The Ultimate (Almost) Niche Solution

[Joe_Carrick]

So here's the process:

 

1.  Add a Wall Material Region (your normal wall finish materials) to the side of the Wall where you want to insert a Niche (a cabinet or any other symbol).

2.  Add a "Hole" in that Wall Material Region.

3.  Insert your Niche into that Hole - but no further than to the opposite wall finish materials.

 

It works for just about any symbol, and the hole can be any shape you want.

It appears correct from either side of the wall using any Rendering Technique.

 

Why does the title of this thread say ALMOST ?  Because this will not "frame" as a hole.  You will have to edit the framing yourself.

[evergreen]

Neat! Thank you Joe.

[TheKitchenAbode]

Nice refinement of the concept I posted @ 1:04pm today under "Wall Niche"

 

Graham

[GerryT]

 

Why does the title of this thread say ALMOST ?  Because this will not "frame" as a hole.  You will have to edit the framing yourself.

There are always alternatives. Just put everything together.

 

1. Use a door or window as the "hole"

2. use the "build framing" edit button to frame around hole. Retain framing or modify. Unfortunately, Chief only frames square "holes' so you may have to modify to add diagonal bracing. But not hard while in wall detail.

3. draw over top of door hole, the exact shape material region you want to get the niche outline.Open material region and delete all material layers. You may have to turn on framing to get rid of USB place holder.

4. delete door/window hole.

5. 5 minutes max -- did same video a months ago. The advantage is that the framing is also detailed and you don't need to rely on the the framer to guess what you need?

[dshall]

Joe,  what am I missing?  How do I make the hole?  How do I make a hole in a material region?

[glennw]

Scott,

 

Select the Material Region and use the .....taa dada....Create Hole button on the Edit toolbar.  

[Joe_Carrick]

I found that the original wall must have no finish material on the side you want to put the niche in. Then you add the material region (drywall or whatever) Wall Material Region to that side of the wall. The hole can then be cut in the Material Region as Glenn said.

[dshall]

So funny, I looked for that at 2:45 this morning and did not see it. Maybe I was still asleep.

Leaving now for 3 days of skiing with number 1 son.

[Joe_Carrick]

I don't mind having walls with no interior finish materials in the original model (Wall Types) because it allows me to simply place any material definition I want on each wall surface instead of having to have so many more Wall Types and then perhaps having to reverse the layers, break walls so I can change the Type, etc.

Basically I have just a couple of Interior Wall Types that are just the Main Layer (4" Stud, 6" Stud", etc.) and some Wall Material Regions (1/2" Drywall, 5/8" Drywall, 1/4" Tile-Thinset-Backerboard, etc). I can very quickly add the WMR I want to any wall surface - or part of a wall - and add holes for niches, etc very quickly. For my Drywall Mat.Regions I include in the definition a thin Layer of Paint which allows me to change the color without using the dreaded "Paint Tool".

 

For Exterior Walls the same concept works. When I want several different finish materials on an Elevation, I simply select the WMR I need and place it on the Exterior Wall Surface. They can be accurately located and sized dimensionally in an Elevation View.

 

Previously I had about 30-40 different framed Wall Types and struggled with getting them all correct so that I had the right materials everywhere.  Now I can use just a few Wall Types and a few Wall Material Regions to get virtually any build up.  It's a big change in the way I am working but it solves so many problems and makes the process much faster for me. 

 

If I need a new Wall Material Region definition it only takes a minute to define it and add it to my Library. 

Now, as I'm building a Plan now, I get to see it as the Contractor does - Framed Walls, then Exterior and Interior Materials applied.

[TheKitchenAbode]

That's a great way to do it. It looks like most of the difficulties everyone is having with these niches or any other element that penetrates the cavity is related to how the software rendering algorithm's function. They appear to be set to only compute visible surfaces in order to speed things up. With a standard wall type with default finishes the surface for computational purposes is the drywall face, therefore any data concerning on object that lies behind this surface is not taken into consideration. Starting with a frame wall by default sets the stud face as the surface and therefore any element in front of this will be computed. As you can define the stud material as glass you now have an invisible/transparent wall, likely how they developed the Glass Shower Wall Tool.

 

Building a few standard wall variations as you have done and saving to the library takes care of everything and provides complete control over all surfaces and best of all every element is included in the rendering algorithm.

 

Should post your above description under a separate heading for all to see. "The Ultimate (Almost) Wall"     

 

I left "(Almost)" in there because I know that within a few minutes someone will identify a shortcoming with this technique. We just have to accept the fact there is no such thing as "Perfect". The best we can do is to continue to drive in the right direction down this never ending road.

 

Graham

[builtright3]

If you remember the Niche started off as a shampoo shelf (shadow box) in a bathroom wall with no shelves but I know that is really not the point here. I tried several different ways including the cabinet idea and I liked it but as you say you have to edit the framing. I went back to my original idea of using a window opening and just filling in the back side with the wall. In this way the framing comes out as you need it.

 

I think it would be a good idea for chief the create "Niche" selection under the window tools that has a back to it and/or the drywall on the other side can somehow remain. I would use this tool a lot. Just about every one of my bathrooms have a shadow box. Having the framing come out right without having to customize it would be very helpful.

 

[TheKitchenAbode]

For followers you may wish to jump over to the two new threads "Walls - A New Way of Building a Plan" & "Rendering Algorithms - They Define What You See". I think you will find many of the answers you are looking for.

 

Graham

[TheKitchenAbode]

Apologies for being such a "Pest".

 

Is there a way to toggle the Material Regions tool so one can either have it recognize an opening or disregard it? 

 

Thanks,

Graham

[Joe_Carrick]

Not really.

[TheKitchenAbode]

That's what I thought from playing around with it. It seems to disengage if you move the region away from the wall but it must be an inch or two away. Otherwise it snaps back and recognizes the opening.

 

Graham