Chrisb222

Yes. I'm done trying to decipher how to quickly and easily create realistic renderings with the software tools. Ain't worth the time and trouble, and never looks as good as AI. Just watch for changing architectural details.

Yeah I've been doing this for awhile but only after the floor plan is locked in when I'm doing the final con docs. For design iterations, I like using factory room labels because they're automatic, (were) easy, and look ok for that purpose, but the changes to the auto room labels really made that a lot harder. So for me, it's a pretty big downgrade.

I agree, Joe. I also have rich text with macros that I use for final room labels. Easy to go around and plop them in. However, I only do that as part of the final assembly of the con docs. I still use factory room labels for all iterations of design, and it sucks that pretty much all of the changes to room labels makes using them for quick design iterations worse and more cumbersome, and added none of the features I can achieve with rich text. So yeah, I'm pretty salty about the changes to room labels...

Another thing that's changed is you can no longer select two or more room labels in order to align them using the Align/Distribute Tool, which I used to do on every plan. Room labels are also no longer snappable. And issues with the display of labels when the room type is changed, causing extra clicks. Several things changed for the good, some changed for the not good. As usual, Chief giveth and Chief taketh away.

Been going back and forth with tech, had to show them screenshots of their own plan not scaling correctly in X18. Just got this response: Hello Chris,I was finally able to replicate the issue, thank you for your patience. I've gone ahead and bumped this up to our developers, as I can find any reason or otherwise solution for the weird behavior of the Line scaling. Thanks for your understanding, and apologies for the inconvenience. Hopefully we can get a solution to this shortly. This is what I sent them: This reply has a screenshot attached of your GrandView GV2 project that I downloaded. The screenshot is a snippet of the floor plan view on Sheet 4 of the layout, after I rescaled it to 1/32" with Use Layout Line Scaling unchecked. You can see the line weights did not scale like they should, and as they always did in every previous version. Interestingly, it doesn't matter if Use Layout Line Scaling is checked or unchecked, the line weights react the same to down-scaling. You should be able to replicate that yourself, unless it's something in my copy of CA, or something to do with my using MacOS. GrandView project: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/products/samples.html

@PitMan71in my testing I didn't notice dashes, I was having a problem with line weights. I often send floor plan concepts on a file sized for 8.5x11 and happened to open one of my old files in X18 the other day, that's when I noticed the line weights weren't scaling. This is an X17 layout file with a 1/4" scale drawing scaled to 1/10", opened in X17 and then X18, changing nothing, just opening the file: X17: X18: When I was experimenting with it this weekend, the same thing happened when I tried an older plan I downloaded from Chief Architect, their Grandview project. I sent tech support a copy of that file showing the problem. My ticket is still "in progress"

Yeah I believe that would do it. In my testing only a fresh X18 file would scale correctly. I wouldn't think so, since a fresh X18 factory template will scale correctly but a legacy file won't, without changing any settings. I'll report here when tech answers me, status is "In Progress."

You're right the dash style for doorways can't be controlled. But it looks like you're having the same problem I'm having, where scaling a layout view doesn't scale the line weights and dashes like it always did. In my testing, a new X18 plan created from the stock template will scale correctly, but not a legacy file brought into X18. I have a ticket in regarding this issue, waiting for a reply from tech support. As a side note, your plan and layout are using different line weight scales in their respective Drawing Sheet Setup dialogs. It doesn't affect the dashes over the doorways, but it does affect other lines in the layout view.

Do you mean dashed lines? How do your line weights look? Are these legacy files brought into X18?

The spaces look large enough with the exception of the toilet area, unless there is no door between it and the maneuvering area. Are there shower walls, or is this an open wet room? If open, you might shave a little off the space between the shower and the vanity but it's not too oversized as is. Be aware your measurements don't account for wall thicknesses, so 12' overall exterior to exterior would not allow the sizes you have for the divided spaces, if there are walls. Not a big deal, just something to keep in mind. Otherwise I think it should be fine. Sorry for you and your daughter, best of luck.

Turning the railing label layer on and off made no difference for me, super buttery smooth either way.

Foundation Plan: Basement Plan: Basement Plumbing Plan (1/2" scale dimension text): Same! Nah, once the SPVs and LSs are set up it's mostly auto... unless there's a very unusual situation, which I hardly ever run in to. The type of walkouts in my example are super common for me. I'll agree with you here. I try to not include anything on the foundation plan those guys don't need to see.

I've never experienced any restrictions or difficulties keeping the floor levels as intended. Foundation Plan View has its own layer set, dimensions, CAD, text, wall types, etc. Same with Basement Plan View. Once it's set up, it's automatic. Stepped foundations and frost walls are super easy to adjust using wall breaks and dimension moves. Having more than two levels of pony walls would be helpful, but again that's never been a major hurdle. Any gain by putting the basement on Floor 1 would be more than offset from the issues caused by moving Absolute Zero to the basement ... what a nightmare. Hard pass for me.

