Gambrel Roof

[doduong11]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm new to Chief Architect, I'm using CA Premier X17 and ran into an issue while trying to model my home. My home has a Gambrel-style roof that extends to the ground. When I create the roof, it stops at the ceiling height, and I'm wondering how I can change this so that it extends all the way down to the ground.

I've tried the Extend Roof Slope Downward option but it didn't do anything

Also could not find the change wall height option.

 

Thank you,

[mtldesigns]

6 hours ago, doduong11 said:

that extends to the ground

To the ground, that is different for sure.  Can't you grab the grips and just pull it down?

[doduong11]

Michael, 

 

I haven’t tried that yet. I’m still new to Chief Architect. I’ll give it a shot. If I do that, or if I manually move objects in CA, will the Auto Framing feature still work correctly?

 

Thanks, 

[kellyh]

Grabbing the roof and dragging it down should do the trick. It will turn off the "Auto Rebuild Roof" option which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it's one of those things you want to turn off with intention. Once you turn off auto rebuild roof, any additional changes to the roof have to be done by hand as the automatic tools will undo any of the manual changes you've made.

 

7 hours ago, doduong11 said:

I haven’t tried that yet. I’m still new to Chief Architect. I’ll give it a shot. If I do that, or if I manually move objects in CA, will the Auto Framing feature still work correctly?

The auto framing tools should still work even if auto rebuild roof is turned off. Auto framing will try to build framing to whatever shape the roof has taken even if it's been manually adjusted.

[johnny]

On 4/20/2026 at 10:33 AM, doduong11 said:

Hi everyone,

 

I'm new to Chief Architect, I'm using CA Premier X17 and ran into an issue while trying to model my home. My home has a Gambrel-style roof that extends to the ground. When I create the roof, it stops at the ceiling height, and I'm wondering how I can change this so that it extends all the way down to the ground.

I've tried the Extend Roof Slope Downward option but it didn't do anything

Also could not find the change wall height option.

 

Thank you,

 

If you’re open to it, sharing a photo of the actual condition would really help clarify things. To be honest, I’m having trouble visualizing how what you’ve sketched would work in practice...especially the part about it “extending to the ground,” so I may be missing something. I bring this up because I’m concerned that answering the question as it stands might not lead you to the right solution for your home. The method being discussed by everyone is sound, but I’d be surprised if it gets you exactly where you want to go. (Respectfully.)

 

Also, i'd really love to see something i've never seen before....

[Garybills]

If this is the look you want, auto build roofs and set the eave overhang however far you want, set the side walls roofs to upper pitch.

 

 

[doduong11]

Gary,

 

Thanks, that’s exactly what I was going for. I believe I tried that before, but I didn't have the pitch set correctly, which was preventing the eave from dropping all the way down.

 

Here's a picture of the actual house. Thanks!

 

Edited Wednesday at 06:56 PM by doduong11