robdyck

Your window method intrigues me. I've played around with developing my own window symbols but haven't had the time to complete anything. That would really help with accurate modelling as I do a lot of my details in 3D.

Thanks Michael, 

I figured I'd need to do that. That's how I make folding glass walls ( like Nana Wall or Panoramic Doors) appear accurately.

Does anyone know how to show a door in elevation view without an opening indicator. Example, a fixed sidelite as part of an entry door unit. I currently just delete the line with the 'edit layout' tool. Obviously this little task has to be repeated...

I believe that in the framing tab for the o/h door, if you set the bottom R.O. to match the slab depth, then the slab will extend to the foundation walls exterior layer.

7 minutes ago, Alaskan_Son said:

ot sure you understand the reason for my questions.  Yes, the cabinetry CAN be represented accurately in the plans.  In order to represent accurately though a person has to know exactly how its going to be built.  Are we in agreement?  The method used to obtain the desired end results would depend ENTIRELY on how the cabinetry is going to be built in the real world. 

Exactly. However, perhaps GDB means is that he doesn't need to draw 'how' to build the cabinet; but rather just 'to' build a cabinet. In that case, I wouldn't waste time trying to get to technical with the drawing unless I know the cabinet builder in questions is actually needing those types of details. Like Michael says, to draw it 'exactly' you have to know exactly how it gets built. Then you need to find a supplier who agrees with you. Typically the drafts person is no longer involved at this stage of a project...

Otherwise, you'll need to build a symbol, or literally build the cabinet with p-solids and place the door as a freestanding object

I'd probably use a typical rectangle base cabinet to get the correct door width at the front. Add partitions as panels to surround the back of the island, then I'd draw a polyline with solid fill to cover my fake cabinet. That way it would look correct in plan view, elevations, and renderings (except for inside the cabinet).

Open the foundation wall dbx, go to "Structure" tab, check "go through floor below".

1 hour ago, QualicoreHomes said:

You design all your houses prescriptive? Do you also fill out the paperwork for the builder/homeowner to go with you plan?

Generally speaking, yes. There are several factors that come into play, obviously, however I discuss it with the builder and/or client and then we decide together which path they'd like to use. Most people will choose to go prescriptive because (generally) it is the cheapest and simplest way to comply with 9.36.

There are no limitations on glass area, which is helpful from a design point of view,  and the extra costs are spent on insulation, instead of paperwork (the extra costs are almost identical). 

The upgrade to R-22 fiberglass batts for above grade walls is about $250-300 per house (Medicine Hat) and the increase from R40 to R50 attic insulation is about $250 (Medicine Hat). 

It also means I can finish my plans in a more timely fashion, as I don't need to wait for an Energy Advisor to have their input and possibly make changes late in the design stage.

Gerard, have you opened the Nvidia control panel to make sure that Chief X10 is using the graphics card, and not the processor?

10 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

Yes that's what I do too since , even if I went to the Trouble of figuring it out they would not accept them as the Calcs are only accepted for Permits if done by a "Schedule A" Qualified Professional  ie the HVAC/E.Eval Engineer and he has to do the Calcs. for all the other Air Handling anyway

Not to be argumentative, but that's not entirely true. A qualified energy advisor is only "required" if a performance path is the compliance method for section 9.36. 

You can specify everything yourself if you follow the "prescriptive" method. I am aware that many designers outsource this as well. I've had no trouble with providing the proper information on the plans for a "prescriptive method" through many jurisdictions in alberta, and in BC.

I don't mean this to be offensive but it seems odd that you'd consult with an Energy Advisor regarding the area of glazed openings relative to the effective wall area. If you post the plan, or a screenshot of the wall in question, I could help you out.

If you're going to use the wall area the way Chief will calculate it then you will be providing incorrect information that would not comply with the Alberta Building Code.

The information you're talking about needs to be calculated manually and is measured from the grade level at each affected wall. Or, you'd need much more in depth knowledge of the program to develop your own auto calculating methods and macros, which, if you need to ask about, then you don't have it.

Life - safety issues like fire protection need to be taken seriously.

1) to get the seams correct, you'll need to do virtually what the siding installer would do...cut and install individual pieces! Material regions or p-solids. Not what you wanted to hear but I've been there.