Same. I never saw the advantage to basement on floor 1 unless it's a holdover workaround from before the advances we've had the past several years. I have all dedicated saved plan views, layer sets, dimensions, text, CAD... basically everything for foundation plan, basement plan, and basement plumbing plan. Everything slots in automatically.

Why not? Just cut the walls and place the extension segments needed for the trim, that you don't want to see, on the Walls, Invisible layer, and turn it off. Or create a custom layer just for them if you want more control.

You're seeing brick because that's the outermost exterior layer of your wall definition. Copy the wall type, give it a new name and change that outer layer to Concrete. In order to maintain your wall thickness and keep everything aligned, simply change the thickness of the outer layer to the same as the total of all the exterior layers (5 7/16) and delete the other layers (see images). That's the "Air Gap" layer in your brick wall settings.

In X18, dishwashers no longer are inserted into a cabinet. They are placed standalone and automatically adopt the countertop of the adjacent cabinet. Just like IRL.

Gene, I often manually edit attic walls if they aren't behaving how I want. In your case I was able to edit the attic wall into one wall with the correct shape to accept the window (I also changed the wall type to Siding-4 since I assume you won't want ICF attic walls). I went at your file with abandon so it's a bit of a mess but I attached it if you want to see what I did: CB Bob Landgraf Barndo.plan.zip In my opinion this need will probably force you to manually model either the post or the beam (or both) in that spot. Getting that to auto generate wouldn't be worth my time, if this were my project.

Hi Shane. Yeah I've seen that a lot on auto generated roof trim. Not sure why it happens, but something I do that often works is just selecting the errant trim, grabbing one of the end handles and moving it slightly then letting go. In your case, doing this forced both sides to generate. Selecting that trim edge is tricky sometimes but look for it on the Roofs, Trim layer. Might have to do that more than once as you work on the model. It's a Chief Thang!™

Shane, I see the problem in your original post using your attached plan. After some experimentation with a new Residential Template plan, when you specify a custom label using Specify Label under Room Label Defaults at the START of a new plan, all rooms will adopt that label. Any new rooms, even new rooms created by adding a wall to split a room into two rooms will also adopt that default. However, if you change the default settings, it doesn't affect the existing rooms. Once the room is created it will retain the default settings assigned at that time. You would need to go into each room and change its custom label. However, if you change the default settings and create a new building, those rooms will adopt the new settings, and retain them until they are changed in the Room Specification dialog. See the attached image from your plan file. I think this feature was, as most big changes seem to be, taken out of the oven while only half-baked. IMO the program should automatically update all room labels that use the default settings if those settings are changed. Also, there should be a way to specify whether a default room type uses the default label settings or not, or uses different default settings. This could be accomplished by adding the label settings to the already existing room default's Label panel, along with checkboxes to either use the global room label defaults, the specific room's label defaults, or the automatic label. I have an ongoing discussion with tech support regarding the changes to the room label, and will add this issue to that thread.

X18 Residential Template does not treat mulled windows as doors when "Treat as Door" is checked in Mulled Unit defaults. That setting only applies when a door is part of the mull, and why the checkbox is dimmed for a windows-only mull. Schedule still reports window-only mulled units as windows, even when this setting is checked in defaults. So it's hard to say what's going on with your file. Just guessing the problem is in your template plan, a custom mulled window library item, or your macro. Post the plan for better replies.

Because the wall is using a randomly assigned repeating pattern to represent the blocks, not stacking actual individual blocks like you would irl. You can force it to look how you want, mostly, with some work. Need to adjust the material and pattern offsets in the Define Material dialog, or by using the Interactive Material Editor. You may possibly need to create copies with different adjustments to get it to look how you want. See if this Knowledge Base article helps: https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00194/changing-the-direction-of-a-material-s-pattern-and-texture.html

Yeah, I think it's a bug. Saw it come across not too long ago, the Open Below room is causing it. See the thread below for some other workarounds besides dragging the wall down, which is probably the easiest. But you're right, you shouldn't have to, and any of them I tried will screw with your framing. It would be nice if you sent it in to tech support and reported back. Maybe someone else can figure out a setting to fix it, but as soon as you change that to a normal room it corrects itself.

If the ends are currently touching each other, click on one of the lines to select it, then click again on the end point, and they should connect. If some of the ends aren't touching where you cannot make a closed polyline without changing the line's size or angle, that's a different situation with a different process...

I run into this a lot. I have several things I do to try and make them align, sometimes one works better than the other. It seems that the default porch ceiling height relative to the roof structure is the culprit, as the roof structure can force the eave (front) beam down. Take a cross section elevation and see if that's the case. You can try reducing the depth of the gable sub facia, or lowering the porch ceiling, or raising the roof plane baseline height. Check your Roof Structure, make sure it's built using the correct dimensional material, then try setting the roof plane to have "Same Height Eaves" checked and "Same Roof Height at Exterior Walls" unchecked. Try using "trusses no birdsmouth" and make beam 11". Also try moving the roof plane baseline out to the outer face of the beam, from a plan view. These are some of the ideas in my "Notes on Usage" file, but most of them cancel Auto Roofs. If you post the plan I'm sure someone will fix it.