DavidJPotter

The only way to do this currently is to place the railings on top of the walls as symbols directly from the Library Browser as symbols (not railing walls), In future versions this may not continue but is true now. DJP

another try based on Jo Ann's guess: DJP

It took me two tries but I finally got this YouTube video done, I hope it helps you" In retrospect, I think Jo Ann guessed better than I did. DJP

Please post a photo of your home, several from different sides would be optimum. Observations of your model: I do not see any "L" shape to it as you have said except if the porch did actually have a shed or lower pitched roof as you say, then and only then an "L" shape might then appear. Most probably not, you, I believe would need to upgrade to Home Designer Pro, the roof design tools of Suite and Architectural are equivocal, only HD Pro offers full custom-manual roof design tools, which seem to be indicated at least until I can see photos of your existing home. DJP

How to set up for a gambrel and shed roof is described, each in the "Build Roof Dialog" - "Roof Styles Tab". Then it is a matter of entering the Roof Tab Data directives into each wall setting up the roof pitch directives. Having a good idea of what those pitch values are is the key to getting this done fast. DJP

Eric is correct, my bad, I never use cabinet labels, customized or otherwise, which shaded my reply above. DJP

That is controlled by how many floors you create and the pitch you select for the roof. The way to check that is to create an exterior elevation camera view and then measure the results with dimension tools. Most permit authorities allow enough vertical space for most purposes and set limits so someone does not build an outrageously tall structure that would tend to stand out in a neighborhood. The software does not do that, you do, using the software's tools as above. All of your possible questions cannot be easily answered here, at this forum. The vast majority of answers will come from you, and your self-study of the software and its tools in the provided "Users Guide", "Reference Manual" and "Training Videos". Links to those free resources can be found under the "Help" menu when the software is active. DJP

Were I you, I would call Chief Architect Tech Support on Monday because this is not default behavior for any Home Designer title or version. DJP

Chief Premier also does not display cabinet labels in fractions (an industry-wide convention). I always dimension my cabinets in both plan and in wall elevations. Since the cabinet industry, especially commercial cabinet shops manufacture their cabinets in 3" increments, where only the necessary spacers of fillers are then sized as necessary to fit, All the local custom cabinet makers do this as well. They also make their own measurements and drawings along with mine. You can do as you wish and want what you want, I am just saying that upgrading to Chief etc is not actually an "answer" to your complaint. DJP

Imported material textures only show themselves in Standard Render camera views. They will not show in any other camera render types, only Standard. A material, any material is composed of the texture file, for Standard Render views and by a line pattern in all other views. If you did not assign a pattern file, such materials will only show a color in non-Standard render cameras. That is probably what you are seeing/describing. That is the way it is programmed to work. DJP

What card does the Surface Pro list, is it part of the Mother Board or is it a dedicated, stand-alone video card with its OWN memory? Big difference in performance, new or old. DJP

I am sorry about the audio volume, I will try to get that addressed in future videos: DJP

I agree with Eric in that it appears you are just not completely done, reshaping the house gable to accept and mate with at 45degree angles as it should to form mating valleys, just do it. DJP

Call your local Permit authority to find out their requirements first to see if Architectural or Pro will do what you want. Pro can print scaled drawings up to 18" x 24" paper, so does Architectural. The big difference is that Pro offers a virtual piece of paper to layout drawings at different scales per printed page and allows space for a title block per printed scale, whereas Architectural does not. All views from Architectural will have to display the same scale per printed view. Architectural can show a title block but it must be added as text and images to each printed view. https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/videos/watch/2296/layouts.html layouts in Pro Layouts in Architectural: DJP

See if this video helps you: DJP

Why would you want to do that? You simply place the lighting symbol where you want it in plan view and then adjust it height from the floor in a camera view. With the garage's ceiling turned off, the lighting fixture should then seek out the bottom of a roof plane which now visually defines the vaulted ceiling. DJP

Easy to do using Home Designer Pro. Hard to do using Suite. Some Non-Pro users may chime in with a solution or workaround to arrive there. I specialize in using Home Designer Pro and Chief Premier. DJP

Please look this help article: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-02082/creating-an-indoor-swimming-pool.html DJP

The usual source of information is Chief Architect Inc Tech Support. They will help you, Monday-Friday during their Pacific Time Office Hours 208-292-3375 DJP

See if this article helps: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00265/creating-a-room-under-a-staircase.html DJP

Call Tech Support tomorrow, until then you can make sure your video software drivers are up to date (video card's website). DJP

Like any other object, "Select - Delete", the ONLY exception is the auto-created room divider wall that connects an "Island Room" to an exterior wall (If you delete that without changing "Edit -Preferences-Architectural - Turn on Connect Island Rooms" the wall merely is re-auto-created by the software. If a room exists within the interior of an existing room and it is not connected to an exterior wall with an invisible wall, problems ensue. DJP

https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00210/using-open-below-rooms-to-define-an-opening-to-a-lower-floor.html This Knowledge Base help article should help you. DJP

Contact Chief Architect/Home Designer Tech Support. They may be able to help you out. DJP

I have two PC's, both run Windows 10 (one is on the Fall Creator's update and the other is set to Windows Insider which has the latest Beta version of Windows 10). Both machines have multiple Home Designer and Chief Premier versions on them. Through all the updates, I have had zero problems with those applications at all. DJP