robdyck

This site has everything. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/carriage-bolts/carriage-bolts~/medium-strength-grade-5-steel-square-neck-carriage-bolts/

Can you just send to layout using vector render technique with plot lines? How are you currently sending to layout?

This used to be a bit easier when we had line control of each side of the main layer. A simple workaround is to add a '0' thickness layer to the exterior of the main layer, all properties the same. Make the exterior line set by the layer, make the interior line dashed.

That doesn't sound like it should be a problem, but I'd need to take a look at the plan to know exactly why you're having this issue. If you don't want to post the file here, you could send me a PM with a link and I'll take a look.

3d solids would not be the best choice when abandoning the stair tool. A 3d solid will not necessarily display the correct line weight when switching between SVP's. This can lead to display errors on your con docs. If I felt I had to abandon the stair tool, my first choice would be moldings, 2nd choice cabinets, 3rd choice slabs. All have various pros / cons. 3d solids have very few positive attributes...probably because they have so few attributes to begin with!

You should be able to set the ceiling height to 90" for that room and check 'shelf ceiling'. It should frame pretty close to correct. It'll probably look better if you delete the custom ceiling plane and you can also use joist direction arrows to set the direction for the ceiling joists.

Don't pull the stairs past the wall corners. Instead, stop each set at the corner.

Do you have 'Allow Wrap' checked?

All you need to do is recreate these points in meters. Place a marker anywhere. Use the transform replicate tool to move the marker using the Absolute Location setting. Enter the values from the survey plan...Easting is X Position and Northing is Y Position. Use the exact numbers followed by 'm' to so Chief knows you want meters. For example: 247879.771m. Press OK. Open the marker again, and repeat that process for point number 2. This time, also select 'Copy'. Press OK. Repeat for all points Draw a polyline connecting the dots.

Yes, it needs to be a polyline. Even easier to use one that's already there, or just copy to your library and set the size and material.

For a cable railing, you could even generate a stacked molding with all your cables preset.

@GeneDavis search 'round' in the library. There's plenty of options. Of course, you could just add that circle to the library and name it something convenient. And you could even preset the material!

In one quick test, first drawing a cad line then converting to molding resulted in the molding line being located at '0' on the axis drawn. This is different, it used to 'land' on the surface facing the camera. Better workflow is to skip the CAD line step. Just locate your molding in the library to activate the molding tools, then draw the molding. It will land on the surface it is drawn on.

If there has been any change to the layerset used by that view, the elevation view in layout will not automatically update to show the current layerset. You will need to relink that view and then it will update in layout to match the current layerset used by the elevation view.

There could be quite a few other factors that might be adjusted for improvements, but as a starting point I'd suggest lowering the exposure to 0.35 and increasing the brightness to 20. Sample rate should be able to be reduced to 100. Next, inspect the backdrop and its intensity (try 9000), sunlight settings (100,000 for daytime scene), and the light set in use for that camera, followed by lighting adjustments. Just creating / using a light set can have a drastic impact. After that, start examining some materials, like glass and emissive light bulb materials.

The dormer wall will need a few special adjustments. The 3 dormer wall will need a 4th, invisible wall at the back of the dormer. This will create a room just for the dormer which can have a higher ceiling. All dormer walls will need 'roof cuts wall at bottom' checked The walls may also need 'balloon through ceiling above' checked.

Michael, nice to hear you've got a sense of humor after a yard sale! I had one random thought about resetting the dimensions settings; try double-double clicking on the Saved Plan View that was being used. I've noticed that some behaviors can lag behind when switching between various saved plan views. I don't know if that's it, but worth a try.

What happens if you select the temporary dimension? When you select the dimensions, it's not bringing up the correct edit options for the wall. FYI, the Windows Snipping Tool has a screen record function. Easy to use, and allows you to copy and paste the video. 20240824-1559-32.5368199.mp4

Whoa...jittery! You need to use a screen recording app!

Which vendor and what file type? You might be able to edit it in Sketchup first.

This can be modeled in Chief, but you'll need 1 adjustment. The stem wall will need to be 12"x12" with the footing offset 6" to the exterior. This will allow for the slab to return down to the footing and this is the only way to get Chief to model this correctly (using auto tools, that I know of). Set the slab chamfer at 4" and Chief should model this just fine.

The reason you have lines in the exterior wall material is because the walls have been painted using more than one version of the material. In your plan, there were 3 instances of that material. By merging all 3 into 1 material, the lines disappear. This is worth noting for future projects and other types of objects; even if the materials have the exact same properties, they will generate lines at different surfaces.

Me! I sent you a personal message earlier today. I'm not fishing for work, just letting you know I'm available. Just takes a conversation to find out what you need and how I can help, whether it's troubleshooting, or helping if your workload gets too heavy! You can find my contact info by visiting my website (link in my signature) or in the message I sent.