Square Footage Totals on Layout

[ChiefUserKatie]

I'm trying to display remodel square footage broken into three categories on our layout sheets:

Total Heated Remodeled SQFT,

Total Unheated Remodeled SQFT, and

Total Addition SQFT.

 

Ideally I would love this to be an automatic thing on our layout file that is calculated without any manual input.

 

The %living_area% macro pulls the whole floor — I can't find a way to filter it to specific rooms. Best method I'm finding is a custom room schedule that I manually tell it what rooms to include.  I'll go in and uncheck the heated areas, get the total, then go back and do it for the heated / addition calculation. 

 

 

Does anyone have a better method on this?

 

Thank you!

[PitMan71]

To break things up like you are wanting you will probably need to use polygons with another schedule to report their areas. You could maybe even use it in conjunction to what you are using now.

[Chrisb222]

33 minutes ago, ChiefUserKatie said:

I'm trying to display remodel square footage broken into three categories on our layout sheets:

Total Heated Remodeled SQFT,

Total Unheated Remodeled SQFT, and

Total Addition SQFT.

 

Yes, this can be done automatically using the "conditioned = true/false" Room object property. You'll need to insert a call to that property in the OIP for each room. Pull the value for this property into your room schedule. Set it up in your template plan and layout so it works on future plans without any further manual work, unless you add a room type, then just copy an existing type for the new.

[robdyck]

As long as you have very controlled room uses, you can create a myriad of simple schedules that simply include or exclude certain rooms. If you rename rooms, or need to shift a room from one category to another, this can be prone to user error, so you would need a crystal clear room naming convention that you adhere to with a cult-like devotion. 

I still use polylines...I have a few other uses for them anyway so I don't mind.

 

[ValleyGuy]

7 hours ago, ChiefUserKatie said:

I'm trying to display remodel square footage broken into three categories on our layout sheets:

Total Heated Remodeled SQFT,

Total Unheated Remodeled SQFT, and

Total Addition SQFT.

 

Ideally I would love this to be an automatic thing on our layout file that is calculated without any manual input.

 

The %living_area% macro pulls the whole floor — I can't find a way to filter it to specific rooms. Best method I'm finding is a custom room schedule that I manually tell it what rooms to include.  I'll go in and uncheck the heated areas, get the total, then go back and do it for the heated / addition calculation. 

 

 

Does anyone have a better method on this?

 

Thank you!

 

I use style palettes to install the info I want into the room (conditioned vs non-conditioned, remodel vs new vs existing, etc) as well as the appropriate custom object field, and other stuff. I made custom icons for my tool bar for each of the style palettes. Set up the schedules to divide out and total up the appropriate data. It's not hands free, but it is way quicker to grab a spray can and click on the room vs the p-line stuff I do elsewhere. The schedules don't have to be nudged to activate like the p-lines do either.

A poly line is more accurate if you are splitting hairs between shared walls, as the room splits down the middle of the wall vs the p-line is placed where you want it. 
It's quick and accurate enough for my needs, only needs updating once at the end, and keeps the information visible continuously. No macros or anything that special. You could probably come up with something that fits your needs. 

 

   

 

 

[para-CAD]

This is a Fantastic Thread.  

I am a rookie at this, so THANKS to all who are sharing!!!!

A man who went by the handle Solver made some great Chief macro youtube videos about 5 years ago.  
I followed his instructions to make this on my coversheet.  It has to be refreshed when you open the file, but works after that.

 

The system that he described uses polylines and once your model is where you want it, you add polylines to the areas that you need to export. it and you can place these on your cover sheet in layout.

 

Let's use Crawlspace for an example.......uh...... I'm creating a video because typing is so far down on my list of skills.

It is "processing" to 4K at this time.....give it 10 mins and it should be nice and medium rare.

 

 

 

[ValleyGuy]

7 hours ago, para-CAD said:

This is a Fantastic Thread.  

I am a rookie at this, so THANKS to all who are sharing!!!!
 

Good video Mike, you are right, Solver made some good videos and I also used his material to solve a lot of issues. 
I'm not that much farther ahead of you doing this area calc's, but here are my school of trial and error notes that I made when I first started. I'm not sure if they are all correct, and certainly not sure how or why, but these seem to keep me on the right track with my limited knowledge. I'm not sure if they will help, but it may be more added info to work with.

 

[robdyck]

@Steve_Nyhof Could probably chime in on creatively using schedules to sort out various area totals!

 

I think a good summary is this: Nothing is entirely automatic...unless you setup perfect systems and then never deviate from those systems. In my opinion and in my own practice, perfection has been difficult to achieve because there are so many variables that go into a project. Customer preferences, land use bylaws, building codes, regional methods can all vary significantly.

 

I just had a project where I tested some of the more creative ways to use the Room Schedule tools to total various areas. I could achieve accurate totals as long as I included at least 1 or 2 decimal places, needed to circumvent the totaling error from adding up multiple rounded values. I was not willing to include decimals in my area tables, nor was I willing to report inaccurate information, even if it is only slightly inaccurate.

 

And while I would love a RONCO quality schedule for area reporting (set it and....FORGET IT!!!), I have instead opted to make the polyline method part of my work flow to ensure accuracy. Using colored polylines, adjusted near the end of the project, also provides you with a very simple visual cue to what is being reported and where it is positioned.

 

Contrast that to hunting through the list of included room items in a schedule, in a tiny dialog box that can't be expanded, is (for me) a great way to ensure an error or omission.

 

It's also worth noting that the polyline method combined with Custom Schedules and Custom Object Fields can eliminate the need for macro writing or out-sourcing macros.

 

In short, as your system progresses in complexity, the likelihood of user error will increase.