sloped wall

[stager386]

Hi. Trying to create a straight half wall that goes up and meets a sloping wall like this.  Help?????

[yusuf-333]

seems that you can achieve that one, by using the just a wall and a roof plane for the sloped wall. As Eric said, control wall height in elevation.

[DRAWZILLA]

This is something we have tried to get chief to fix for a long time now, p-solid drawn in section elevation view is what I have been doing for those little triangle area, but you won't get any framing using that method. You can also use a wall adjusted but you might have to dw patch the bottom of the wall.

[stager386]

Thanks everyone.  I am trying to draw the portion of this attic wall that slopes under the eave.  I need to show the straight wall at 45" tall and show the sloped 72" of angled wall above, that meets up with the ceiling.  I need to control the roofline I believe.  This is always confusing as I've done it before.  Seems like I have to take the long road to get it done.

[CJSpud]

If that is a dormer, I would suggest you watch tutorial videos from Chief on that subject:

 

https://video.chiefarchitect.com/?search=dormer

 

From the Knowledge Base on the CA website:

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/database.html

 

You should be able to pickup information that will help you from those two links.  Even having done many dormers previously myself, I often finding myself reviewing the process by going to some of the "how tos"  in those links.

[stager386]

Thanks.  It never seems the videos are exactly applicable to my issue.  And I can't figure out how to use the transform/replicate where you can control the X,Y and Z measurements.  Here is a photo of the raw space.  And here is where I am at with my layout.  The exterior of my plan is all wrong, but I am not having to show it to anyone, so I have this manipulated in order to get something close to what I need on the exterior.   I can't fill in this empty space.  I tried with polylines and shapes.  I know that if I was proficient in the dormer part of this, it would work.  Very confusing.  Thanks for your help!

[justmejerry]

If you post the plan I am sure it will be fixed quickly by somebody.

[johnny]

Walls can sit on roof planes - which is what you want in this instance.  If you draw your wall where it should be, open in Dbx to to "roof" tab and then click "roof cuts wall at bottom".  Keep in mind this operation can require some "adjustment" still to get to work.

[CJSpud]

Ms.

 

Try this in a practice plan with roof and walls built if you don't want to do it in your actual plan.  Draw an interior wall across your upstairs room; open the dbx and in the roof tab - put a check in the box to call it a knee wall.  Not sure that this matters but I designated the small spaces under the roof (behind the knee wall) as attic.  Next place an auto dormer with your roof style etc. setup in advance.  Resize it as needed (width) using the grab handles and/or temporary dimensions.  You can adjust the window(s) as required once you get the side walls where you want them.  If you do it this way, and then take a 3D exterior perspective view, you should see your side walls filled into those triangular areas as required.  Same with an interior full camera view .... everything should be filled in OK.

 

Note that once you place your auto dormer, Chief cuts an opening in the knee wall where the side walls are built.  Hope this helps.

 

                   

 

I first attempted doing this manually and wasn't getting good results .... had problems with gaps in the drywall etc. ... way too much monkeying around trying to get things to look right.

 

Transform/replicate is a tool I use all the time.  Very easy to use .... read about it by clicking the tool and then hitting F1.  Great for making copies or moving things.

 

 

[LewisConDev]

Maybe try faking it with a ceiling plane?

[stager386]

Thanks everyone for your collective wisdom!  Here is what I've done with various hacks of my own.  (I can't seem to add dormers as it tells me the ceiling is too low.)

Master.plan

[CJSpud]

I could see you adding a dormer to a single story plan IF you had a vaulted or cathedral ceiling in that large room.  If you just want a fake dormer in the attic area, use the floating dormer tool for that ... but it will only live in your attic space and won't be seen from the first floor. 

 

As I see it right now, with a flat ceiling for that room, this isn't a good application for placing a dormer.  Your roof normally would bear on your first floor walls at your standard ceiling height, unless you are trying to create something unique.

 

You might be better off thinking about adding a 2nd story, making the ceiling height really low [so the roof is essentially bearing on the first floor walls; then making the 2nd story "Open Below" and going from there .... and possibly using custom ceiling planes if necessary to get the look you want.  Without know exactly what your design goals are, it is hard to give you good advice about what needs to be done.

[stager386]

Thank you.  What you picture in the above post from yesterday is exactly what I am trying to create.  But I am having trouble making it happen.

 

I am only attempting to place a dormer here to create the interior walls as I need them to look.   This is a room on the top floor of the house, second floor, unfinished, and it will become a master bedroom.   There is a dormer on the front of the house, and even though I don't need to show the client the exterior, I do need the interior to be properly and accurately laid out, which is affected by the dormer.  The dormer creates two eaves inside the room, and I need to show this. 

 

Do I need both exterior and interior walls?  I usually only use interior walls for my projects as I rarely have occasion to show a client anything on the exterior.

