BEST WAY TO USE CHIEF FOR kITCHEN AND BATH DESIGN

[Don_Straub_Const 0]

I have been lately called to do custom cabinet layout and elevations and some kitchen design. Is there a way to do this with out having to create an exterior wall shell. and getting elevations for islands and interior walls has been pretty challenging. Is there a better program or are there some template plans I can use?

Thank you 

[javatom 122]

Creating an exterior wall shell takes about 15 seconds.

[solver 1094]

Have you reviewed the Chief videos on YouTube?

[MarkMc 429]

Our templates are centered around cabinet brands- top drawer and toe kick height, labels, box construction. FWIW all have a shell to start with, just a box.

Drawing in walls etc is so fast in Chief that we always do adjacent rooms, just may not fuss with exact placement of windows in the living room or such. It's one of the advantages CA has, clients simply love it.

 

What kind of problems are you having with elevations? Wall elevations are what they are click and done. I lean toward backclipped elevations for everything despite some drawbacks. They work well for islands though. Our templates already have elevations in them linked to layout template. If you're just doing an occasional kitchen it may not be worth setting them up. If you're going to do extensive kitchen work AND need complete schedules for ordering THEN it can be worth it and you should use X9.

 

Other programs? I've got a bit of mileage (and a several $K invested) with the alternatives-none of them are worth the trouble/cost in my world. I now use Chief exclusively.

Post what images or a plan of what you're problems are.

 

[RL-inc 52]

I use X8 for all kinds of kitchen and bath remodeling. 

Quick and easy to get the needed walls in exact locations so that you have an accurate base to work from.

 

Perspectives are great for clients to understand the overall design and the elevations are easily revised to create all the cabinet details any cabinet shop would need to get going. 

[HumbleChief 381]

15 hours ago, javatom said:

Creating an exterior wall shell takes about 15 3 seconds.

fixed

[Alaskan_Son 1850]

16 hours ago, Don_Straub_Const said:

I have been lately called to do custom cabinet layout and elevations and some kitchen design. Is there a way to do this with out having to create an exterior wall shell. and getting elevations for islands and interior walls has been pretty challenging. Is there a better program or are there some template plans I can use?

Thank you 

 

Like the guys above said, it takes no time at all to draw a few exterior walls; however,  I also recognize that there can be very good reason not to draw unnecessary walls as they can be misguiding if they're not accurate, distracting, and they can just get in the way.  A couple things to think about...

 

1. You don't actually have to enclose a room if you don't want to.  Just draw the necessary walls and start dropping cabinets into the plan.  Easy peasy.  Set the height of the walls by changing the default ceiling height for your current floor or by resizing/reshaping in elevation view.
2. If you want to show a floor and/or a ceiling but don't want all the other walls, use invisible walls for the ones you don't otherwise need.  To get rid of the ceiling, just uncheck "Ceiling Over This Room" in the Room Structure tab. 

 

Hope that helps. 

[MarkMc 429]

I don't agree about drawing adjacent rooms-Box stores draw two walls, maybe 3. Establish a level of professionalism. The extra time invested to get length of two adjacent rooms, add a couple of walls and drop windows and doors in those base on photos (when look is all your after) can't add half an hour. Distracting? not according to my clients.

[Alaskan_Son 1850]

2 hours ago, MarkMc said:

I don't agree about drawing adjacent rooms-Box stores draw two walls, maybe 3. Establish a level of professionalism. The extra time invested to get length of two adjacent rooms, add a couple of walls and drop windows and doors in those base on photos (when look is all your after) can't add half an hour. Distracting? not according to my clients.

 

With me it's not necessarily about saving time and certainly not a lack of professionalism.  Its about showing whatever is both necessary and useful to efficiently and accurately communicate the relevant information and to do so in such a way that places focus exactly where I want it...Sometime this necessitates leaving out certain walls or details, ESPECIALLY if they...

 

A.  Distract from the desired focal point.

 

B.  Actually cause an obstruction to the desired views.

 

C.  Would take an unreasonable amount of time or resources to model ACCURATELY.  I'm a big proponent of drawing things accurately for the intended purpose or not drawing them at all.   

[joey_martin 202]

In my opinion, if you aren't placing walls then you are asking for trouble. I do quite a few kitchens and would never try one without knowing how much room I have to work with. Hard to sell a 123" run of cabinets if there is only 119" from drywall to drywall.