DavidJPotter

Read and apply this Help Article please: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00120/creating-a-parapet-roof.html DJP

I did the images in Chief Premier version 7 ( a long time ago), it depends on how detailed you intend to model such a structure as to whether or not you get Suite, Architectural or Home Designer Pro, any of those can, once learned, easily model such sturctures. DJP

Home Designer titles have no "Ray Tracing" ability (Chief Premier only), the 2020 titles have PBR Physically-Based-Rendering Lots of Chief Premier users enhance their renders with PhotoShop and other such image editing software DJP

"File - Export - .dxf" ".DXF" is a universal 2D file format that is importable into AutoCAD, IntelliCAD and other major CAD programs, that command converts your .plan file from 3D to 2D for sharing between CAD programs. DJP

A "Deck" room by default and pre-programming has NO Ceiling and thus no auto-attic walls to cap that missing ceiling. Open the Room Specification Dialog for your current "Deck" and on its "Structure" Tab check "Has a ceiling" and that command alone will then auto add a flat ceiling and auto -attic sidewalls, try it and see! DJP

Upgrading to Home Designer Pro would lead, once you learn how to use its roof tools, to a solution. Competence with one's tools is more important than the tools but in the case of a cape cod type house, you will be better served by Pro than otherwise. Just keep in mind that software is not a substitute for your own competence, software, once learned tends to then make things easier to do. DJP

"Bonus Rooms" are commonly thought to be in existing "Attic Space" (the space that exists between the ceiling of the first floor and the bottoms of the roof planes above. In Home Designer or Chief Premier, you first establish your existing roof system which secondarily establishes available attic space for a potential "Bonus Room". you then turn off "Auto Build Roofs" in the "Build Roof" Dialog box and order a "Second Floor" be built by ordering a "BlankSecond Floor" be created. In the dialog box presented for the "new floor" you set a target "Ceiling Height" for the new "Bonus Room" and then manually draw in the interior walls of the intended room. You can check the usability or liveability of the potential room with camera views and cross-sections to establish how wide and long the room shall be Probably the most important consideration is how you will enter the new bonus room from the first floor, how much of the first floor is to be used to house the stairwell (that is probably the first thing to do before seeing how much usable space is in the attic to be converted to a room. DJP

The "error 200" is probably due to your attaching the ".plan" file while it is actively open in Home Designer, which you have seen, does not work. You must close Home Designer and then use Window File Explorer to attach/share your file here, preferably as a ".zip" archive file. Since I cannot see your file I cannot even suggest an existing tutorial other than your "Reference Manual" and the Home Designer Website Tutorials Area. DJP

There is no "mystery" involved but I agree oftentimes one has to figure out how a particular feature was pre-programmed to work. How to make a material run in a particular direction is rather straight-forward: it is preprogrammed to run (be horizontal too) in a particular direction, so if you wish a particular material to run in a different direction you use the "Edit Material Definition" tool (the tool icon that has three 45 degrees angle colors) and left-click on the material you wish to edit. In the resulting dialog, you will find that each material is represented differently depending upon what camera tool you wish to view it in the "Pattern" is for "Vector View, Glass House and Line drawing" type cameras and the "Texture" of a material is used to represent the material visually in "Standard Render and PBR" render cameras. So in order to change the pre-programmed way a material "runs" along a material surface you must change both the angle of the pattern and texture to the direction you wish it to follow. In the case where you want a material to run both horizontally and perpendicularly the "Copy" of the material must be made manually by you (I usually name the "copy" "Material Name-90D.jpg etc for the same of the computer). Videos DJP

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You, as LawB10 said use "File - Import PDF" and then import your target PDF file, then once in your plan vew of the plan file, you then scale it using the provided scaling tool and dimension tools to verify its proper scaling and then you can trace over it to quickly layout walls, doors and windows indicated in the PDF file using your 3D tools for walls, windows and doors. You use dimension tools on the walls to obtain accuracy. DJP

Whatever software you have, under its "Help" Menu you will find a command called "Read Reference Manual", click on that and then read, carefully the section in it that covers "Materials List" and then you will be all set. DJP

Me too! DJP Blake.zip

If you will share a copy of your plan, I will take a look and report back, your call. DJP

Put the roof planes temporarily on the <A> Attic Level in "Plan View". Then "copy-paste- paste-hold position" your dormers into the roof planes now in the "Attic", once done, then delete the dormers in floor 2 plan view and see if that helps your situation. Dormer objects are pre-programmed to want to avoid existing walls in plan view and I have found that placing them on the Attic level sometimes allows them to coexist with lower level walls. DJP

Take a look DJP

Custom symbols cannot be made in Home Designer software titles. One can download and learn how to use Sketch Up (a free application for creating custom 3D symbols that can be imported into current Home Designer titles but NOT 2016 titles). In order to make that particular symbol you need and want you will have to find a Chief Architect user who still has an active copy of Chief Architect Premier that matches Home Designer 2016 - Chief Premier Version X7 (or version 17). A symbol made by any earlier version will not be compatible with HD 2016, the versions must match for compatibility. The same is true for Sketch-Up, in that current Sketch Up symbols are NOT compatible with older versions of Chief or Home Designer software. Current Chief and HD titles are only compatible with current versions of Sketch-Up. Not happy news but true none the less. There are a few Advanced Chief Users who specialize in making custom 3D symbols that can be found at Chief Talk and elsewhere who could then help you. DJP

The key is to turn OFF "Auto Build Roof" command in the "Build Roof" Dialog when you have achieved the roof design you wish. That done, changing the ceiling heights in individual rooms will then have no effect or change your existing roof system. DJP

Look under "Line Tools" where you will find a "North Pointer" and "Sun Shadow Line Tool". DJP

DJP

If all roofs are to be flat, then set the Global "pitch" setting in the "Build Roof Dialog" to "zero inches" or something virtually flat like "1/16" in 12 or 1/4" in 12" ("Flat Roof systems still need to drain to their eaves don't they?). If you wish a Parapet wall around your "roof", then you create a second floor to emulate the roof, setting the "Ceiling Height for the second floor the intended height of the parapet wall. Check "No Ceiling or Roof over this room" for the "Roof Room", setting the "Floor Material" of the second-floor room to some appropriate material setting like "Asphalt" from the "Roadways" material choices. You are trying to emulate a flat roof, you say what it is to communicate your intentions to other building professionals. Help Articles at the Knowledge Base: DJP

What most nonprofessional Designers do not understand is that the geometry of the floor plan determines the 3D Geometry of the resulting roof system, no if, ands or buts always. Sorry, I have nothing more positive to offer but the Truth will have to suffice. DJP

There are 3D Trees for Chief Premier but I am sorry to say they are also incompatible with Home Designer Pro. You might do a search at 3D Warehouse and see if any fully 3D tree symbols are available for you to download and try in HD Pro. DJP

I am sorry but this is essentially why (and several other upgraded functions) Home Designer Pro costs more than Architectural, it is not a bug or omission it is merely determining that you get what you exchange for. DJP