DavidJPotter

If you will uncheck "Flat Sides" check box in the "Toe Kick" catagory on the "Cabnet Specification Dialog" then that will allow the base mold to fill those gaps (I downloaded your plan and that is what I found to work).

DJP

That is something you get with Chief Architect Premier only.

DJP

Here are some Knowledge Base articles on this subject that you should study:

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/search/?q=walk+out+basement&submit.x=13&submit.y=5&default_tab=support&site=chief_architect&client=chief_architect&restrict=ChiefArchitect&proxystylesheet=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chiefarchitect.com%2Fsearch%2Fchiefsearch_stylesheet.xslt&output=xml_no_dtd

DJP

I could not duplicate the results you are getting on my copy of Pro, can you post a copy of the plan here please?

DJP

I suppose you are speaking of plan view "scroll Bars" being missing, are you using a PC or Mac please? In all my time using this software I cannot recall a time where the scroll bars disappeared.

DJP

Dekade, here is a link to me working on your plan in X6 (its roof tools are exactly the same as in Home Designer Pro):

http://youtu.be/M4_V8_1qFEY

Hope this is helpful

DJP

Dekade, the basic lesson people need to understand while learning this stuff is that the software only does what it is set to do per unit of time. The software doesn't "know" anything, it is a mechanical device and only responds to how it is set to respondand how it was designed to function. So if your results are unwanted then you can be certain that certain presettings whether set by default or my mistake are incorrect for the outcome you seek.

The thing to do is to study and then practice with the settings observing outcomes so you then know with certainty which ones to use to gain the intended result. Much is explained generally in the Reference Manual and Help sections but trial and error practice takes the theory and helps you then have your own knowing judgement on what to use, when and why. You then discover what it does and does not do and at that point it just becomes a tool which is all it was designed to be.

DJP

When you increase the ceiling height the floor level drops, that is what it is designed to do. It is programmed to use the level of the first floor as a orientation point from which the second and third floors rise from and the basement floor uses the zero of the first floor to build down from.

To close those unwanted gaps between the ceiling and structural floor platform of the first floor, you just close the gaps manually adjusting the "Wall Poly-Lines" as necessary.

It may be that some of your "Ceiling Structure" material value settings need adjusting (I cannot tell from what you posted alone).

DJP

Read page 686, sub section of the Reference Manual: "Cross Section Slider" where how and when it works is described

DJP

Adding screen capture images or a copy of your plan often help to clarify meanings and questions.

The software automatically does some things that at first might seem odd but are actually default behaviors. For instance, attic walls (walls that reside in the upper level of the plan or "<A>" level in plan view (above the first floor in camera views) appear unless roof planes are present to cut off wall tops (Wall heights are auto-determined by either your ceiling height settings and the presence or absence of roof planes above walls.

Without any visuals, all others can do is to generalize and guess what you might be using and what it might actually look like.

DJP

What choices you have in Architectural 2015 are resident in the Wall Specification Dialog - Roof Tab - Roof Return section. How to use it is described in your Help files and Reference Manual found under "Help". Check it out please.

DJP

Hit the "Delete Key" with nothing selected, once for each point or there is an icon under the "cad menu - points - delete points"

DJP

Just from the images you posted it is hard to be sure exactly what you did and why.

If you will make sure your settings are correct for the first floor and that "Edit - Default Settings - Foundation" are properly set for how you intend to build and then auto-build your foundation based upon proper settings then you would not get what you are showing us (it looks like you manually drew those foundation stem walls and then did not close or manually align them with the first floor walls (This is done automatically when you preset up your foundation settings and then just order it built under the "Build" menu).

The software will by default align the outer edge of stem walls to the outer edge of structural framing layers of the walls above unless you order them not to with custom settings or if you manually draw stem walls using the "Wall Tool" and then skip aligning them manually which looks to me like what you have done.

What did you actually do, I wonder?

Here is a link to a You Tube Video I made intended to help you out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l7L5gntl1A&feature=youtu.be

DJP

 

Is it possible to have 2 different structures, each with a unique foundation, and have Auto Rebuild Foundation on?

Yes, the software always follows your settings, once they are relationally correct your foundation will be also whether set manually or auto, settings are King.

If your settings are wrong, all else will also be wrong.

DJP

What you are trying to do can be done but does require a lot of preplanning and trial and error to tweak in and create the final results.

What you must do is to draw all your structures at the same time, in the same plan but you must then adjust, manually, the floor and ceiling heights of each enclosed structures relative to how they relate to each other in terms of topographic relative heights. It requires planning and patience (I would work out on paper the relative floor and ceiling heights and then apply that to each enclosed structure and then build roofs only after all floors and structures are verifyably set up properly.

