (because a countertop can have moldings added) , and a manual molding line to continue the gutter across the front. The side stub walls are level on top and I added the wall cap in the wall dbx and adjusted the top elevation manually.

As Gene mentioned, the toggle patterns tool only works in a vector view. For all other rendering techniques you can turn the layer "Patterns, 3D Views" on or off as needed. ON: OFF:

If you add framing to the Ceiling Finish layers, the framing will build separately for each room. And, it may not fully build until a joist direction arrow is created. BUT, if you add the framing to the Roof Layers > Ceiling: then the purlins will build more continuously and will disregard room boundaries...but look closely and you'll see that they are attached to the underside of the top chord.

Hey Gene, all you need to do is add a framing layer to the ceiling finish for that room. Super simple.

@woodsmith My templates are completed and ready for use. I will also be including my 2D CAD detail files. This template package provides almost everything needed for complete residential plans, from Site Plans to Section Details. For anyone interested, please reach out to me with a personal message and I'd be happy to give you a preview. I hope to put together a feature list and post it here shortly!

Maybe try the install using folder paths that are not on One Drive.

It's definitely a bug...at least by obvious standards (maybe not by Chief's). Not sure if it's from the room or the sill plate, but in my experience, sill plates have several build behaviors that are buggy.

The deck framing is there. The siding extends over it. Did you look at it from the underside?

FWIW, I filed a report that the Project Information fields were being removed when using Save as Template. Chief confirmed they were aware and it was my understanding that it would be addressed.

Hey Rob! I've completed a high end home like this and I probably have all the details / information you might need to help complete your plans or at the very least simplify the deign process. Send me a PM if you think that might be helpful.

You can't choose to trim the bottom of a rafter. A rafter would only generate a seat cut if it was landing on the top plate of a wall. That leaves you with a few other choices to improve the 3d model. All options have pros and cons: 3d solids - totally stable but have some fill and line weight issues that can be slightly annoying depending on the view being used. If the profile must change, you can't edit all 3d solids at one time. Trusses: you can manually edit the framing members of a truss (delete webs and bottom chords, trim & extend and so on). If you have multiple copies, the edit will apply to all. Slightly less stable as these can be prone to unintentionally rebuilding, but you can also convert them to a fixture or other 3d symbol type. If the profile changes, you'd need to repeat the truss edit and convert to symbol process. Add the symbol to your library, and replace all existing at one time.

I may not be following this correctly but when I use Save As Template, I'm losing the added fields (both the Owners and the Name-Value Pairs). The Project Information reverts back to the out of the box state except for information entered into the OOB fields. Is that expected behavior? Am I missing something obvious? Are your customized fields staying with your template plan? Mine aren't.

@RenerabbittIn addition to the Project Information dialog, I built myself a tool set that will update several key note items at one time including some structural and climate zone items. This makes me curious about the pros and cons of using one system, like notes & schedules, and/ or macros, vs the Project Information dialog...OR how they can be integrated to be even more robust. PI Selections.mp4

You can get acceptably close using a roof truss and adjusting the dimensions and spacing of the chords and changing the materials. You can get amore realistic by using a steel joist model imported from the 3D Warehouse.

Glad to help!

Make sure Winders is checked.

All of those lines would need to have the same properties to join (layer, line weight, line style, color).

I can spare some time today. I'll send an email and we can go from there.

@coastdesign To notify me, you need to use the @ symbol before my username. For the foundation walls, it's best to make sure the exterior and interior wall surfaces are using the default material. You also need to edit default concrete material. Let's delete the pattern and make sure it's set to be concrete in the material list tab. Now, let's select all foundation walls and uncheck 'Sill Plate'. This shouldn't be needed, but sill plates don't always play according to the rules. So, we adapt. Then, try changing the sill plate setting for one foundation wall. Does it build? It does over here! So, now we can select all foundation walls and set the sill plates correctly. Do they all build? They do for me...so hopefully you get the same result. Some extra cleanup: You've got some rim joists hanging out in no man's land. And, just curious, do you actually want a 2x12 ridge if you are using trusses?

Insulation is a CAD item that will only show up when you use the 'Auto-Detail' tool. Sill Plates will not generate until you change the value of the width or depth of the sill plate for each wall. Close the wall dialog, then re-open and reset the values to what's desired. Ensure auto-framing for all assemblies is on to see the updates. For example, select one foundation wall. Select the Foundation Tab, and change the width of the Sill Plate to anything different than the current value (let's say 9"). Close the Wall Specification dialog. If you have auto-framing turned on, the sill plates should have built for that wall. Repeat that process to reset them back to 5 1/2". Do that for all foundation walls. And you should still remove the pattern from the concrete material used for the footings. You don't have to do this, but I'm assuming that the current pattern selection is based on a misunderstanding of the function. When you have the Edit Material dialog open, you also need to got to the Materials List tab and set it to be Concrete.