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Change them to PANELS and then change the PANEL material to what you like. click on these and open the edit screen for these "Railing Walls" Go to RAIL tab and at top select PANELS for the railing. Then go to material tab and change the PANEL material to whatever looks like what you want. Check in the bonus stuff for WIRE AND LATTICE plenty in there that may be close to what you need. OR find a picture file and edit a material to have it.

Hi there team, I have had a couple of issues not previously experienced. I have only recently just upgraded to current version (2026) and seems to be any time i try to place any type of accessory (sink, appliance etc) into a cabinet, there is an offset I can't resolve. Sinks are placed (in 3D view) approx 100mm too high and the same is for supplier catalog cooktops. Supplier catalog ovens are sitting about 400mm too far on the horizontal axis. I can't find where to adjust these properties. I have done the workaround with the supplier catalog appliances placing them in open space and then adjusting x/y/z in 2d and 3d view to get them in right position but this doesn't work for sinks as it doesn't generate the hole in the benchtop. Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Hey all! I'm trying to get the Trex Wire Mesh Railing used for the Trex deck I'm drawing for a contractor. The Trex Catalog does not include their railings and the AZEK Building Products Catalog doesn't provide a mesh railing. The closest I've come to is selecting the Baluster type from the Library and choosing Cross Hatch: However, the balusters are at a 90 degree angle. Anyone know how I can turn them or what I can use to create something similar to Trex's Wire Mesh Railing? This is how it's showing up in Plan: Any tricks will be greatly appreciated!! TIA, Linda in Lancaster (Ohio) MSI Laptop Home Designer Pro 2025

Making sense now, Thanks Keith!

I tried that. The closest I got was a framed floor over the foundation. No idea how to back fill and get a slab floor that sits level with the top.

Try calling the room with the shorter stem wall a garage in room type only. Then you can name the display name whatever it needs to be. Set your garage room defaults to what you need it to be.

I'm designing a house with a half basement . The other half of the foundation needs a 3' stem wall (to get the footing below frost line). The 'slab with footing ' tool won't let me add a stem wall and the foundation wall tool always puts the concrete floor down on the footing and adds a floor on top, creating a crawlspace. I need to create two foundation areas, with their tops at the same elevation, and, backfill the shallower one to pour a 4" slab. The shop side of the house will look like a slab on grade. Any ideas?? P.S. Is there anyone who can point me in the right direction for a tutorial on doing split levels within the same storey?

go to CHIEF ARCHITECT forums and ask. This forum is for Home Designer big difference in software

Walls will not resize. I have a roof top deck with a small room that the stairs come up to. The room is 10'x9' with an 8' ceiling. Two of the walls are correct but two are crazy tall. I cannot figure out how to fix this. HD pro 2025

Two questions both related to same project 1. Can I create a "general framing member" and bevel certain edges of it to create a box with mitered corners? 2. Can I import a photo of a material and apply different sections of this photo to the box created in question 1. I am trying to create a custom cabinet using a specific piece of lumber in my inventory. Being able to create a "cutlist layout" on this plank and using the cut pieces for different faces of the cabinet will be helpful.

I am using Chief Architect pro 2025 and am having trouble getting dimensions to display while using 3D views to add to layout. The dimension option is checked on the display screen. Anyone know what's up? Regards, Ken

Ooops, sorry, I'm a Chief user not Home Designer Pro.

Not possible using Chief's walls. Fake it with CAD or solids. bb

Wall lengths for rooms is best set using the dimensions (not inside of the wall DBX). See this article to learn more. https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00245/setting-exact-wall-dimension-lengths.html

I have a stand-alone room drawn in Home Designer 2026. I want to change the wall's length to shorten if by 1.5" When I open the wall specification pages, and then type in the new length and click OK - nothing happens. The wall still shows the same length? What do I need to do to get this wall to change lengths? Thanks

I have used Home Designer Pro for a new build, but also projects where I have to submit plans for an existing property for extensions and other works. This time I am trying to prepare plans for an old property that needs extensive reconstruction. One of the issues is that the gable walls are leaning close to tipping point. In order to show this on elevations and cross sections, I need the walls to be non vertical. (87deg). Is this possible at all? I'm guessing the software has mainly been developed for new builds, not retro work on old properties. But if this is possible it would be great. thx

@Vikki_WAJust curious, what's not available that your wanting? I haven't used HDP for several years, but I downloaded the trial version and compared it to 2021 and seems like things are about the same with more options. It did start up with Project Managment on and it's a lot different, but it can be turned off and it works like previous versions. I've been using Premier X17 and once I got use to the project management, I really like it. You can't revert to 2023 but give the new version a try and you might like it.

Yep sorry that didn't work out for you. That is one of the bummer features in all the Chief Architect products - lack of backward compatibility. I hope you didn't put too much work into the 2026 versions.

Thank you Keith.

I suggest asking Chief Architect peeps

That portion of exterior wall that blocks the bump-out can be removed. It won't affect the roof. Or, you can add a doorway. I replicated the roof in a 2021 trial version of the software, and it created the same results. So, I don't know why it is not working for you. Check your settings.

That's your only option, yet you could buy it for a year and not renew if you don't need it.

I didn't upgrade because I didn't need new features. I originally upgraded from 20 to 21 because I needed them then. I don't use the product that often. I'm a homeowner, not a professional. Regarding the new version, I don't see any option except for the subscription now. Am I missing something?

I guess that's one of the drawbacks of not updating a 5 year old version at some point. The new version is half price for now, if that's any consolation?

I contacted support. They say they only "support" versions 2022 or newer. Not sure how this is going to work with my designs that have manufacturer catalogs in use. Between that and the new subscription model, I'm regretting all of the money and time that I've put into this software.