dmacgregor

This software is turning out to be a colossal waste of my time. I can't believe how difficult it is to do things. All I'm trying to do now is change the exterior siding. I set the default Material for Wall Covering to Home Designer Core Catalogs | Materials | Siding & Paneling | Vertical Paneling | Vertical Paneling Buckskin. Did it change my existing siding? No Did it change my siding to Buckskin on new plans? No. Why is it so difficult to either change the defaults or give a simple explanation on how to do it in the Help Dialogs?

Updated floor plan... 3414 Panmure Road with garage-2.plan

Before I answer that, there seems to be an error in the instructions for "Build A Staircase" in the Tutorial (or in the Help, they're the same). It says to Click on Build | Stairs| Straight Stairs. I tried that twice and it doesn't work like it says and besides that I can't create a landing and the Auto Stairwell icon tells me I need more treads. BUT...if I use Build|Stairs|Draw, it all works like they say. Curious. I wasted 30 minutes on that problem! Now, as far as the garage roof is concerned, I would like a Gable End roof with the Gables at the Garage Door end and the opposite end as well next to the Entry. We haven decided yet on exactly the style we want. We started off wanting a Shed Roof slanting towards the garage doors from the side of the 2nd floor above the Entry (in effect, covering the Entry roof with the new roof) (see original screen capture). But we decided against it because it would require dimensional lumber for the roof rafters and they would be so long that it would have to be custom lengths. So we changed to a Gable End roof ending at the side of the Entry. This way we can use trusses. So the sloped roof of the Entry (like you showed in your sample plan) would meet the Gable End opposite the garage doors. You can see it in my photographs. Essentially the garage is going where the propane tanks are. The dog run at the back corner will be turned into a one storey studio. BTW I'm up to page 47 in the House Design Tutorial.

I'm studiously going thru the Tutorials and Reference Manuals. 1. Got it. Staring me right in the face. 2. Understood. 4. Gives me confidence. 5. Of course. I am inspecting every aspect of your generously supplied sample plan. One question...if a certain roof, say over the garage is automatically drawn and it's the wrong style (or wrong direction) how do I delete just that roof if I can't "select" it? I tried de-selecting "roof over this room" and "ceiling over this room" but it is still there. Doug

If you don't mind LawB10 I have some questions. 1. I can't find the :"room divider" tool you mentioned. 2. I don't understand why the 2nd floor plan shows 2 side walls for the garage. Why are they there since the garage is only a 1 storey structure? 3. The same goes for the Living Room with the cathedral ceiling. 4. Did you draw it using Suites? 5. What are the little red icons next to the 2nd floor walls? Thanks Doug 3414 Panmure Road with garage-2.plan

Thank you LawB10. You didn't have to do that but I really appreciate it. I'll just have to move the garage to the other side of the house. I'll try out your tips. Doug

Thank you for your honest assessment David. I guess I bought the wrong package. Cheers Doug

Here are some additional screen shots of my first attempt last month before purchase. I did not have a lot of time to evaluate as there was too much going on. I did the best I could and watched some "how to" Youtube videos. I got close. Home Designer Pro Trial.pdf

I have an updated Plan File. 3414 Panmure Road with garage.plan

My first sentence mentioned that I was using HD Suites 2018. I understand the importance of including my current package in my Signature and I will do that ASAP. I apologize for not being clearer about what I was trying to achieve. I am attaching some pictures and screen captures of my first attempt with the Trial Version of HD Pro 2018.

I don't understand your response.

Hello. I just purchased HD Suites 2018 after trying both Suites and Pro. I am adding a garage to my house and I wanted to quickly draw up some designs for the architect as a guide. I noticed that I can't do Manual Roofs with the Suites. Despite this limitation, can I be expected to achieve the same results when it comes to roofs as I would with Pro 2018? I am trying to draw a shed-style roof sloping away from the main house and I can't find a way to do it in Suites. It was easy in Pro. Thanks Doug 3414 Panmure Road with garage.plan