robdyck

Depending on how your floor plan is setup, it can be as simple as editing the floor structure for existing rooms. In the Room Spec. dialog, go to the Structure tab, select Floor Structure, locate the framing layer and uncheck the Framing option.

Thanks for the tip Scott! I'll give this a try and see if this helps to reduce the number of crashes I'm experiencing.

For help with this, you should post this plan. That way someone can see your exact settings, make adjustments and send the plan back to you. Otherwise we are guessing at your settings. Also, any advice may not actually suit that room or view. Yes, there are some general adjustments, but PB views really are specific to each scene.

This is dependent on the path you choose to calculate insulation. If you add a layer to the wall definition, then the room (thermal envelope) is irrelevant. IMO this method is the most bullet proof and is one of the easiest ways to edit all walls of a type at once. This requires no macros, no math. If you use an added component, then you will need to define the difference between conditioned and unconditioned space which is determined by rooms. If you were to accidentally toggle a room to not follow its default, or if the conditioned space default is setup incorrectly for the room, the insulation amount would be incorrect. In Eric's example, if you reference a wall's layer, then you will need a more complex macro if you have a pony wall, and you'd need to edit the macro if you changed the wall layers in the wall definition dialog. If I were following Eric's example, I'd probably use the following in the Count column: =owner.thermal_envelope_area.round I'd delete Chief's wall insulation component and add my own insulation component. Further to the wall components, with a little experimentation, you can add in a lot of materials that follow walls, that Chief doesn't model or factor in. Weeping Tile & crushed rock, foundation waterproofing, Metric spec rebar, are just a few examples.

This would be like if you and I went for a mountain bike ride and after I got tired of waiting at the top of each hill I suggested that you should pedal faster and in a higher gear! You know things about Chief that most of us never will!

I think this is what has many of us stuck. How do you create a component that will report the same material amount as drywall or vapor barrier?

I was just referring to a 0 thickness layer added to the wall definition, just under the vapor barrier. I just created a material named Insulation Area and defined its material list property to report as 'area'. In the wall spec dialog, you would then edit all its properties so it reports in the correct categories. You could create material copies like Insulation Area - R20 or Ins. Area - R22, etc. This creates complexity in the plan and I would NEVER use varying wall types like this during design development. I would ALWAYS make a separate copy of a completed plan that I alter strictly for the purpose of the materials list.

Just to add to this, you will still be able to edit / change the materials on the building symbol. I would use a symbol for a secondary building representation. It is extremely quick and simple to do.

Hi Marlem. For that last example, you should have posted your entire screen:) That being said, you were attempting to edit the rendering techniques but you are following the wrong path! See the snippet below for the correct path. Or Edit / Default Settings / 3D View Defaults / Rendering Techniques...

I think a conversation with clients about how materials report is also worth having. For example, some people would actually want the sheetrock reported in area instead of board count. And last time I checked, the drywall area on exterior walls was essentially the same area needed for vapor barrier and insulation. The long and short of it is, to get these reported usefully, we need to control the input. Chief doesn't just do it for us, but it gives us the tools. And my main point about adding an insulation layer to exterior walls is to keep the material count in chief instead of adding it to an external spreadhseet, and to avoid the black hole time suck of trying to alter the default batt insulation count.

Good point! I assumed Rob was debating over the complexity of actual construction to decide if this type of element suited a particular project budget.

the math can be performed right in the components tab for walls. simply add the math at the end of the existing count formula and apply to the source object. The text to add would be "/50" (replace the number with your correct sq ft number per bag). However, if I may be bluntly honest, I think this is dumb because there are so many types of insulation and they all have a different quantity per bag. There are couple of ways this can be organized but it could require multiple wall types with a variety of insulation material names. And obviously some project are simple while other are complex. For example, I frequently have projects with 4 different types of wall insulation. And almost never any with batts in floor or ceilings. All these variables lead to an increased opportunity for error. Fortunately in my region, there are no GC's who need to know insulation quantities. They are all looked after by the sub-contractor.

Hard to build...this is relative to the skill of the person with the wood and the saws. Time consuming, yes. The real cost to this type of roof is in the cladding, not the framing. They take 5-10 times longer to frame than a simple roof, but still, we're talking a couple of hours instead of 15 minutes. Curved standing seam metal...be prepared for $$$$!

Theo, perhaps you could be more specific about the output you are looking for. My own preference is to report wall insulation by area instead of by number of batts. Perhaps the simplest way to have the insulation report accurately in the materials list is to add a 0 thickness layer to the wall definition and use a copy of the Vapor Barrier material and then name that material something like "Insulation Area". The mat list output will then report the same area for insulation and vapor barrier and it will take openings into account.

IMO there are 2 main data points to set these elevations; Baseline Height and Fascia Top Height. The roof plane baseline should remain exactly aligned at the exterior of the wall top plate. For joining varying roof pitches, you should first set the desired Baseline Height for the lower pitch roof plane. Then copy the Fascia Top Height from the lower pitch roof and apply that elevation to the higher pitch roof, and ensure the Pitch is locked. The elevation of the roof Baseline Height minus the wall top plate elevation will then equal the truss heel height. Depending on your roof default settings, Chief may not report the Top of Plate elevation correctly in the Roof Plane Specification dialog, so it is important that you inherently know the top plate elevation.

Here is another tip for locating a 3d molding that was created in a section or elevation view. Notice that if you single-click (in plan view) to select the molding, you have limited tools available and the only object handle is in the center. But if you marquee select the molding, additional tools are available, especially the point-to-point move tool. Single click selection: Marquee selection:

Wouldn't it be simpler to just use a text macro? How are you going to get that information from the wall into the plan view? A referenced arrow? The wall label? A text macro will allow you to place the text in multiple views and allow you to edit all instances at one time. Text with a reference arrow...would you trust that arrow to stay connected to your desired object? Experience has taught me not to trust a referenced arrow for con docs.

FWIW in a 1/4" scale plan (or smaller) I wouldn't have room for a door label reading: 2'-6" x 6'-8". So I use inches. For 1/4" scale: 30" x 80" For 3/16" scale or smaller I omit the space between the width and height: 30"x80" For garage doors I use feet-inches: 10'-0"W x 8'-0"H This method has kept suppliers and trades from phoning me with the obvious questions....until I have a builder who demands the format 2668. Then, you get to explain to every homeowner, and some of the trades and suppliers what that means:) And that default (old-timey) format fails when you need to use metric windows (1500x1500) displayed with imperial labels (411411)! O Canada!!!

Here's a video showing the steps to accurately position the molding on the door panel. moldinganddoor.mp4

Here's a video showing the steps to position the moldings: moldingsandwalls.mp4

There are a few ways to move them back to the wall surface. In plan view, you can select one or more and use the point-to-point move tool to move them on to the wall surface. You could also use the dimension tool to measure the distance, then select the moldings and use the transform / replicate tool to move them that distance in the x-axis. If you post a plan, I or someone could make a video showing you a method. It's important to keep in mind that when drawing a 3d molding in a section or elevation camera, the molding will 'land' on the main surface that you've drawn your polylline on. So make sure your initial polyline is located entirely on your desired target wall surface.

BTW I need a bigger monitor because of your signature!

I've edited the material properties of 3d plants. Have you tried blending the texture with the color?

It's simply too large for the 3d viewer. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-03068/viewing-managing-and-sharing-3d-viewer-models.html It's recommended to keep the number of exported surfaces below 500,000 and exported texture memory below 50 MB.