Walk-in Raised Garden Bed Structure

[NealFlora]

I am a newbie at Chief Architect Premire x13.  I am trying to understand how to create an external structure that is a Walk-In raised garden bed simular to the attached image.

I need to create the structure, get a bill of materials, and export it as a .3ds so that I can import it into a different application.  

 

Not even sure where to start.  

[rgardner]

Just think of it as it is.  Basically its a room with interesting "pony-wall", wall, and roof definitions.

[GeneDavis]

Chief is not really the application for your task.  Others may say yes you can model it, and yes, you can, but there are some tricks in doing the modeling that will require you to get deep into Chief know-how.  It ain't a starter project.

 

You want to produce drawings and a material list for building this, and the material list part is going to be well nigh impossible for Chief to do it "automatically."  There is 2x2 lumber, 1x4 lumber, wire fabric, hinges, a door latch, all of which you are best figured out manually and typed into text to put the list on the drawing.  I could do this in Sketchup in twenty minutes.

 

Edit:  I opened up Sketchup, and went to the 3D Warehouse to see what was there, and look.  Very well thought out.  An irrigation line for doing drip, roll up screening in just enough area to be able to access everything, and the blocks have it up high enough for no-stoop access.  No hinged door needed.

[NealFlora]

Thanks for the starting point.  

Will give that a try

[Kbird1]

5 hours ago, NealFlora said:

Not even sure where to start. 

 

Modify a Railing Wall as needed........ Turn off/delete the Room and it's Materials ( floor/ceiling/Roof) ....

 

---- actually I ended up making a Raised Flowerbed Room Type and turned off all those options there instead,

for one Click application and you can add the Gate Hinges and Hardware to the Components List if needed too.

( *making the walls  No Room Definition should work too )

 

---- and the Materials List (ML) is close enough I think

 

 

It appears to made from pre-made 3' and 5" Panels ? ( to my eye so..... )  I didn't make a Gate or add the Hardware Wire below.

 

  

 

and with a bit of additional Work

 

 

 

 

 

[NealFlora]

Gene, I agree based upon what I have tried in X13.  I will take a look at Sketchup a look, Thanks for your candor.

[MarkMc]

 I used a fence with custom panels and custom door. No good for material list (at least I'd do what Gene said, not like there's a lot there)

 

[GeneDavis]

Sketchup used to be free, or rather, one could download a version of the program and have it reside on your hard drive.  I have the last of those releases, Sketchup Make 2017, on my PC.  I believe that now you have to subscribe to get Sketchup, and it is not inexpensive.

 

That one I showed upthread is a very well thought out design, and the model, which I downloaded from the warehouse, is very well done.  A rather ingenious thing is done to make the screen panels inside the U, the three you need for access, as rollups.

 

And as I said upthread, trained users can model what you showed in Chief, and they have showed it.  But you want a material list, and a drawing or drawings, so someone can actually built this.  Chief will not deliver this.

 

I took the SU model and isolated just the upper frame assembly and quickly took measurements.  See the attached.  I can quickly count and list the parts, all of which are from 1x2 lumber.  Doing the beds part would go just as fast.

[NealFlora]

Gene,  I have the "Trial Version" of Sketchup.  I can't find the Walk-in planter your found.  Any ideal host for find it in 3D Warehouse? Search by ?

[MarkMc]

1 hour ago, GeneDavis said:

Chief will not deliver this.

I tend to disagree with that.  I do agree that counting parts make the most sense in this case.

OTOH

Kbird's version will give a material list, mine could generate a schedule with parts and a ML with some effort.

Either could use varied member sizes and change those quickly globally if desired.

Chief won't give you 3D dimensions (I'm not sold on them have on rare occasion sent Chief to a 3D PDF)

Chief doesn't break a sweat with dimensioned plans or elevations which is the way all the carpenters I've met understand things.

 

Could it be a challenge to a new user- most likely. Then again, I had Chief for a month and had to produce a complete house - was not pretty, was not easy, but got done.

More importantly if you are going to learn to use the program the learn to use the program.

Long ago I decided to learn to make anything and everything in Chief -took a while but has been worth the effort.

[Kbird1]

43 minutes ago, MarkMc said:

Kbird's version will give a material list

 

That seemed important in the OP ,  I had, like you thought a Custom Panel would work nicely too. And like you ,

I try to do most everything in Chief if I can ...

 

If I needed more accurate Materials / 3D Appearance I might try adding in the Ponywall like Ryan suggested too .

 

Mick.

[NealFlora]

MarkMc

"More importantly if you are going to learn to use the program the learn to use the program."

 

That is what I am trying to do.  And I have, for the most part.  I have createded complete two story design with Terrain and much landscaping (not an expert by any means but I have gotten by). 

Most all funcionality in Chief when building a house are fairly intutive.  Walls, Foundations, roofs, etc.

 

Of couse in can be done.  Someone built a Cabana Bar (Outdoor Rooms and Gardens Library) so I know it can be done.  

