solver

Give your patio a Room Type of Porch. Check Ceiling Over This Room. Place lights.

This is what I see.

Do you want to hire someone? New or existing house? If existing, posting several good pictures will help someone decide if this might be a good project for them. What is your time frame? Where are you located? What software do you have?

I checked out your website -- suggest getting rid of the music.

hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/topic/2559-pier-and-curtain-foundation/ Everything is mostly explained in this thread. Draw a pier and apply material to make it look like you want, and then, if needed, a footing. I used the Slab Tool, but other things will also work. Select them both and Make Architectural Block so you can move them together. Move as required in plan and elevation views. Transform/Replicate is an easy way to space them if they are evenly spaced. You can also draw CAD lines, positioning them precisely. Use them as your centers to place the piers.

I played with this a bit and was able to reproduce what you are seeing. Suggest you open a support case with Chief.

I think this is more of SketchUp question than a Home Designer question. You cannot modify these imported items in Home Designer, so you will need to do the modeling in SketchUp and import.

The bottom chord of a truss is built at the Ceiling Height -- you don't need a ceiling, just the dimension set. Ceiling planes must be in place if the bottom chord is not level, like a scissor truss.

If you are trying to model a SIP wall, then I might call the insulation showing a bug -- but it depends on how the panels are installed.

You are comparing apples and oranges. Different operating systems and 64 vs 32 bit. I don't know what previous upgrade problems you had, but would not hesitate to install the new version. If you find issues, you can always uninstall and then install 2016.

Think about a Chief built car transmission. Shifting into reverse and having the car go forward is a bug. Not having reverse is is simply an unimplemented feature.

Best to start a new thread, but to answer, I believe it will do what you want. Do you have the Upper Pitch option?

I'm confused. What is a "manual dormer"? In my trial copy of Suite 2016, there is only one type of dormer, and it cannot be exploded.

Your best bet is to contact support with your specific problems.

Do you have any family or friends in the area that could take pictures? Have you checked Google for images? Recreating plans from memory can be a challenge, especially for one who did not live in the house. It looks like it is multiple floors, which makes things even more difficult. You mentioned Chief Architect, and this is the Home Designer (by the Chief Architect company) forum. If you are considering one of the Home Designer titles, then this is the correct spot.

Materials like tile may be stretched.

SketchUp. I imagine you can find one in the 3D Warehouse, or create one of your own.