tundra_dweller Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 I'm working on an as-built for a cabin that has a 22'x24' deck built on a flat roof over a living room. Before I start on the 2nd floor I'm wondering what the best way to model this "room" is. It's been a while since I've done one of these. I'm hoping I can just build the room with railings, set the room type as whatever with no roof over, set my floor framing to the right depth, and change the flooring to decking. If I remember right, setting the room type to deck doesn't work very well in these situations. The addition won't be attached to this deck so I don't care if the roofing is included or the framing spot on, I just want it to look close on elevation views/renderings. I will probably just use a molding to model the soffits/fascia under the deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHCanada2 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 i think it is a balcony? room type in CA. I'm just about to start one of these over top a detached garage. I think the only large problem is modelling the slope of the floor. Which I think I will choose to ignored 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VHampton Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 First... don't designate it as a deck. That's going to result in some hiccups. Balcony is the way to go... w/ no roof above. Change the floor surface to whitewashed wood deck (or whatever material you might be using). Drop the floor elevation so that the EPDM, wood sleepers and wood deck stay comfortably below the door sill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 Okay balcony it is, thanks guys! I probably won't worry about the roof slope either. I'll try and remember to report back on how it worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottharris Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 There's a sample plan on the website that may help. https://www.chiefarchitect.com/products/samples.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 Thanks Scott, I'll check it out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_N Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 You can also just name any room you like, turn the walls into railings, specify no ceiling and roof, and adjust the floor structure to suit your construction, and if you have pony walls you can make parapets with railings. There are lots of ways to tackle this type of project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robdyck Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 (edited) Hey Brett. Balcony is definitely the right room type. Here's a few other tips to consider: For the floor structure, let's assume that the room below will have a flat and level ceiling. So think about how you'd like to frame this floor in advance. Do you want to rip a tapered joist to provide the slope? Maybe you'd prefer to 'sister' a level ceiling joist beside a sloped floor / roof joist. Either way, the Balcony floor structure is often best defined using the lowest TOP point of floor framing for the structure. The Floor structure depth would be this elevation, minus the ceiling elevation below. In some instances you can use a roof plane to model and frame the floor. Experiment with unchecking Floor Under This Room for the balcony. You may not need these extra surfaces although you still want the Balcony room elevations as accurate as possible. The roof plane method can be helpful if you have an overhang and exterior soffits. You may also be able to also use a ramp to help model sloped railing and / or the sloped portion of the floor framing (instead of using a roof plane). You can add the railing to the ramp itself, or use a railing wall set to Follow Stairs. The ramp method and the roof plane method can be combined...it doesn't have to be one or the other. Each method has pros and cons and with a little experimentation you'll find what works best for your scenario. For this project I used a ramp to provide the slope, a custom countertop for the overhanging eaves and fascia (because a countertop can have moldings added) , and a manual molding line to continue the gutter across the front. The side stub walls are level on top and I added the wall cap in the wall dbx and adjusted the top elevation manually. Edited August 11 by robdyck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 Great info, thanks Robert! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHCanada2 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 (edited) if you do use a roof plane, it does have the advantage of showing sloped trusses, if you are going that way. I did this last year and thought it was pretty straightforward, but the truss manufacturer completely missed the 0.5:12 roof slope (it was a partial rooftop deck), and joists had to be sistered to the truss Edited August 11 by SHCanada2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 Thanks all for the assistance, the balcony room worked good! I'm not going to worry about the slope, this is the existing condition and the new addition will be farther back under the shed dormer area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHCanada2 Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 that does look good...in under a day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 11 Author Share Posted August 11 I had the 1st floor done yesterday, and I didn't have to fight the software as much as I figured I would on the 2nd floor with the deck, gambrel roof, and shed dormers. It went surprisingly smooth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHCanada2 Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 what did you use/cover the rim joist. Scott's demo plan uses a molding polyline. But if I just want the wall cladding to extend up over the rim joist, is there an easy way? I painted it, but not the greatest look: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristianA Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 Why is using a deck room type not recommended? I've used it a few times for decks above living spaces and didn't have an issue. I just added layers to the floor structure for sleepers and drainage? What am I missing? If balconies can do more, I have no problem switching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 15 hours ago, SHCanada2 said: what did you use/cover the rim joist. Scott's demo plan uses a molding polyline. I used the Materials > Exterior Wall Surface tab of each railing wall dbx to control that exterior finish layer. In my case it was already set to a white trim material. 5 hours ago, ChristianA said: Why is using a deck room type not recommended? The main thing I remember was getting an error message about a deck room over a non-deck room or something like that. That was a few versions ago so that may have changed. In either case you should be able to set up the floor structure however you want it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHCanada2 Posted August 17 Share Posted August 17 6 hours ago, ChristianA said: What am I missing? my decks are set to build with beams and piles....not sure what happens if over a room, plus as brett says the annoying deck over a room message Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 17 Author Share Posted August 17 Yeah you have to deal with the deck structure & support elements of a deck. I think I remember a ceiling finish issue for the room below too. The balcony room worked great for me this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristianA Posted August 18 Share Posted August 18 I'll keep this in mind on the next project. Can you still do planking with a Balcony? Here is a screenshot of the last project I did. Too bad Chief can't incorporate a slope on the sleepers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tundra_dweller Posted August 18 Author Share Posted August 18 7 minutes ago, ChristianA said: Can you still do planking with a Balcony? Yes you just have to set up your floor structure for that room just like you would a deck. Sloped sleepers / joists / slabs would be great, but at this point I think they're best handled by separate details or CAD over sections. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHCanada2 Posted Saturday at 05:43 AM Share Posted Saturday at 05:43 AM On 8/17/2026 at 2:32 PM, tundra_dweller said: I used the Materials > Exterior Wall Surface tab of each railing wall dbx to control that exterior finish layer. In my case it was already set to a white trim material. hmm that doesn't work, because it is missing the OSB sheathing. any other ideas other than creating a new siding material that is thicker by 3/8? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHCanada2 Posted Saturday at 05:44 AM Share Posted Saturday at 05:44 AM this is also interesting: shows the rimboard, and something else below it, even though the room divider has white siding for both sides of the divider. any thoughts on this? Pull the wall up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now