The difficulty is that the software is programmed on the premis that whatever is in the plan is treated the same so that places the burden of exactness on the end user (you) to pre program enclosed spaces to achieve a specific outcome.

Here is an example

The rear most building's floor is 15' higher than the buildings in the foreground in the image. No single structure is exactly the same floor height to the other buildings.

After I got the building models set up only then did I start to modulate the terrain plane to match the buildings, then adding the driveways and parking lots.

You work out the first floors only and when all is then correct only then do you create foundations for all structures. Roofs are built last.

Here is a link to a Knowledge Base Help Article that addresses this problem in detail:

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00564/

DJP

I usually save-as or save the on line PDF Reference Manual to my hard drive, which from my point of veiw makes it easier to search for specific content. Try that and see if it works for you as well please.

With a PDF document or even just a browser window you can use the keyboard command "CTRL-F" and then search the document or web page. With a PDF file you can also "Advanced Search" using the keyboard command "Shift-CTRL-F" as well.

DJP

The Reference Manual in this case and in my opinion is unnecessary.

If you select each layer in the Wall Specicicatioin Dialog, one at a time that layers material will be displayedin the upper right-hand "Select Material" part of the dialog.

Each wall layer can be adjusted as to its width value and its material assignment changed, all in this dialog.

Where you have an arrow with a question markis not a layer at all but rather a line dividing the outter layer from the next layer inboard.

You can see that the dialog box for "Siding 6" contains 5 layers (siding then moisture wrap, then sheathing, then framing and lastly interior sheetrock or drywall. (all shown in image #1)

In the dialog image for "thick siding" there are only four layers

If you actually confront those dialogs, they by themselves, tell you what is what.

DJP

I had to finish a custom home set of plans today, so earlier I just read what you posted and responded. This evening, I downloaded your plan to look at it.

the second floor is programmed to be an "attic", there is no space on the second floor called "Study" at all (perhaps you worked on this since you first  posted it?),

I suggest you read and employ the aritcles suggested and then apply that to your plan. If you then still have trouble, post a newer copy of the paln please.

it is up to you to clearly communicate your problems with text and image captures. Unclear communications cause us to guess and I am betting that most of us would rather answer than guess.

DJP

Whenever I get goofy behavior or simple commands and functions start to not comply, I save my work and reboot the software. This has been true from time to time since I started. It does not happen often but it does happen.

From plants, you will just have to learn the "Scientific Name" of plants and trees, that is how they are organized, I often use Wikipedia to find out what the name of an oak tree etc is and then look it up in the software.

Not fancy but it is workable within the way it is programmed to work.

DJP

The "Attic" setting automatically sets the floor joists to 2" x 6" which will not structurally support living space, so that is a "no-no" programming wise (wrong setting). Any space programmed as :"attic" will not be counted as "Living Space" by the software.

the open below space gets that specific name after which it will have that attribute of open below. A "Study" should be named "Study". Names if this software are not just "names", rather they are specific programming commands for a space enclosed by walls.

Each space enclosed by walls can and does have a Room Specification Dialog with a Structure Tab which gives you control over that space's attributes as to ceiling and floor.

Both of the articles Jo_Ann posted above are gold so be sure to study them to see how they appy to what you are doing.

DJP

I suppose you mean a structure with open sides (a series of posts holding up a beam for the roofs. The only difference between a "barn" and a "house" is its size.and purpose as defined by its creator. Any enclosed space by walls can be programmed and roofed in any Home Designer title or version. The main difference between Essentials and other titles is "choice" and detail. Only you can decide if Essentials fulfills your needs. Without knowing in detail what you intend, what you find acceptable, I just say that you should get started and see for yourself. If you require more choice and ability then you can upgrade at any time,

DJP

Default settings can be reset or customized at any time by you. I have no idea how they changed (I wasn't there) but I do know you can control them via "Edit - Default Settings" at any time.

I do not recommend using an Archive file other than as a last resort, if all else fails (that is what those files are for, not just for settings changes).

DJP

I like your design, very well done!

DJP

Interiors does not have a wall elevation tool like Home Designer Pro does, so what I would do if all I had was Interiors would be to add Text annotations to the plan view where needed and then make image-renders of the cabinets using your camera tools adding text annotations using Microsoft Paint or similar image editing software as a substitute for the non-existant wall elevation type tool commonly used for kitchen design plans.

DJP

Like Eric said, you can delete dimensions, manual or automatic for the entire plan and start over or just delete them on a single floor using "Edit - Delete Objects" dialog, you can also just select dimension strings and delete that single, selected string or manually edit any dimension string, your choice.

DJP