DavidJPotter

Not all steel doors are equal, what is a "rebated" jamb please? I would need a clear understanding of what you steel door jamb should look like in order to answer, can you help me? DJP

Nitin, My PC sometimes requires about ten or fifteen minutes for professional looking renders using its Ray-Tracer function. What software do you have? What is your PC hardware like? DJP

Chopsaw, X3 does not have the "save as PDF" feature unless she has Windows 10 Microsoft save as PDF. If you look at the PDF she uploaded it says she is using "PDF Factory" DJP

In order for an image to have a transparent background the image must be in a file format that supports transparency: .png or .gif only. Are you Transparencies actually Transparent or are they something else? DJP

I do not claim to be a bibliophile of the IRC but I have always used 36" for residential structures and 72" for commercial structures for entry doors, All exterior doors should be at least 36" whether Commercial or Residential. Using this I have never had a plan rejected by anyone, anywhere. (That includes South Africa, Japan, Korea, England, Scotland, The USA, Thailand, Caribbean Islands, Canada, Australia and Argentina. DJP

Others may suggest more exotic procedures but I would just render in the back ground while I worked on other plans, that way you can get your work done without any unusual measures to take. DJP

I use Dropbox for that. Others use Google Drive of Microsoft One Drive and there are others. DJP

First you must fully understand what a bump map is, technically speaking. as Mark and Alan suggested you will then need an image editor so you can alter the grout with tile textures. Some makers of symbols at 3D Warehouse short cut the 3d modeling with bit map overlays which if not fully imported as custom textures into Chief then are lost and you, as you say get a generic looking import. 3D warehouse is free but not always high quality. You might consider buying and learning Sketch Up so you can make or repair such generic symbols, it is a matter of how intent you are to get a particular outcome. DJP

Or your video card just sucks, you might want to update your video card drivers to see if that helps or adjust as Alan said your origin in Camera defaults. If your video hardware is integrated into the mother board then it is a certainty that you need to obtain and install a dedicated video card. DJP

I know a Chief User in Saint Kitts and I know there is also one located in the Caymon Islands, I know of no users in Bermuda other than you, DJP

Another person I know who develops and sells Chief Created plans is Vince Kunasek Address: 9629 Redick Ave, Omaha, NE 68122 Phone: (402) 315-9996 Email. vince@vincekunasekdesign.com DJP

Get out of your head that Chief Architect "thinks, has judgement, is an evil entity etc". It is just a mechanical device that runs from settings that you set properly or set wrongly, especially Edit-Default Settings but also every object has a dialog box with settings, check boxes, radio buttons and input boxes. Get one or several wrongly set and you get chaos, get them right and sail along. Chief's automaticy is preprogrammed and you work with that, sometimes it helps, sometimes it does not. It is up to you to persist, study, practice until you get a good, detailed understanding of the actual cause and effect of settings and procedures to arrive at an outcome. DJP

I quickly got the floor heights adjusted. Where I you I would ignore the auto shifting of the stem walls. Once the floor heights are set then you can manually set the stem walls to whatever height you require. I never worry about any framing until I have the model and roofs stable and relationally correct. Chief being a purely mechanical device cannot be expected to behave otherwise than it is. It is your job to control its parts and objects to a result. I tend to ignore what it does automatically because it cannot do otherwise. DJP PS: Joe was writing the post above while I was studying your plan, I think Joe's post along with mine give you the understanding you need

Persisting and getting it right with the workable correct settings is not "Magic". One can figure out the proper settings by study and practice. Once you are certain how to get a result, it is competence not chance or guessing that gets it done. DJP

Use something else then? I do not find it unstable at all. DJP

There ought to be a setting in the roof specification dialog, so why don't you make this as a suggestion in "Suggestions" DJP

If you want to edit trusses you unlock the truss envelope poly-line and then you can edit the cords and truss poly line. It is tedious work but can be done. I did such a job for the same reasons as you for a particular project back in Version 9.5, so I know it can be done. DJP

The differing floor heights will be affected by way of Edit - Default Settings per floor and certain room specification dialog-Structure Tab settings. It may take a while to convince Chief of what you want to do, you just have to be sure of your settings and persist until you get what you want. When you have the model under control you then build roofs and when the model is relationally correct, only then would you build auto framing. Once auto-framed the manual editing of framing would then begin. DJP

You select an existing plan or other linked view. Specifically you left-click to select the view. Then in that selected object's "Edit Toolbar" you will see an icon that looks like two chain links. You then click that icon which will open a "Browse" dialog where you can then see what plan file us currently linked or browse to another plan file and change what is then showing on your layout. You would be well advised to keep all linked plan and image of PDF file copies in the SAME folder as the associated layout. The layout needs to also be in the same folder as those objects associated with it. DJP

For my presentations, mainly for custom homes, I use "Go to Meeting" as a via to work with the client so they help me develop the design. I also print to PDF a letter sized, color layout for renderings-exterior and interior views in full color and a second layout, usually Arch D or E sized PDF file showing mainly 2D plans. This way the client is kept in the loop and is an active participant in the design creative cycle. DJP

The first time to do something is the "bear" time for us all, I think it looks nice, well done! You had a problem to solve and you solved it!. Others might offer other "proper" methods, I think you did peachy. DJP

There is no "Proper way really, only other users opinions as to "proper". I have used railings and then added a slab to extend the floor platform and I have done as you have done. I use the method that just gets the job done. Perhaps others have their proper methods, the vital product is getting it done. DJP

There is no direct connection between how the shutters appear and the sill and lintel. You can set a window to attach to framing or not, for windows in masonry I use the inset setting. The Lintel and sill can be custom drawn molding profiles. You can draw them at different depths until you get just the right reveal. I usually draw custom molding profiles in a back clip cross section camera so I can visually control its depth, same thing for lintels until I get the right look. Trouble with shutters you two options, settings in the window specification dialog - shutters tab or manually placing them. DJP

Here is a You Tube video about custom wall types and custom layering: https://youtu.be/3JkTnur78qA DJP

I charge $75.00 per hour which pays my bills but does not make me rich but I love what I do. I know others that charge more and some that charge less. You have to make what you charge your own decision based upon your needs. You then are responsible for promoting yourself, making yourself and your products known. You might also survey local designers and drafters in your immediate area. I think you will find that there is no standard, people tend to charge what they feel they are worth. Get a website, get a facebook page, a houz page etc to "Make yourself known", do not wait for the phone to ring. When I first started my own business, I actually went to various building and remodeling company offices with samples of my work, introduced myself, said what I charge and left a business card. That worked for me, you have to find and keep doing what does work for you. DJP