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Create a new layout sheet, put what you want on it, then save the layout as a master. Then with each new project, you save that layout to the project name, and your original stays ready for the next one. Then edit the job name, date, etc. Just like creating a master .plan file to generate new drawings from. You can also create them in different paper sizes so they are ready to go

Is there a way to create a default Layout page so everytime I open it, I can already have my logo, designer name, date, and general notes on the pages already? I currently am manually creating a new page everytime. There has to be a workaround for this.

I'm new to Home Designer 2026 and love the software so far. I have run into an issue trying to create an apartment over our garage. I'm working from an existing structure that we are renovating. After several tutorials and five versions I have a flat ceiling over the room but the top ceiling height is still a little too high. I have started documenting all of my selections in properties but do not know what I selected to case the under roof to have no sheetrock or the gaping hole that extends along the edge of the roof. Can you help me identify the error here? Are there any story and a half templates that are editable in Home Designer 2026? Any suggestions? Thank you in advance for your help.

Not sure what you want rotated. I tend to draw the lot boundary as a polygon and change the units to surveying aka Quadrant Bearing: S8° 5' 15"E but how it draws those is based on your NORTH arrow which can be rotated. The house plans should be drawn sqaure to screen so walls are vertical/horizontal on screen. Then insert the N arrow: Use the Help screen. the set the NORth at an angle relative to the house and the property lines should be correct. All yo uneed is property line which you can enter as a polygon and set to terrain perimeter.

Got it to work. Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions. Thank you Plotted angled cleaner2.plan

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Good morning everyone. I am struggling with a project with relatively tight offsets and attempting to design the project to fit inside. The issue is that the reference lines for the project is a pool enclosure that was built approximately 2.5* degrees off of North/South. I have accepted that my simple program (Home Designer Pro 2025) could not rotate the file, however when I had my surveying firm rotate it accordingly it will not import into Home Designer Pro offset. I have another Cad viewing program that shows they've oriented the file offset for me and HDP continues to bring it in oriented off of North. We would like to optimize the project now with our offsets however without having the correct orientation it is impractical. Can anyone help me rotate the file in HDP (or something compatible) so I can begin to make adjustments? Thank you for your time. MikePlotted angled cleaner2.plan

Yes, you can often use Auto Roofs for complex roof designs, but there comes a point where manual roof planes become the better option. For a double gable or other complex roof geometry, many designers start with Auto Roofs to generate the basic structure and then manually edit, break, or replace individual roof planes to achieve the desired result. If you're finding that Auto Roofs are creating incorrect intersections, ridges, or valleys, that's usually a sign that the design has exceeded what the automatic tools can handle cleanly. In those cases, building the main roof automatically and then manually adjusting the problematic sections often produces the best results. If you can share a screenshot or plan of the roof layout, the community may be able to suggest whether Auto Roofs can handle it or if a fully manual approach would save time and frustration.

I just designed one of these last week...A-frame style. it was rather tricky getting everything to play nice together. I followed the tutorial Scott linked above and while it did produce an A-frame structure, I did not like the results and abandoned it for this one below, which worked well for me. https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/topic/35255-video-lesson-how-to-create-an-a-frame-house/ The trick I found was where he lowers the roof using the 'height off plate' box. It is labeled a bit different in my 2025 version but worked the same. Essentially lowering the roof to the floor level by a minus 'roof over wall' value equal to your wall height. I have my rafters set on a 2x flat plate on the floor so mine is minus wall height less 1-1/2", The guy uses less 3 inches in his example tutorial video. Below are pics of the model I created. Client was very pleased.

This knowledge article can help: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00452/building-an-a-frame-structure.html

Thank you!

why does it have to be done with auto roof? To quote someone famous: GIT ER DUN. Things is with auto roof and using a plan that has been tweaked and prodded sometimes things are setup you do not realize and can cause roof issues. every wall room edit pages have a bunch of things that affect roof as do the plan Defaults and how you set up the roof each time you run auto roof. WIth big plans lots of walls etc multi story can take a while to find what is messing up roof. Why I jus run it once to draw majority of planees and then edit them as that takes no time

oh the outside wall is stone or concrete not wood framed. See where I live everything made from Wood. no concrete or stone walls. Maybe a brick or stone veneer..

too old software for me as I forget what it would let you do or not. If my project I would just edit roof planes manually.

Thanks heaps Tyler - that worked a treat - that was the only thing I didn't think of.

Also another tid bit of information. It seems as though the program is not building the ridge at the center of the building along the 34' side (right side). The ridge is at 16' from the back. Should be at 17' if equal pitch which it is supposed to be.

It’s been done in Europe for hundreds of years, easily framed. It’s usually a stud wall on the interior. You don’t need a custom symbol from the premier line . This is how I do mine in Pro 25 but its been the same from Pro 21. In this image its a 350mm block/stone wall. Break the block wall at the width of your window. Change that wall to the same depth as your window. Draw a new stud/plasterboard on the interior of that and it will cut the block wall.

Hello @JodieCameron, It looks like to add a rotated version of this door to your catalog you will need to place the door freestanding (In the middle of your room), take a cross section/camera view, rotate the door so that it is now inverted, and with the door selected use the Add to Library button on the bottom toolbar. This will add the rotated cabinet door to your user catalog that you can then apply to your wall cabinets. I hope this helps!

Here is the actual truss layout of the house I am trying to draw.

Hello all, I have used this program a decent about and I am normally able to figure out how to work around some of the funky stuff the auto rebuild roofs feature does. I have pictures of what I am trying to fix, and I can upload the actual file as well. The thing is I know why (structurally) it is trying to generate it the way it does, but in the real world the small gable in question would just be an overframe. If anyone has any fixes (im sure they are out there) please let me know. Also this is home designer suite 2017 if that helps. roofissuefile.dxf

Thank you, I think it is coming along, but just so that I understand, you do think that this can be done with just practice and Auto Roofs? I certainly can manually tweak it, but can it be done without manual modification as my boss asked?

just keep playing. your issues are experience and knowing how wall height and location affect the roof. Also when you do manual roofs by say editing an auto one. Then you can go back and Re-build roof again using automatic roof. BUT check RETAIN MANUAL DRAWN ROOF PLANES as well as RETAIN EDITED AUTOMATIC ROOF PLANES . - Then it leaves those you edited alone and does not make new roof there just ties into them. You need to see what all those options do. Watch the HD Videos PLay and learn more All I and others could do is take your plan and tweak to give you the roof you want. - but you need to be able to do that. GO to the sample plans see what they have done. Good Luck.

Hi All, One of the bonus catalogue cabinet door panels called 'Surface' has a grove cut into the top to allow opening without hardware. I would like to know if there is a way to invert this door so they can be placed on upper cabinets and have the groove at the bottom. I have attached an image for visual reference. I am using 2025 Home Designer Pro. I have tried via the edit settings, individual cabinet section settings and also copied it to my user library to edit freely, but with no luck. Thanks all!! JC

Exactly. I'm a hobbyist and only use the program on personal projects and for friends. The legacy version that I purchased in 2021was working just fine for me. Then my computer crashed and I bought a new one. When I re-installed my legacy HomeDesignerPro, I lost probably 50% of the libraries I had purchased and all of the manufacturers catalogs...Kohler, Benjamin Moore, etc. There's no way I'm upgrading to a rental model for a hobby. And like bumblebeelyfe, I had committed a lot of time to mastering this program. WHAT A WASTE. Way to screw your customers! Reluctantly looking for new options now.

This is an improvement: I have some problems with that roof plane, but at least it is working. Thanks. Any idea how to fix it?