robdyck

I hear you. However, If I were providing material lists to my clients, it would be the exact amounts, with a note that waste and overages are not included. I'd suggest that providing a material list is different than providing a material estimate. If the overage is very clearly shown, then it makes sense. But how much overage do you allow for foundation concrete? Will the footings be pumped? Will the pump already be primed from an earlier job? Have the footings been setup accurately or a bit on the sloppy side? How neat was the excavation? Is the excavation base +/- 1/2" or was the ground rocky or clumpy and the base is +/- 4"? I could go on but my point is that it makes sense to me to show the materials as accurate as the plan / model and allow trades and suppliers to add in their overages based on their experience and practice. Exact lists as per the model work for everyone, estimates need to be 'personalized'.

There must be a way to insert an existing text note that is in another view without copy and paste. For example, if I have a list of notes for exterior details that have been generated in the front elevation, and I'd like to repeat some of those on other elevations, do I really have to toggle back and forth between screens to copy and paste, and then refer back to my schedule so I can remember what they are? That seems like more work than just typing new notes in each drawing. Seems like I'll need to buy a few more screens...and get a bigger desk and a bigger office and more eyes... There must be a tool to insert an existing note from an existing schedule, no?

At first glance, it seems odd to add the waste factor to a material list (unless it is for your own use) as that would / could vary greatly depending on the skill and care of the tradesperson.

This is definitely one of the drawbacks of showing too much information. I like to show all the trusses as well, and usually it's no problem, but as houses continue to get more complex, it just becomes so much work to fight some of Chief's shortfalls, like those truss spikes, incorrect headers, attic walls, flush eaves, roof fascias, sill plates, stair stringers, floor trusses, deck framing, etc. That sounds much more negative that what I'd like...

You can of course access the material amounts and areas and then add that information to a text field, it just won't auto-generate unless you pay someone to write macros for your specific needs. So you could create the text field (with blank portions) the way you'd like, and then add the info at completion, once you're done with design development. To quickly find the total roof surface area (for example) group select all roof planes and go to the 'polyline' tab. There's a balance to find between paying for macros, versus the time it takes to access and accurately update information. And I think macros, like schedules, slow down the performance a bit.

If accuracy is what your looking for, edit the truss members in the TRUSS DETAIL. Section view editing will only take you so far...

They can be edited perfectly in the truss detail. Note that edits in this view will revert if the truss is rebuilt. If there are multiples of the same truss, they will need to be opened, then closed to display those new edits.

Turn on the moldings layer. It's pretty simple, you draw a line, convert to molding, adjust settings. If you're library browser is already open with the correct crown molding already selected, just move your cursor to plan view and drag a polyline. Chief Architect Premier X11 2019-10-18 14-46-49.mp4

Perhaps you might expand on what you're unhappy with...

Post the same screenshot with the truss selected so we can see where the edit handles are.

Style tab, stair dbx.

Use a full width carpet runner.

Intersecting arched ceilings are called 'Groin Vaults'

@para-CADSelect all the text, open it, don't change anything and then close it. See if that fixes it...

You have more than one schedule with that note type.

Looks good! 2 questions: which materials (and settings) for your grass and water?

Depends what you call great! A combination of slabs, p-solids drawn in plan and elevation views, moldings, 3d moldings, and so on. Here's a few shots of a 'zero-edge' pool I recently completed.

Good points. I'm assuming auto-frame would be off, and retain framing would be checked as desired. And the build for the new roofs would be done using the build framing tool for those planes only.

My first thought would be to replicate the roof planes to a different location, let's say 999" to the right, then build framing for the new roofs. Then select the subfascias, and replicate them 999" to the left. Then delete the unnecessary roof planes.

Hey Bob, nice video!

FWIW, I used laptops for several years. It became too slow so I switched to a gaming PC and I'll never go back to a laptop. I used HP with Nvidia GPU's. If you must have a laptop, only buy a gaming laptop! If you're using it for fulltime work, there's no such thing as too powerful.

Can't say I've ever used continuous draw mode...

Hey, I'm trying to figure it out too! And I think I figured it out...select an arrow or line, then select the end of the arrow segment while using ctrl alt, and it allows you to drag a curve.

It gives you continuous arrow segment drawing. Each click and drag continues an arrow polyline whereas without it, drawing an arrow gives a single segment. This would be handy in a detailing situation where the text might be positioned first, without any arrows, in order to simplify alignment. Then, segment arrows can be added. I'm not sure it saves any clicks or steps, but it is good to know! @Renerabbitt must have some situations where he finds it valuable. Maybe Rene will elaborate...

Hmm...I sense sarcasm! With Chief's stairs and railings, if you really want the 3d to be accurate, you'll need to build things yourself. The railing wall between the stairs will need to be manually shaped, with a manual cap or molding applied. Change that center wall from a railing to a normal wall, and shape the top to the desired height.