 

Also, re the use of the transform/replicate tool for roof planes, Z controls height.  But how do I control angles with the X and Y?

 

Thank you!

[Alaskan_Son]

I had to leave the office, but I did take a look at your plan. Try this (assuming it's only for interior renderings)...

-Delete that roof plane and instead...
-Draw a small ceiling plane that ends at the interior of the surrounding walls.
-Copy and adjust the wall type for that little wing wall (the one in line with the sloped wall area) to delete the finish layer from the interior surface.
-Take an elevation view of that angled wall area and create a CAD Detail From View.
-Trace that triangle area in your CAD Detail or just select the necessary lines and Copy them (lines will be used for snap points).
-Go back to plan view and create a single layer wall type (1/2" drywall) and slide it up against that wing wall. Make it long enough to extend from exterior wall to just beyond where your custom ceiling plane meets ceiling.
-Go back to elevation view and Paste Hold Position the previously copied linework and use those lines to cut, resize, and reshape your 1/2" thick wall to cover that whole face in one piece.

[Alaskan_Son]

Here's a quick video going over the steps above.  I'm sure there are all sorts of other methods we could use (especially when structural accuracy is important), but for interior renderings this method is pretty easy. 

 

 

NOTE: I included some unnecessary steps but those steps lend themselves to a lot more potential and flexibility than some of the other solutions do. 

[Alaskan_Son]

For interior only renderings, any reason not to use a solid. Fast and looks good. 

 

solid wall.jpg

 

I think it depends on the needs of the specific plan, but seems like a perfectly valid method to me for some situations.  Just limits some of your automated features a bit (flooring, moldings, wall coverings, wall mounted fixtures, etc.).

[VisualDandD]

Wow....seems like a lot of work.   This is super easy to do with proper roof and wall defs.   Took me less than 2 min.

Pull back roof, add new roof plane, and lower to create clip.   Offset the roof where it cuts wall.  Check "Roof cuts wall at bottom" on selected wall.

 

 

BTW....your roof settings are crazy.  -107 or something baseline hts.   You are not taking advantage of things that chief will do for you.

 

 

Master.plan

[Alaskan_Son]

Justin,

 

You're right, it took more than a couple minutes, but it's those extraneous lines that are the problem...at least in my mind...and addressing those was one of my main goals.  Sure there are easier ways, but most of them don't look very good especially in vector views, and in the case of the plan you posted above, I would double check that if I was you because those settings are misbehaving too.  Bottom line...

 

I'd rather spend 5 or 10 minutes and have it look right than 2 or 3 minutes and have it look half-right and behave unstably. 

 

You're right about those height settings though for sure.  Not sure what's going on there. 

[stager386]

I appreciate everyone's help.  I will need to make good renderings, so would rather invest more time to have it all look right.  But it's good to know the quick options too.  I am going to spend some time going over everyone's advice later today and tomorrow.  Stay tuned...And thanks again!

[stager386]

Thanks again.  I"ve been trying to use the video you made, Michael, which is very helpful, unfortunately I don't have the same commands that you have.  I have Interiors X8 not Premier.  So I am still working this out.  Thank you!

[Alaskan_Son]

Which commands are you missing?

EDIT: I looked it up and I think the one tool you're missing for that sequence is CAD Detail From View unless there are others that I missed. That's okay. You can still go through the same steps. You just won't have the snaps to work with and will have to do the necessary adjustments right in the elevation view. You'll just have to zoom in and visually try to get things really close...

OR, you could possibly achieve the same thing by placing an elevation camera so it's cutting through the section rather than just looking at it. Doing that you can use the cross section lines to snap to instead of the CAD Detail.

[stager386]

Michael, I also cannot "enter coordinates" while moving the wall with the Tab key. I stopped at that point in the video so I don't know what other commands I don't have.

UPDATE: I was able to complete it. Thank you!

[CJSpud]

Not that it matters if you have things the way they need to be, but you can download the Chief Premier trial version and see what "most" (???) of the commands and tools look like compared to your version.

[VHampton]

The one problem I've always had with dormer walls is that they show up in plan view just like Samson drew.   When you draw the actual dormer wall, it migrates into the room and gets confusing in plan view.

 

The "fake wall" using polyline solids works in those conditions where you need the wall to show in 3D but not on your floor plan. Using two different poly-line solids, you can have one with siding and one with sheetrock (interior and ext.)

 

I hide the solids on the attic level so that they don't show up in the floor plan drawing.

 

 

[dshall]

Walls can sit on roof planes - which is what you want in this instance.  If you draw your wall where it should be, open in Dbx to to "roof" tab and then click "roof cuts wall at bottom".  Keep in mind this operation can require some "adjustment" still to get to work.

 

This is the correct approach.  I will do a vid.