robdyck

Click the Auto Exterior Dimension tool. It will update correctly...except for the far left wall of the house and the front wall where the exterior wall is out of alignment with the foundation.

That's why you have the problem:) It's not right and you're currently not finding the correct text style. Make sure you are checking the text style for the layer set that is used in your electrical plan. A simple way to find this: in the electrical plan, single click a fixture. Select the Object Properties tool from the bottom. Change the text style for the Fixture, Labels layer. Or post your plan and I'll show you exactly what to do.

Real world application: https://www.trim-tex.com/products/reveal-shadow-beads

I know this question wasn't to me, but I'll chime in anyhow. Lighting helps, but it's not entirely necessary. If an interior scene is too dark, all you need to do is drop in some light sources and turn off their shadows (very quick and simple). As for materials, yes, they can make all the difference. Many of the objects from Chief's library will have an improved appearance with material editing or replacement. A couple of examples: stainless steel for appliances is often too flat, and lacks a realistic sheen while many models that have a fabric cover have poor fabrics that detract from a scene. These are quickly addressed in almost any plan. If you're producing renderings, it's a good idea to build your own library of lighting, materials, and models and so on. And always keep in mind that cameras can be copied from one plan to another. https://sites.google.com/view/robertdyckbuildingdesign/interior-renderings

When I need to do this, I use a customized Text Note. I set a new note type and use a schedule that includes only the note used for Room Numbering. You will need to manually place the notes and manually organize them, but at least you can't make mistakes regarding the scheduling. Using the Object Information Panel, you can add the Global macros that are available for rooms in the provided fields, or in custom fields. My preferred note shape for this is a 'capsule'.

For the short, chamfered corner, create a wall type that is a single layer, 1/2" thick, drywall material. Under Structure, set it as through wall at both ends.

You can cheat the valley lines to create a level eave at least 1" long for 1 plane and at least 1.5" for the other or model them manually with solids. Another option, create additional roof planes, just for the boxed eaves.

Create a 3-drawer cabinet. Specify the bottom 2 drawers as a different type of drawer from the library. Paint away. Here I just used slab drawers. The top is a default slab, the bottom 2 have been chosen and painted.

Yes, simply notch the roof plane downward. Gutter and shadow boards can be controlled on an edge-by-edge basis. Select the edges you need to alter and toggle the gutter or shadow board on/off in the roof plane dialog.

If the project browser still shows the 'old' plan file (the one you want to replace), then 1 of 2 things is going on: a layout box remains in layout that is still linked to the 'old' plan a window is open with a view from the 'old' plan file. When the reference plan file is replaced (using Tools / Layout / Referenced Plan Files) , the old file should disappear from the PB as soon as the dialog is closed. For more specific help, attach your plan files and someone can walk you through the correction for your problem. Alternatively, it would also be helpful if you could record a video demonstrating the issue.

Consider using a CAD mask that still provides the outline of the 'cut' cabinets but shades out the inner details. While this is manual, it will provide context and clarity. A cad block can be made to mask the base and wall cabinet and by adjusting the insert point, it can be quickly place in each view as needed. This would be preferable to cropping the view or altering layers, both of which also take time.

The answer to both is to model them manually. Turn off stringers / trim at wall and model with either a 3d molding or 3d solid in section view. More or less the same for trim at landings.

All you'd have to do is cut/paste the story pole dimension (ctrl-x, ctr-alt-v). This will add point markers at each dimension extension. The elevations will remain as noted but they won't be locating the noted elevations. If you don't want to see those point markers in your elevation or section view, simply select them all and make them really small / place them in the back of the drawing order. This method requires a bit of habit / memory so that you know / remember your process.

I'd be willing to discuss both renderings and training. Send me a PM or checkout my website. https://sites.google.com/view/robertdyckbuildingdesign

Yes, I'm sure you can! It might take some consultation or training. I know this is getting off topic for the original post, but can you post one of your best renderings and a sample image of what you'd like to achieve?

If I were getting into the stock plan market, I would respectfully suggest you learn how to keep everything within Chief. Chief can do it all. For me, exporting between various software would be come too big a hassle as you start to compile variations of a stock plan. It's simply too efficient to copy/paste in Chief to look elsewhere. There are plenty of Chief users producing great images, inside and out. And extremely quickly.

It looks like your plan file was still open when you attached it. It has to be closed! What you can do is use 2 walls in the same place. Railing wall 1: room definition (yes), railing pony wall, wall cap, rail style open, no newels, no top rail. Railing wall 2: room definition (no), top rail, newels, balusters, set height to be just under ceiling, in plan view, center on wall 1. It can be done very close to what you want. For a perfect representation, you may need to build it manually, or at least just the wall cap molding.

Another Canuck! I've assisted others and they've been able to make drastic improvements in only 1 or 2 hours of training. As I mentioned, the first step would be a brief conversation by phone or, preferably by Google Meet, the 2nd step would be for me to inspect a plan file. Then we can determine the best type of training method for you. I'll go out on a limb and guarantee that you will be beyond impressed at what you'll be able to learn in short order!

If you were willing to pay a render farm, how much would you be willing to pay someone who also uses Chief to render for you? Or, what kind of budget would you have for training? Who knows, that may cost less than you might have thought. I might train / mentor or render for you as would others. It would all start with a one-on-one conversation. You need to be comfortable with the person helping you and that person would need to examine one of your Chief files so that through a discussion, together you can identify the areas for improvement that would benefit you the most.

Respectfully, I would disagree. There are many CA users producing very realistic exterior renderings. The level of quality is largely dependent on 3 main factors: your skill / knowledge your hardware and most importantly your clients budget. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/gallery/image/6019-exterior-1-5/ No doubt some of my images are better than others (of my own)...almost entirely driven by factor #3 from the list above. And FWIW, I almost never use any other software! If you're having issues, I would hone in on the above list and ask myself which one of those factors is the simplest to improve. To improve #1, you'll need time. Maybe some training To improve #2, you'll need money. To improve #3, you'll need to improve #1 & #2

Simply some additional information for those who can use it: When generating a room molding polyline, the elevation will match the elevation of the original room molding that is being replaced by the molding polyline. When drawing a molding polyline, it appears as though it will 'land' on the floor finish elevation of whatever floor you are one.

Find a tile material in Chief's library that shows a tile using only 1 tile for the texture. Copy that material to the User library and then replace the texture file with your own texture file. That would be a good exercise to start. The DalTile library also has plenty of materials that would serve as a good starting point for texture replacement.

All you need to do is use the import tools to import the saved plan view from Chief's template plan. To do this, select File>Import>Import Saved Plan Views... You will need to know the file path for the Residential template plan. You can find this by following Edit>Preferences>General>New Plan>Plan Template

small jump to 12 MB. Takes less than 2 seconds to generate model.

find the wall you want. single click. look for the wrench tool at the bottom. click it.