Setting Terrain Line Heights Relative to First Floor Base?

[AtlasBranch]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to learn how to use the terrain features in Chief Architect X14 and it seems that when I change the elevation of the terrain, it also moves the elevation of the house structure. I want to make a simple house design with a walk-out basement but when I lower the elevation of the terrain at the basement level for a door, the elevation relative to the first floor door increases, submerging the door under the soil surface. Is this because the terrain is smoothed and not exactly at the height that a terrain line is set to on the terrain perimeter or is this because the foundation or base of the first floor moves with the terrain? How can I fix this so that both the first floor door and the basement door can be exposed fully?

I've tried raising and lowering each side multiple times but it always changes to cover part of the first floor or the basement even if I only change one of the terrain lines.

 

Thank you!

[Chrisb222]

4 hours ago, AtlasBranch said:

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to learn how to use the terrain features in Chief Architect X14 and it seems that when I change the elevation of the terrain, it also moves the elevation of the house structure. I want to make a simple house design with a walk-out basement but when I lower the elevation of the terrain at the basement level for a door, the elevation relative to the first floor door increases, submerging the door under the soil surface. Is this because the terrain is smoothed and not exactly at the height that a terrain line is set to on the terrain perimeter or is this because the foundation or base of the first floor moves with the terrain? How can I fix this so that both the first floor door and the basement door can be exposed fully?

I've tried raising and lowering each side multiple times but it always changes to cover part of the first floor or the basement even if I only change one of the terrain lines.

 

Thank you!

 

For a simple slope without more complex contours, I use two flat Terrain Elevation Regions (Terrain > Elevation Data > Elevation Region). You need two regions to get the program to follow your instructions. This creates a smooth transition with easily controlled results.

 

First, set the height of the overall Terrain using Subfloor Height Above Terrain in the Terrain specification dialog. You want to uncheck "Automatic" and either accept the default value or enter the height you want:

 

Next draw two Elevation Regions that overlap the building slightly and which extend to the edges of the Terrain. Open the front (upper) Elevation Region and set its elevation to zero. This places it at the same elevation as the overall terrain:

 

Open the rear (lower) Elevation Region and set its height to a negative value that places it at the basement floor. You will either find this value by trial end error or doing the math first:

 

Result:

 

 

[Chrisb222]

Although to be honest, this was my first reaction:

 

5 hours ago, AtlasBranch said:

I'm trying to learn how to use the terrain features in Chief Architect

 

 

 

No offense, using the terrain tools to get complex terrain is just really wonky for me. Good luck!