kylejmarsh

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Everything posted by kylejmarsh

  1. kylejmarsh
    If by 'vacant property' you mean a building which already exists, that you can take a picture of a room (sound above like you meant vacant LAND) but if you want to take a photo of a vacant room and add furniture, there are ipad apps your cliient can play around with as well. They don't make a 3d model or anything, but there is enough 'entourage' to decorate a room with. Just a thought.
  2. kylejmarsh
    You guys are right! It's the interior soffits that are controlled by that. Whew! Thanks for the help. It's funny the whole time - literally years - i've been using Chief I could not understand why the roof soffits and the interior walls were on the same material. Now it all makes (more) sense. And to be clear, I define my roof soffit material in the roof defaults dialog as is proper - but couldn't figure out what the deal was with that. Interior Soffits. Lol thanks for helping me laugh at myself a bit Enjoy!
  3. kylejmarsh
    Wait a minute now I just checked and when I change my soffit material to 'default' it makes it into Drywall just like the interior walls: Even though my material default for soffit/interior walls is set to be 'cobble stone':
  4. kylejmarsh
    Oh I totally agree - I honestly don't think it even works to change the interior wall material (it does change the soffits, however) but it's always baffled me why they are lumped together in the materials list.
  5. kylejmarsh
    Though I always council my clients to match their interior wall finishes to their soffits, sometimes I find they are resistant to the idea and want to use two different materials for these items. However, I only have the option to change the default for the two together: Is there a way to create a new material default, or to separate these? I guess it's not a big deal but I always wondered if there was some deeper insight that I was just not picking up on... perhaps some Chiefer out there can enlighten me?
  6. kylejmarsh
    Yes I think this is a related issue - it's happened to me - I find if I export drawings at anything other than 144dpi this happens. It may just be coincidence - I also have this issue when I re-link to a new version of the file - the ortho cameras will either flip upside down, move up and left, or some combination of the two. A real bummer.
  7. kylejmarsh
    This brings up a separate but related issue - the ability to set what size/resolution the pictures sent from the model to the layout come in at - right now it seems to be related to how zoomed-in you are - it's totally stupid. I would send a lot more pictures in as image if I knew what size they would arrive at - it's a minor thing but seems to be the logical way for it to work. By the way the 'send as image' ones look way better than the 'live' views, based on the files posted above by everybody - to my eye, the 'live' views distort the view enough at the edges to make it seem uncomfortable to look at. The others are more restful to my eye - maybe I'm imagining it.
  8. kylejmarsh
    Yes a good method - you could also have image placeholders in your Layout file, and have them pointed toward /Exterior-1, /Exterior-2 etc. in your project folder, then just overwrrite those files with an export - probably speeds up the Layout process too since those live views can be kind of pesky to deal with. Here's a recent 'concept' drawing I just did using the live views, as well as a couple different 'stacked' views - but creates a nice concept drawing. This is pretty much the only place I use the 3D live views - Concept - Krupp - Apr15.pdf
  9. kylejmarsh
    We must have all of the obscure cabinet libraries!!! How dare you sir - requesting that a basic feature be added to the software will not be tolerated! Not only that, but the sheer fact that you've requested it has angered the Chief, and now it will never, ever be fixed! Muahahahahaha!!
  10. kylejmarsh
    Good idea using the roof truss for this. Wonder why the floor trusses aren't as useful?
  11. kylejmarsh
    I usually end up manually editing the trusses anyway - it's not hard. I don't know how else to do it if chief's automatic behavior doesn't do it. I didn't know you can order trusses with that shower carved out of them but sounds like an awesome idea, instead of having to header it off, etc. Seems a good reason to use floor trusses in that area of the house at least. Interested to hear if anybody else knows the 'correct' answer.
  12. kylejmarsh
    Upon sending 3D cameras to layout, I've noticed that they don't come through with the same aspect ratio as shown on my screen. That means I need to zoom waay in to get the view to look correct on the layout. What gives? Is there some setting I'm missing or is this a bug? Here you see a screen shot of my camera (exactly as shown, with no toolbars turned on so it's the full CA window) and the view as sent to layout (again, cropped perfectly to show how the camera came through). Next I match the widths and put them side by side to show the difference. What accounts for this? I have been unable to figure it out.
  13. kylejmarsh
    Thanks for the help, I appreciate the pointers. It does seem silly that we need to 'hack' the program like this for what seems to me a fairly standard operation. Suppose I'll make a triple door and just save it to my library.
  14. kylejmarsh
    Here's the door I need to specify, an Andersen A-Series with three panels: Here are the options that chief gives me for a hinged patio door: Should I just write a note on the drawing that says 'my software can't make a door like that...' I'm embarrassed to admit this to Kevin, a fellow local designer who is thinking of moving to CA or a similar program, because I always talk up how great Chief is but then there's stuff like this. What do experienced Cheefers do?
  15. kylejmarsh