3) window reflections are the source of my premature grey hair! Trial and error...

I solved this issue for myself many years ago. In my opinion, the answer to this is a bi-directional layout title block. It may stretch your grpahic design skills but this will save you from ever needing to think about it again. Keep in mind that there's not a lot weirder than a plan drawn sideways or backwards or upside down. The "front" of the building should ALWAYS be at the bottom of your screen, and subsequently, your paper. When you have a structure that needs it's layout box rotated, no big deal because your layout template has 2 bottoms, the actual bottom, and the right hand side of the sheet. On site, even a cribber can figure out how to turn a sheet of paper (only one though)!

Actually quite simple. Build the ramp and sidewalk portions using roof planes in a separate new file. Make all your adjustments, then convert to symbol and place in your plan. Use a terrain hole to cut the surrounding roads / sidewalks.

The fastest way is to build it yourself. If you know exactly how all the framing and finishing will work together, then it's fairly quick to build it manually using p-solids and moldings, and then your plan views will match your section views, and renderings and details etc. You'll only have to do it once (unless the client request changes). I usually leave this step until I'm sure the decisions are close to finalized.

I'm not sure it would be that simple for the software to do it Greg. My guess is that it would be complex dbx's that wouldn't save time over doing it manually. I have my own 3d models of anchor bolts of various sizes with nuts and washers and it takes me about 1 minute to place them around a foundation. I think one of the issues would be the different types of sills used in various regions as well as various foundation types and concrete thicknesses. Sometimes sills are cast  in 2x4's to the inside, sometimes to the outside, sometimes anchor bolts are left in the center for a 2x8 sill plate, not to mention larger homes with 10' high basements and high back fill may require 10" wall thicknesses. Not to mention the many different ypes of ICF walls and core widths...

Alaskan Son nailed it.

One simple way would be to build the foundation as a blank floor plan, then copy and paste everything from floor 1 to floor 0. Then delete everything on floor 1 and rebuild, or select all the walls and change the wall type to your chosen framed wall.

The comparable software is Hot2000 available for free from NRCAN. It won't do what your looking for though. It's for energy modelling of a home. I also use Excel to do what you're doing. I have over a hundred different opaque assemblies listed in a spreadsheet, and the list keeps growing! I can't find any truly automatic way to incorporate this info without bogging down Chief. I have various templates for assemblies and update the text boxes manually for each plan. You can copy and paste from Excel into a Text box, but not into Rich Text.

I feel your pain.

Has anyone else experienced a frozen screen when closing an elevation view? Also, some options in various dialog boxes will not open; mainly labels. I've tried the obvious, closing, restarting etc. Everyhting is up-to-date, and I've made no changes to my system. This problem shows up on every file, not just a single plan.

I've got an open ticket with support, but deadlines are looming....

Hey Chris,

I do this all the time and would recommend a section view that is back clipped, and clipped to the sides so that the display goes just slightly beyond the wall you want to detail. Add a breakline to each side of the view and/or the top and bottom as needed. You can't clip the height of the camera ( that I know of ), however a white CAD box covering the floor below works well. Or the view can be cropped in layout.

Very impressive!! I understand exactly how difficult a project like that is.

I've built homes using ICF for over 20 years, and have built 3 for myself. It's fantastic to see others who have figured out the fine art of placing dozens of cubic meters of concrete in a styrofoam cup and keeping it exactly where you want it. You can be proud of a project like that!

The cleaned up result is posted. Of course, now the stairs from the house to garage need its height set manually. That's not a bad compromise.

Here's a quick and simple fix to this situation for correct modeling in 3D and 2D: Think of the 4" concrete slab as a 'floor finish' and think of the substrate (a 6" gravel fill in this case) as the floor height. In the room dbx set the floor height 4" lower than the desired top of slab elevation. Keep the stem wall top at the correct elevation (floor to stem wall top will increase by 4"). This will allow materials to be set with custom CAD fill patterns for each layer. Final step is to set the bottom of the overhead door 4" above the 'floor' (gravel layer) and set the overhead doors framing to have a rough opening of 4" on the bottom. The slab will now display through to the outside of the main layer and the CAD fills will be what you want, and not the odd sized default fill. Now if the fill could just be set for footings, wall layers in elevation view, line weights matching the item that they were produced from...and so on.