robdyck

Gerard, if you're using a typical PVC or Aluminum window with a nailing flange, the frame depth or wall thickness may provide slightly confusing information to a supplier. I could see my phone ringing with questions about why I'm specifying a 7" jamb instead of a 6 9/16" jamb. Seeing as in our region, jamb depth is measured inward from the nailing flange, the frame depth or wall thickness could have the exterior layers removed from the reported value. This is simply done using a manual calculation added to the macro, but it does mean that you'll need to know the exterior wall cladding layer thickness and subtract those from your reported value. Perhaps @solver knows a way to include a macro that automatically reports the wall thickness, minus the exterior cladding thickness, plus 1/16" for construction tolerance.

@Ed_OrumHi Ed, while we all need to work in the most efficient manner for our own skill sets, I can tell you that Chief is remarkable for all aspects of residential design. I NEVER use a cad detail for exterior elevation views and 99% of the time I don't have a single errant line produced in those views. In other words, Chief is producing the drawing and the model perfectly! That being said, I have over 20 years of experience with Chief! I also use almost no CAD drawing or detailing in plan view. If you wanted to find improvements within Chief, you could frequently contact Tech Support with a specific issue or immerse yourself in the Help section. Better yet would be to hire a mentor who could virtually meet with you and show you exactly how to address a specific issue. I can tell you that to learn the software, (a very long time ago) I have read several versions of the manual cover to cover .After 20+ years, I still refer to Help and watch Chief's videos to refresh my skills and look for pointers or methods that I may have forgotten, overlooked, or rarely used. If you're ever interested in some assistance, I'd be happy to discuss what you need and how I could help.

Did you check the box for 'Attic Wall'?

That's a good point! I thought about that and 'thought' I had checked that but I didn't realize that Gene has a separation set to 1.5" so his vertical lights were partially buried inside the front cabinet frame! After relocating them, I opened the camera and they still don't show up when the cabinet door glass material is Glass Standard (straight from the Library). I can get the lights to show through the cabinet doors with Glass Standard as the material but only if I uncheck 'Refraction' in Technique Options. It's worth noting that Gene's door style has 2 panes of glass whereas Chief's default glass door has only 1 pane of glass, however I tested that and it made no difference. Here's a nighttime view: All vertical rope lights are on and only 1 UC rope light is on.

The only thing that comes to mind right away is that I would suggest some experimenting in a saved version of the file. When I've imported surveyors contour maps and converted them to elevation lines, the terrain has generated far too many elevation points and it really slows the the file down. I've had the same experience when importing terrain data from a survey. What I prefer to do is use simplified methods and manually enter the elevation data in a way that I know will keep my file operating efficiently but still represent the terrain accurately. Alternatively, I may import the data in a separate file and then create a symbol that I can use for visual reference in my main plan file. But I've found that importing data, then cleaning it up / simplifying / deleting / altering for the terrain to generate efficiently in Chief can take longer than placing elevation points / lines / regions manually.

The material used for the glass cabinet doors has the most effect. Using a General Material will enable the lights to display in PB rendering.

Can you provide more information? Several screenshots of the problem or even better, attach the plan file! If you do this, someone will provide you with the solution almost right away!

@Renerabbitt Can you speak to this Rene?

I prefer that both lines of all arrows remain consistently parallel whenever possible. My method for adding this text is somewhat different. I make sure my arrows can't move or adjust themselves and I replicate the arrows and a text box vertically a set distance. I then adjust the angled portion of each arrow and then lastly add my text. If I need to make a vertical adjustment because of space, I either center the text on the leader line or drag the horizontal portion up/down to snap to the center of the text.

Yes, working on 2 Zero Threshold project right now. Our foundations are probably quite different than yours, but I use a concrete foundation wall with a reduced thickness at the top to provide a bearing ledge for the floor framing. This allows me to bring the grade up to within 6" of the sill plate. The sill plate is directly under the floor sheathing. Generally speaking, it would be my understanding that a the top of a concrete driveway / sidewalk is not considered as grade level, but rather the substrate below it is. TBH, I'm not entirely sure if your question was in regards to the building methods or sloping the terrain in Chief.

From the standpoint of a builder, I'd also want to see how the slope is being achieved when all components appear to 'flat', but I realize that may be handled in a different drawing. I'm ok with simply noting slopes in 1/4" scale section views, but for any thing over 1/4" scale, I prefer that the slope is shown as accurately as possible.

My comments would have been similar to Rene's; at that scale I'd try to be sure that the flashing components are highlighted. The roof assembly components could just as easily be identified with the callout for that assembly. Here are some of my illustrations; feel free to examine and pick apart what you like / dislike and then determine how you might adjust your detail.

This has always been the case when using trusses with this type of roof configuration. If you really want the correct appearance you will need to do some manual editing. Perhaps the simplest method is to use 2 separate roof trusses, 1 for each roof plane. It still requires editing the polyline of the higher truss, but I find that a bit quicker and more stable than editing the truss framing members.

In this case 'ca' could mean Canada, not Chief Architect! @dskogg and I know that a face frame cabinet is beyond extremely rare in Canada. In fact, of all the houses I've been a part of, I've never seen them so I'm not actually sure I believe any of you who say a face frame cabinet is even a real thing. You can make a picture of anything these days so that's not proof! Seriously though, they are not the norm in western Canada!

I don't think this functions the same as what you have in mind but the distribution polyline is pretty close. In this example I made a CAD block of spiral ducting and then added that block to a distribution polyline. There are significant limitations to this and it's not a method I would necessarily recommend. There's cases where it works well and others...not so much.

This could all be done but it would be pretty gross! The spreader symbol would need to include a face material to represent edge banding. Box construction: Framed Separation: Max. 1/16" Doors and drawers would need to be symbols with 3d offsets. And, if travelling this road, then the drawers should be modeled with a separate component to represent the front member of the drawer box. This type of cabinet construction usually has the drawer faces added to a drawer box.Cabinet Spreader.calibz

Plinth blocks are an item that don't generate a 3d component. Plinth blocks do not display in 3D views, but are counted in the Materials List.

Yes, using the Edit Area (All Floors) tool you can neatly cut a portion out and move the left or right remaining section the appropriate amount. A little trial and error along with the undo key and you'll have it figured out in no time!

Perhaps the solution might be to allow both wall and door to be transparent. By adjusting the transparency you can control how the 'intensity' of the display of objects behind the glass. Using my tempered glass material with transparency at: 10% 50% 100%

For slopes on lots or exit paths, I create a cad block of my desired arrow, save it to the library and then use a polyline distribution path.

Post your plan or send me a file download link and I'll point out the problem and solution right away.