 

It is just this one has thrown me.  What I am trying to do and the tools available in Chief seem a bit counter intutitive.  

 

I'll keep on trugging until. with much help, I figure it out.

 

 

[Kbird1]

9 minutes ago, NealFlora said:

It is just this one has thrown me.  What I am trying to do and the tools available in Chief seem a bit counter intuitive.

 

This thread is just Mark and I show our years in Chief ....AND thinking a little "out of the Box" when it comes to Chief's tools. 

 

you just need to hang out around here more    .......  wait till you see what you can make out of a Base Cabinet  

 

I can post the plan if needed ?  I just thought you may learn more by playing around a bit with a straight Deck Railing....

 

Mick.

[NealFlora]

Thanks to everyone trying to help me. As with all sophisticated applications there is always more than one way to get at the end result.

When trying to get help on some feature or function new to you, as is often the case, ya got to ask the right question. 

 

After reading the responses I fear my question was too vague and extensive.  

 

My goal here is twofold,  1. Understand more about Chief and its functionality and caveats and 2, create this Walk-in planter in Chief. A detailed Materials list is not that important.  

I could walk out to my shop, power up the saw and physicially build this easily.  Creating it in Chief (most importantly so that I can export it as a 3DS) not so much.

 

 

 

Mark, posting the plan would be fine.

 

 

 

[MarkMc]

5 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

I can post the plan if needed ?  I just thought you may learn more by playing around a bit with a straight Deck Railing....

Ditto, I often post them but in this case thought it best not to. First off there are no specs for what size members are wanted-and no mater what is used that needs to be decided.

FWIW- messed with pony wall, also messed with railing.( may have been a problem because of the funny wall type from another job that I started with)

But in any case the information needed for a ML can be added into the components but that is certainly a little advanced and given the size of the project I'd count or at most use a schedule with some OIP field.

9 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

wait till you see what you can make out of a Base Cabinet

? you can make things from a cabinet- heck why didn't I think of that??

10 minutes ago, NealFlora said:

Mark, posting the plan would be fine.

Posted

Garden.zip

[Kbird1]

15 minutes ago, MarkMc said:

? you can make things from a cabinet- heck why didn't I think of that??

 

You're funny Guy Mark *    ................but thanks for proving my Point.....

 

* Neal - Mark is one of the resident Cabinet Gurus

 

 

[GeneDavis]

So here is the new challenge.  Use Chief and make the one I showed upthread, the one sitting up on CMUs.

[NealFlora]

Mark, very very helpful.  I downloaded, unzipped and opened.. I now can see much better what was done and why.  I created one (different style) and so far it is comming out right.

Not sure I understand it all yet, but I will.

 

Thanks again

[rgardner]

1 hour ago, Kbird1 said:

wait till you see what you can make out of a Base Cabinet  

I was waiting for @Renerabbittto show it all done from one cabinet with opening door and everything.  Was also a little disappointed @MarkMcdidnt do it…

[MarkMc]

10 minutes ago, rgardner said:

Was also a little disappointed

Just banged that out too busy to futz much today AND don't really think that is the ideal application even for the so-called cabinet guy BTW- don't see any examples from you up here

[Kbird1]

2 hours ago, NealFlora said:

Creating it in Chief (most importantly so that I can export it as a 3DS) not so much.

 

Creating the .3DS , seems like the easy part once you have the model setup, at least it looks fine to me in TurboCAD as a .3DS Model

( export 3D view with 8.3 truncated names ) but Chief doesn't export the plants and you wouldn't need the Terrain perhaps?

 

 

   

 

35 minutes ago, rgardner said:

 Was also a little disappointed @MarkMcdidnt do it…

 

OUCH ! 

 

Mick.

 

[MarkMc]

1 hour ago, GeneDavis said:

the one sitting up on CMUs.

Just proof of concept in a few minutes that I'm willing to keep playing along with this. Actually if I need that I might actually do it with cabinets :)

[rgardner]

14 minutes ago, MarkMc said:

Just banged that out too busy to futz much today AND don't really think that is the ideal application even for the so-called cabinet guy BTW- don't see any examples from you up here

Haha fair point Mark.  I am away from the computer today.  It was meant as a joke.  You are so good with cabinets figured you would have been like here is an identical copy it took me ten minutes.  

[rgardner]

20 minutes ago, Kbird1 said:

 

Creating the .3DS , seems like the easy part once you have the model setup, at least it looks fine to me in TurboCAD as a .3DS Model

( Chief doesn't export the plants and you wouldn't need the Terrain perhaps?

 

 

   

 

 

OUCH ! 

 

Mick.

 

Sorry I meant to say (as I hadn’t seen marks example of the cabinet version.) as a heat that I was surprised that mark hadn’t already done it.  Now I see you did… oops.

 

Don’t worry @MarkMcyour cabinet god status is still intact!

[GeneDavis]

I'm gonna do it with roof planes!  And then, terrain!