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Thank you Eric. That was my impression as well but thought (hoped) I might have been missing something.

Is this something that migh be accomplished with manual tools?

I think I have isolated the problem. The attached plan has all the correct roof geometry and symmetry, yay! The issue is where the two pitches meet and the detail of that rafter connection is creating a weird roof plane joining and rafter connection. It is terminating the upper pitch rafter at the lower pitch instead of the other way around. Seen in this screenshot: The lower pitch uses 2x6 framing, the upper pitch uses 2x8 framing. This AutoCAD screenshot shows the correct as-built detail with the 2x8 in green and the 2x6 in red. If I use join roof planes it destroys the geometry. Is it possible to fix this detail to match the as-built? Thank You Gambrel Roof Issue.zip

Thank you David and Eric. The join tool helped, but bumped the geometry around a bit. I got that kind of sorted but I am still seeing the same issue with a lack of symmetry in the roof plane specification as I posted above and in the 3D model, screenshots below. I started this as a new model to try to reduce variables from things I had tweaked previously. It is just exterior walls, the second-floor hip walls and an asymmetric gambrel roof. I am confused why this won't generate symmetrically.

Hello, Using manual roof planes to create a gambrel roof on top of the second story floor, I locked the pitch and the ridge top height so it calculates the other values. This roof plane screenshot shows the correct top of plate at 197 15/16". This roof plane screenshot calculates the Top of Plate at 198 1/8" despite the other values being correct. I took the correct roof plane above and copy reflected it with this result. I Also drew it as a manual roof plane. Still get the same incorrect value. How does this happen with symmetrical reflected roof planes? Or manually drawn symmetrical roof planes? I drew this in cross-section in AutoCAD to double check the numbers and math in Home Designer. There is some error in the decimals, I even typed the decimals into the ridge top height to reduce error. It seems to take the decimals but displays the nearest fractions. Otherwise the numbers calculate correctly. I am left with mismatched top of plate values and the way the roof generates at the connection between upper and lower pitches is a mess. Any ideas on how to fix this? Thank You, Michael Home Designer Pro 2021

Eric, I don't know that I would have figured out the trick you found to generating the second story and then generating the roof from the 1st floor. Very helpful, thank you! I was approaching it from making the second floor zero height. I was able to get this working on a brand new model I did from scratch, disappointing that I may have to rebuild everything from ground zero here. The original model in the screenshots I posted I started in Suite before I upgraded to Pro to address the inability to create this structure correctly. The Suite model keeps generating the original auto generated roof under the manually drawn roof planes. I am not sure how to shut off the auto roof despite unchecking auto rebuild. Even in the new model it did that a few times but I could see the roof planes in plan to be able to delete them, where I couldn't see the auto roof planes in the model started in Suite. I love the 3D rendering in this software. However, I am noticing a lot of quirks (inconsistent behaviors) in the auto generated features and a lack of control, even in pro to disable some of these things. Its like the auto features are always fighting with the manual changes and if you don't create the model in a specific order it breaks. In other words, it doesn't seem that work flows are consistent forward and backward. I'm in my 30 day return period on this and trying to decide whether to keep the software. As much as I want it to work, the frustration with fighting the sometimes helpful, sometimes detrimental auto features vs manual features is making me question if this will be a productive tool. Initially, with no Home Designer experience, I was able to quickly create a model that resembled the existing home. As I go in to tweak the details to match and update the existing build I am finding it is taking many multiples of the initial modeling time trying to find which quirk will create the result that matches real life. Where accurate structural details and not just looks are important for creating useable plans I am concerned about this. I am certainly new to this software but have years of experience in AutoCAD 2D drafting, ProE and Inventor 3D parametric modeling so dealing with complex software isn't exactly new to me. Are quirks a part of the Home Designer life or am I largely the cause?

Eric, thank you for the quick reply last night. I gave this a shot and the results in the screenshot below speak to my skill level I will play with this some more and see if I can get it to work. I thought the manual roof would overwrite the auto generated one. I drew it on the first floor plan and told it to ignore the 2nd floor. Not sure why it displayed the way it did.

Hello, I am attempting to model a structure with a gambrel roof that should rest on top of a 2 x 12 rim joist that sits on top of the first floor walls. Instead, the roof rafters keep resting on the top plate of the first floor walls, no rim joist generates on the hip walls. A screenshot from HD Pro 2021 and a sketch of the framing from AutoCAD is attached. This is an existing house I am trying to as-built for a remodel. The first level is slab on grade with 2x12 ceiling joists that form the floor for the "half" story above. The steep pitch roof rafters should sit on top of this 2x12 floor system rim joist at the top of the hip walls. Where the roof changes pitch, the rafters are supported by a wall that rests on top of the 2x12 floor system. So no ridge rafters should be there. In the 3D model screenshot, the rafter support wall is in the correct location but the roof system is not generating correctly because it is resting on the top plate for the wall below instead of ~12" higher on the rim joist. Thank you in advance for any help and let me know if I missed some needed details. Michael Home Designer Pro 2021