DavidJPotter

DJP ProbertRd121 Ext. Plan.plan

The stair tool is pre-programmed to try and stay within a stair "Rise Angle" (steepness of the stair object) so when you manually make a stair shorter by removing steps or treads from the stair, it automatically disconnects from the floor above. That attribute is actually useful in helping a designer draw stairs that will not "Meet Code" for stairs (That does not mean that the software always gets things right, it does not but it is programmed to keep people from designing something that will be rejected by a Permit Authority). Take the time to practice using the stair tool after reading the entire section about Stairs in the "Reference Manual" so it is easier to think with and use the stair tool. DJP

Sadly, yes, to achieve curve like splines you would have to use the "Line Break" tool from your "Edit Toolbar" when you select an elevation line. Adding breaks in a straight line allows one to somewhat emulate the curves of splines available in Pro and Premier. DJP

This tutorial is done in Chief Architect but the Terrain tools are identical in Chief and HD PRo. DJP

Anomalous terrain spikes are commonly caused by crossing elevation objects (lines, splines, points, regions) or placing them too close together. The terrain is designed/programmed to create a gradient between differing height values so when they are placed too close to each other you get unwanted terrain artifacts as in your posted image. Space them out and let them flow to each other will work better. DJP

For the Roof Eave soffit there is a setting, in the roof plane specification dialog - Options Tab for "boxed Eaves", take a look please. For the gaps in the first to second floor walls, It may be an incorrect setting in your plan file (without it to inspect, it is anyone's guess as to the actual cause. Such gaps can be manually repaired by manually closing those wall poly line gaps in a camera view but they are usually caused by an incorrect setting in the room dialog, Floor Defaults or the wall dialog. DJP

The answer is "Yes" but exactly "How" depends upon what Home Designer Software you are using, what are you using please? DJP

DJP

If you used a Box-bow window then using corner boards will NOT work. If you drew the box or bay window manually, then corner boards can be applied. The Box-Bay Window tool has built in limitations as above and others. Building a manual box or bay window is more work of course manually but can give you more freedom in terms of the outcome. DJP

In Architectural you can create an overview camera, then select the "Material Sprayer" tool. Select the intended material and then "Spray" that new material on your roof planes. Using that tool you can reach/touch any surface or object you wish to change its material from one to another. DJP

https://www.homedepot.com/c/ah/how-to-install-a-french-drain/9ba683603be9fa5395fab9012cc2665 How to install a French Drain with photos from Home Depot DJP

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=custom+material+in+Home+Designer Here are some videos on YouTube that will help you DJP

Your shared plan file looks NOTHING like the photo you posted! What ARE you trying to do exactly? DJP

All walls are adjustable via their "Wall Poly lines" in cross section views manually to whatever height you require. DJP

As you have seen, the software is programmed to do what you have been seeing. The same is true for multiple-stacked rooms, floor to floor (if you lower the second floor floor height, it automatically lowers the ceiling below. Same thing with a first floor, whether you raise or lower the floor height, the software is programmed to respond to that change. It sounds as if you wish to create a first floor room with NO foundation. Perhaps you need to describe in greater detail, your problem? DJP

Architects and Engineers use Chief but when it comes to drainage systems, which only perhaps Landscape Architects and Engineers would legally do. Most of them use text and arrows as has been done by you and others. Chief is not used by Surveyors, they have their own dedicated software for that and their software is really expensive compared to Premier. My advice is to model the terrain as close as is possible but then in plan view show your intentions to the city with text and arrows showing highs, lows and flow channels as you have done here in this forum. In other words, keep it simple. DJP

Those specs are similar to my current desktop and I believe they are fine, in order to get the highest performance, these days takes a lot of MONEY. That laptop should support HD Pro just fine. DJP

DJP BTW: in HD Pro you can turn off all layers, except the layers you wish to inspect but you have to do it manually since there are NO layer sets in Pro (Chief Premier only)

I opened your file, and inspected it using a Full Overview camera and did not find any such unwanted wrinkles as you show above. DJP

Place the soffit object so it faces in the direction you wish it to slope. Set is plan view width and height and then in plan view stretch it out from the edge of the wall to under the ridge of the roof. then open its dialog and check "sloped soffit - place under ceiling". The apply your intended material. DJP

I downloaded your plan (thanks for sharing) and when I opened it and looked, I found NOTHING that you show in your images, (Nada), smooth and flat everywhere, sorry. DJP

The "Framing " layer is OFF by default in cross section cameras you must manually check that layer ON in order to see framing (each camera type and all plan views have each their own "Display Options" so like Eric said open display options for the view you are in to see what is ON or OFF. DJP

I have always just used a cross section or back-clipped cross section camera and dimension tools for that job. That said there is no reason some other procedures could and do work. Chief and Home Designer offer numerous ways to achieve a desired effect which, I believe is one of their strengths. DJP

Luminon is quite good as it is quite EXPENSIVE! One can download a free copy of Twin Motion by Epic Games to use for non commercial use and import .dae files into it for rendering. It is as good as anything now on the market but does cost your time to learn how to use and edit your outcomes using it (it does not do it for you, you must learn and control it to do anything useful) and it has rather stiff "Minimum Requirements" to properly operate and run it on a personal computer, take a look and enjoy!. DJP

Of course! New users must understand that the software, though created by very smart individuals, is not a substitute for State Licensed Engineers (the ONLY legal persons who can legally design trusses) and that the software is not a substitute for a State Licensed Architect of Architectural Designer for the same reasons. What it is for, once thoroughly learned is to aid one to draft, conceptually, a 3D model to communicate one's desires to Building Professionals as to your desires of outcome. All that one needs to create a structure are basic plans, (floor plans, elevations etc) to share with a truss company or Engineer for them to design the trusses. Anything you draw in terms of framing is purely conceptual (you are not trained or licensed to design structures in detail). You can do a lot of useful to yourself and Building Professionals to obtain your desires and dreams. Learn the tools and settings of the software but leave the highly technical side of structures to those who went to college, and obtained a state license to do that particular work is my advice, DJP