interiorarch Posted October 9, 2017 Share Posted October 9, 2017 Hello. Please see Attached screenshot & Floor Plan to use as reference. I am currently working on this project in Chief Architect. Almost everything you see in this floor plan was also created in the other program SketchUp. The other designer I work with has provided me with a couple different cabinet & wall units to import into Chief directly from SketchUp. First: I have noticed both .DWG and .3DS import as a one color default, is there a way to have more flexibility to spray specific areas of that unit (with the paint roller) like choosing colors & finishes for regular cabinetry & hardware in Chief Architect. Second: If you look in the master bathroom you will see the screenshot with a pink circle I drew to highlight a specific area between where the exterior and interior walls meet. If you now look at the other screenshot that is in 3D/Perspective Floor Overview you will see the mirror is suppose to recess into that specific area of the wall. However, since two different types of walls are connecting at this point, this creates an awkward situation. I tried creating a Niche/Pass-Through but Chief would not let me. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thank You! FLOOR_2_UPDATE_WINDOWS_UPDATE_OCTOBER.plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 53 minutes ago, interiorarch said: First: I have noticed both .DWG and .3DS import as a one color default, is there a way to have more flexibility to spray specific areas of that unit (with the paint roller) like choosing colors & finishes for regular cabinetry & hardware in Chief Architect. Likely the easiest way is to assign those colors in Sketchup and then they can be edited in Chief if necessary. The model can be rebuilt in Chief but it is fairly complicated. Michael made a video of the technique that I will look for if you like. 56 minutes ago, interiorarch said: Second: If you look in the master bathroom you will see the screenshot with a pink circle I drew to highlight a specific area between where the exterior and interior walls meet. If you now look at the other screenshot that is in 3D/Perspective Floor Overview you will see the mirror is suppose to recess into that specific area of the wall. However, since two different types of walls are connecting at this point, this creates an awkward situation. I tried creating a Niche/Pass-Through but Chief would not let me. A wall Niche is essentially a window and it will not insert into a situation like that. You will likely need to create a symbol and then cut a hole in both walls at the intersection and custom frame the area. Or better yet and much easier make the vanity 4" smaller and the shower 4" larger and build an extra wall so you are not cutting into an exterior structural wall. There was an old CA training video on symbol windows but I looked and could not find it under the new system. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interiorarch Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 Hi @Chopsaw What is the best way to import SketchUp files from Chief Architect if colors have already been assigned to a specific interior element. Do you happen to know a tutorial/video related to creating a symbol and cutting holes in walls...these are things I still haven't learned. The other option of making the vanity smaller and shower larger can not happen. All other dimensions on our floor plans at this stage are final. I look forward to hearing from you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Carrick Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Pull the vertical wall away from the horizontal wall Extend the exterior wall to encompass the interior wall Put a Niche in where you want it Pull the vertical wall back up to the horizontal wall. Use a Wall Material to correct the wall finish inside the small room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMc Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Suggest you reconsider and do something along the lines of Chopsaws suggestion. IRL the sanest way is to at least fur the wall out to deal with framing and that part is exterior. Make a wall type for the furred section. You will give up at least 1-1/4" somewhere in the vanity run. The attached gives up a little more but wall framing is simpler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Carrick Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 Also note that importing Cabinet Symbols is not going to provide the same flexibility as Chief's parametric Cabinets. It's OK if you just want the 3D appearance but you lose a lot of intelligence within the Cabinet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 23 minutes ago, interiorarch said: What is the best way to import SketchUp files from Chief Architect if colors have already been assigned to a specific interior element. If you create the symbol in Sketchup with independent colors you can then import as .SKP and edit all those colors independently in the Materials tab of the Symbol DBX. 25 minutes ago, interiorarch said: Do you happen to know a tutorial/video related to creating a symbol and cutting holes in walls...these are things I still haven't learned. I was going to suggest using Joe's Hole in the wall tool but since he designed that maybe his suggestion will work better. But take a look anyway because it works for all kinds of other cool things as well. I will check back later about the symbol. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interiorarch Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 @Chopsaw When I import SketchUp files from the other designer I work with, Chief Architect pops up with "Warning - This SKP file was created in an incompatible software version. Unable to import" followed by "Warning - Couldn't create a symbol. There were no 3D surfaces found in the data file." I am working in Chief Architect Premier X8 and she is working in SketchUp Pro 2017 (which seems like both programs should be able to work with one another, since they are both still releavant). Is there a way around this. Thank You for sending me Joe's (aka Yoda) article and I look forward to hearing from you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkMc Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 X8 came out in 2016 so you may need to have them save the SU files to an older version. For safety I'd go back a bit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Carrick Posted October 10, 2017 Share Posted October 10, 2017 18 minutes ago, Chopsaw said: I was going to suggest using Joe's Hole in the wall tool but since he designed that maybe his suggestion will work better. But take a look anyway because it works for all kinds of other cool things as well. Thanks Chop. There are pro's and con's to both. In this particular case the advantage to using the Niche Tool is that it will cause the wall to frame correctly. The advantage of using my Wall Niche Symbol is that it will span wall intersections (among other things). There's more than one way to "Skin a Cat". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interiorarch Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 Can you please send me your Niche Tools and any other tools you have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
interiorarch Posted October 10, 2017 Author Share Posted October 10, 2017 @Joe_Carrick or Yoda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chopsaw Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 You can also make your own symbol if you like from a customized Chief Niche. Here is an old tutorial of mine for Door Muntins but you can just ignore the muntin steps and the other core steps are the same. You would be best to save the Niche as a general symbol and not a window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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