DavidJPotter

Incorrect, I have been a professional using this software since 1994, I did not state "opinion" but rather fact. In your original post you never mentioned "Water". I think you need to be a little more succinct in terms of exactly what you need and want, perhaps post a picture, sketch or image. I suggestion will create a ditch or creek with NO water in it. And a note on reality in this software. This software is for the purpose of communicating to clients or other building professionals visually, what is needed and wanted for a particular project. No one will ever live in the virtual realities we create, rather they just serve a purpose to guide others to a particular outcome. Only if you are planning to actually build from scratch a ditch, canal or river do you need to be perfect in its details. This software is for Architecture and not Civil Engineering. DJP

Each "Terrain Elevation Object" has a "Dialog Box" to set its positive or negative height. To create a "Ditch" with slanted sides would require two splines or lines on either side of the ditch and then one or two lines or splines inside those prior splines or lines with a differing height (a lower value would tend to cause a depression or "Ditch" between the higher pare, height-wise. Take a look please for yourself. Home Designer and Chief Premier software will not do natively slanted floors, so you, in plan view add the text "Slanted Floor" and an "Arrow" indicating the direction of slope. For visuals you can place a "Wedge" from the "Library Browser - Shapes - Wedges" in your plan then then using its dialog box reshape it, dimension-wise to emulate a slanted floor. DJP

No, you preset the commands you wish to guide the "automatic" roof tool to a wanted result. Only Home Designer Pro has "Manual Roof creation Tools". DJP

If the wall marked "Roof cuts wall at bottom" is not fully on top of the porch roof plane if will "disappear", it is pre-programmed and knowing that it is on you to get it right. DJP

Walls show respect to the edges of roof planes, if the wall is on top of a roof plane it will have to be marked "Roof cuts bottom" in its wall specification dialog-roof tab or you must manually make sure that your gable roof planes overhang the top of that wall and that roof planes are not underneath its bottom (from the porch). DJP

OK, but the software is not pre-programmed to allow placing a skylight in a roof plane that is underneath two gable roof planes, so I would recommend placing a "Ceiling hole" as shown in my prior tutorial and fill in the sides in with soffits. DJP

Please what this You Tube video I made using your plan file: https://youtu.be/fb1pbbDgXYc DJP

You merely create a custom slab, then cut a hole in that custom slab sized to fit a tub into it from your Library Browser. Then place the tub symbol into the hole (the slab needs to be the right height and length to properly display the tub symbol. This is Easy to do, try it! DJP

A truss made from scratch in Chief Premier DJP

Within Home Designer Pro there are three possible ways: 1. create the truss in Sketch Up and them import as a symbol into HD Pro (the main trouble with that is that the current version of Sketch Up is NOT compatible with Pro 2016) 2. Create the truss out of a material region or custom backsplash tools (this can be done but is VERY difficult to pull off 3. Upgrade to Chief Architect Interiors or Premier where this can easily be done once learned. DJP

What does "HRV" stand for or mean please? DJP

You did not mention what software title or version you are using (you should, in the future, do so). It helps other help you more effectively. https://youtu.be/L0xEJO1K0Rw Hope this helps DJP

I verified your assertion in my trial copy of HD Pro 2020. The problem is that no Home Designer Pro software can assign any object ( 2D or 3D) to layers other than their pre-programmed home layers, sorry. I Chief Premier you can create custom layer names and assign any object to any other layer but that is part of what you get spending more money for the software, sorry. DJP

https://youtu.be/WasdN_LYi_o No need to stretch the walls if you set the walls up properly (see the link to a YouTube Tutorial video please) DJP

Just as in the video I made above, you can use "Wall Types - Define" dialog to change also exterior and interior materials. You can adjust all interior 4 walls to display different shades or materials and also then change the interior Sheetrock layer to display something of your own choice as opposed to drywall, you just do it by wall type instead of wall by wall. You can make individual wall layer material changes per wall by opening a single wall and then assigning a custom material to one side or the other by way of its "Materials Tab", You can control a room via its "Room Specification Dialog - Materials Tab - Walls" but just for a single room. Global defaults for walls are set in "Edit - Default Settings - Walls" for the entire plan. You have so many options and tools to control wall materials and fills that it can be a little confusing (I have not mentioned what Eric referred to using the "Materials Eyedropper and Materials Spray Can" tools for changing materials). That tool has four separate modes (component- a single 3D surface, Object - colors the entire object selected, Room- alters every object in the selected group to your new custom material selection, Floor- colors all objects of the type selected on the entire floor and lastly Plan Mode- that recolors all object types of the type selected to the intended material). As you can see misuse of these tools can destroy a plan file or save you a lot of time. The best way to be competent is to study the Reference Manual on these tools and settings and then practice using them until you are SURE that you fully understand their uses and what to avoid doing. DJP

https://youtu.be/eNa2udiVL7g A short YouTube video showing you a way to accomplish what I "think" you want to do in HD Pro 2020. DJP

https://youtu.be/3KVfZbPY5ns A short YouTube video of me working on your plan DJP

Ceiling and wall vent grids can be found in your Library Browser, do a "Search" for the search term "Vents" DJP

Do you mean an attic door (drop-down stairs). (see attached library file) DJP exterior egress.calibz

Do you mean "Basement Bulkhead" exactly, a basement bulkhead door (like the library item attached) DJP Exterior door cover.calibz

Thanks, Eric, I think it is now properly marked. DJP

https://youtu.be/oYG6OZWnMxc a YouTube video for your consideration DJP

Thank you for sharing your plan file. I looked at it and found that, One: It is a Home Designer Pro 2020 file and not as your "Signature" states "Home Designer Pro 2019". (I could ont open it in Chief Premier X10, the big brother of HD Pro 2019, I opened it in Chief Premier X11 Two: It has several apparent "Rooms" or spaces that are not closed making them useless as programmable rooms. Therefore it is rather hard figuring out what, exactly is what. I will look so more and see what I can come up with. DJP

https://youtu.be/LCELerLxtIE A YouTube video of me working on your file and the edited file is attached DJP woodview.zip

When I said "DO NOT ROTATE THE HOUSE", I meant you leave the house where it is in plan view and you rotate the terrain plane and North Pointer (those objects can be selected as a group and rotated leaving the house where it is in plan view. You can rotate the house but what I am saying is that it is easier and causes NO collateral damage to rotate the terrain and North Pointer. Rotating the house is NOT recommended as it throws the walls all into "off angles" which degrades the functioning of the house structure and dimensions. You are welcome to shoot yourself in the head, I am merely offering the advise that doing something unnecessarily DANGEROUSLY AND A POOR PRACTICE is not warranted when you can easily and safely just rotate the Terrain plane and North pointer with NO damage or duress. DJP