    skylights

    kylejmarsh replied to TylerB's topic in General Q & A

    Since we're discussing skylights here, I wonder how I can get my skylights on to my window schedule?
  16. kylejmarsh
    Agreed x2
  17. kylejmarsh
    This has the root of a very valuable suggestion. I usually don't post on this forum much anymore because i don't feel like my suggestions, which are pretty good (though nothing as good as alaskan son or others) but I get no indication of if they'll ever be implemented. Some kind of running list, where we could vote on items, would be awesome. I put forward a similar kind of idea where we could all chip in some money on the ones we wanted the most, to potentially buy some hours from a programmer to get this stuff fixed. I would gladly pay some $$ for some of these items, especially if it means the difference of getting it next release or in 3 years... I can make my SSA subscription with just a couple billable hours, it stands to reason that if Chief could save me a couple more hours a year I would give them a bigger chunk of cash...
  18. kylejmarsh
    That would be awesome - good suggestion. Gene I'm going to go ahead and disagree with you on this one
  19. kylejmarsh
    When I multiple select roof planes, I am given the option to change their baseline height or their pitch, and nothing else. So I have to go into each roof plane and set it's fascia height individually - which stinks, partly because of CA's dialogue-box heavy interface. If I have to open up a dang dialog box, can't I at least have the option to override all and set the fascia and pitch or ridge and pitch, etc. for all the roof planes selected? This is a larger part of the underlying issue, which is that CA needs to invest in a GUI redesign because this one is so clunky and cumbersome. Please Chief, please. Please.
  20. kylejmarsh
    I bought a mac mini with the thunderbolt ports - got the 6-core 3.2/4.5 GHz boost model for $2k. Then did an eGPU using the thunderbolt port which plugs in between the mini and my monitor, and in that I installed the Radeon 8GB video card. Honestly it rocks and is very fast - but the bluetooth on the mini sucks it gets interference and had to go back to a wired keyboard. Other than that, very happy. It honestly shows some of the flaws in the CA architecture - specifically in layout - as everything runs so fast you can see when CA is struggling to keep up. My other machine is a Macbook Pro w/2GB Video card and especially when doing larger models or Layout items the new one shows it's value.
  21. kylejmarsh
    Kind of along the same idea as my 'marketplace' for the updates - I like the modules concept.
  22. kylejmarsh
    I agree here - ADU's are a great way to gently increase the density of neighborhoods, and were a common part of the Urban fabric until ham-handed zoning laws outlawed them in the 70's. They're as American as Apple Pie. I've done a couple around my area of Michigan and the owners were nothing but thrilled with them. If you're interested in the Philosophy behind them, as well as Urban Infill / Traditional Neighborhood Design then look-up a guy named Andres Duany - he's got a bunch of excellent talks on the subject, one I think will be front and center in the coming decades. The time of Sprawl is ending - the people are turning against it, clamoring to move into cohesive walkable downtowns and small cities, so much so that there's a massive premium around here for 'in-town' houses. However, it doesn't have to be this way - these are small properties, with relatively small and simple houses, and they're fetching top-dollar. What's so hard about creating this, that we don't seem to do it these days? You'll have to seek out Mr. Duany to find the answer.
  23. kylejmarsh
    I like the one with the projecting gable/bay, since it is an asymmetrical design which goes with the offset garage door below. Once you go symmetrical upstairs, you should center that garage door. Like the comparison shots.
  24. kylejmarsh
    Glad you like the book Steve - it's one of the best I've found as far as an intro to 'good design'. Once I started using the lessons in this book, it's led to bigger commissions, clients with better 'taste' (and deeper pockets), it's given me the confidence to educate clients away from bad ideas or 'trendy' whims... it's really been the key that has unlocked the golden door, so to speak. I do agree there are a million giant, terrible houses built everywhere in our great country. I'm actually ok with doing different styles of houses, as long as they are done 'right' - this book helps lay out the pitfalls that are avoidable, and will improve the look of any house. As for the mcmansions, may I direct you to another fun website - www.mcmansionhell.com. https://mcmansionhell.com David - Never new about that book, but have just ordered a copy. I see it's by another one of my favorite authors, Charlie Wing - who did the update/reissue of one of the greatest homebuilding books ever created (especially for a young me, when I read it, it was transformative) - Your Engineered House. Thanks for the recommendation.
  25. kylejmarsh
    Do yourself a favor - get a copy of Get Your House Right. It is a map through the thousand design decisions you'll be making as you design a house. It is a dictionary of the Architectural Vocabulary our predecessors worked to perfect and articulate, and is your key to taking your designs to the next level. You have to drive around this life and see houses designed by total amateurs, littering the neighborhoods and fields along the roadway - don't let your designs fall into this category. You owe it to yourself to buy this book and study it.