Stairs - X8 Helped...but not really

[SNestor]

I thought I would used today to practice with the stair tool...because it seems every time I used it I get really frustrated.  Is it just my lack of experience with CA that I can't draw what I want using the stair tool?  The stair tool is just about useless for a partially open stair...which is such a common stair design.  I could draw a partially open stair using the cad tools in 5 minutes...but trying to get the stairs the way I want them in 3D is incredibly difficult.  Or...is it just me?  I suppose for con docs...the 3D stairs just aren't that important...just stick to cad tools.  But really...this is version 18 of CA software...fix this darn tool. 

 

I have watched all the stair videos on the CA site.  I've watched Scott Hall vids.  So...I've done my homework.  

I hope CA is working night and day to make a stair tool that works...or just give us the tools to put our own customized stair together with individual components.  

 

Attached is my stair practice plan.  The wall that on the open side is so fickle....almost any change to the stair itself will chop the top of the wall off and clip it so that it runs parallel to the bottom of the stair.  Why does this happen?  If you open the file....the wall will most likely be "clipped".  All you have to do is move it back and forth in plan view...and it fixes itself.  What a joke.  Also...if you choose a "pin top" type baluster...it really does not fit correctly to the underside of the handrail.  You can still see the "pin".  Ridiculous.  

 

I would like to be able to stop the open side handrail where it intersects the wall but have a wall rail on the opposite side.  The wall under the first 4 or 5 open treads should align with the main wall...which is actually how it will be constructed.  This is just about impossible to create using just the stair tool. I would like to be able to control the "skirt boards" like a molding.  I'd like to be able to turn the "skirt boards" off.  Handrail brackets...there is a menu item for these...but I don't see any in the catalog.  Am I missing something?  What if I wanted a sloping wall that extended above the nosing of the open side stairs...and have the baluster bottoms sit into a molding on top of a piece of 1x trim.  I assume if I want this...its off to use the Poly solids.

 

I would like the open side handrail to conclude against the wall...into a "rosette".  Is there a way to do this?  

 

My hope is that CA realizes that the stair tool is still almost useless...and is working on a major re-write of this tool.  This tool is on "life alert"...and needs major surgery. 

Stairs - Practice Plan.plan

[Greg_NY61]

Steve did you try making a manual stair select follow stairs and converting that to symbol and putting on top of the sloped wall. It's a little time consuming but works out good.

That being said, you right, stairs need total overhaul in every way possible.

[chief58]

This subject was discussed in detail in version X8 and thought Chief got the message with all the suggestions that were given, Steve I feel your pain and am one that is very disappointed that there have not been an overhaul of the stair tool I and many others that have made suggestion have been waiting and asking for this improvement for at least the last 3 or so versions if my memory serves me correct

[SNestor]

Another general question concerning stair handrails.  In the Arcways folder in the manufacturers catalog...there are handrails that are "plowed"...and require "inserts".  The catalog contains the "inserts"...both handrail inserts and shoe rail inserts.  

 

What I'm wondering is where/how you can use these items?  There isn't a menu item in the stair DBX for this item.  

[robdyck]

Steve, the simplest fix to this would be if Chief would let you add more than one profile to the Rail Profiles dbx and also specify it's location on the xyz axes. In the past I've used m own molding lines to properly make railings that suit the actual site conditions rather than the limited options provided by Chief. Chief's stairs also don't let you specify the stringer shape or thickness with any degree of true control. Nor does the dbx allow for a riser thickness. As we shift to the world of 3d matching the 2d, the 'smarts' of each object needs to be increased. The same model should offer enough control that the renderings and sections can be efficiently produced without so many workarounds. We're going to get left behind if Chief doesn't improve this.

[robdyck]

Here's an interesting work around that I just experimented with. Once you're stairs is finalized, copy in place, and change the railing profile to the insert. You'll just need to guess at the new railing height to get the plow insert into the right location. With the 'princeton' rail and insert, lower the insert railing height by 2". That nails it.