Kbird1

are you downloading libraries or downloading a Pic and trying to make it into a new material? in that case these will help http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-01084/49/Home-Designer/Materials/Creating-a-Custom-Library-Material.html http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00138/49/Home-Designer/Materials/Adding-a-Custom-Material.html

Can't tell much from your pics , but I am guessing you havn't used the Auto stairwell tool or made an open below room over the stairwell if it isn't showing up upstairs. The Auto tool only works once per stairwell , so if it doesn't work , you need to open the floor yourself. M.

you didn't hit the attach button for your pics , and attach your plan file too please , too much guessing from Pics and we need to know what software and year you are using so please fill in your Profile signature,too including that info , see mine , thx. ps . close the plan in HD before you attach it or it wont attach. M.

Once you start playing with walls Keith , they are then unaffected by any further automatic work eg Roof Planes cutting them off , so you need to reset them to Default top (and default bottom if needed) Either side of the Carport is a different room height , one on right is only 1600mm or so , the storage rooms are also different heights, so what are the true heights you need? I guess the central wall is a fire wall is it? your manual roof planes have nearly no overhang which can cause issues too as Roof Plans ALWAYS cut walls, the overhang is measure to the back of the fascia off the framing so if its 0mm , the roof plane will cut the wall , you need the fascia outside the siding/stucco/brick ,not in it. it's a pretty simple structure did auto roof not work? on the house I was given error messages about a broken wall, and there is actually a broken piece of wall under the break too , see pics. I was also getting messages about misalignment of walls , which I guess is a issue with you sip walls again and what is your main layer etc, as none of the walls on the house are aligned with the basement ...according to the program....

Thanks David... @ Andrew there are also Tutorials in the Knowledgebase on how to make Custom Materials and import them , if the post above is not enough. There is a link in my Signature.

you already posted in the Suggestions thread .... https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/529-living-area-label/#entry6833

they aren't mirror's joking aside , the default materials are setup for Ray Tracing in Chief I think , so at least for Stainless I made a library , which is posted here on the forum here https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/128-stainless-steel-library/?hl=%2Bstainless+%2Bsteel and Kat posted some textures here too for other metals https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/15-kitchen-appliances/#entry37 and how to use them here https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/1072-appliance-textures/#entry6129

What type of window ? I'm not sure that is possible as windows auto locate in walls ,you can change the Sash Inset measurement in some Versions of HD though. You could try a different Window Manufacturer's Library, instead of the default HD built in ones perhaps.... M.

I leave LAL off , its default action is a PITA. you can take the info and put it in your own text box if wanted. No idea on your other text issues , is it Plan specific or all files? Unless it is OS RELATED , Eric and I are both Windows AFAIK. M.

Home Designer does not do Code or Engineering Checks etc , those are done by the appropriate individual with the State Stamp to do so. You need to find out what Codes your City uses ( their website?) and then find the Code online and Design you Project to it by inputting any data that is needed into the Defaults in HD , such as Beam sizes Posts, hold downs etc. you may not need much for a smaller Reno , eg a bathroom or basement , stuff like that is pretty standard Can HD Suite Print to Scale ? hopefully, as I know it doesn't do Layouts ,which only Pro has.

yes just some terminology differences , you said floor plan , so when I looked at the plan view I couldn't find a difference.... no worries.... I'll have another look if Eric hasn't gotten it for you in his latest plan. M.

hi , I am not sure which roof you havewant as they are actually different , Eric's porch roof is a single plane at 3/12 , while mine is what I thought you asked for with the 3/12 and 8/12 over the house wall but I may have misunderstood? my base is at 150 (152) inch as that is where your structural wall layer is, that will carry the roof load , though that maybe unimportant these days using trusses if the porch wall is the structural load wall, so 144" should be fine I am not sure what your comment about the floor plan means ? I don't see a difference Is the porch roof not tied into the garage roof at the same fascia height ? see my pic vs eric's Attic walls are automatic , and will come back if you don't fix whatever is causing them, ie if the Roof plane is short of a parallel wall it may let part of another wall "popup" thru the roof. -post your new plan or pics

I did not mean to imply otherwise , just that for ex-Chief Users ,TMD's method was and is a viable method , and thus a option to add to the arsenal. M.

Yes I always auto build 1st then fix any issues if they arise, I try to let the software do the work as it makes nice clean joints 95% of the time

The settings in the pic above work , ie 3" 8" and I used 152" in from the baseline. I did have to fix the roof manually in the corner at the garage I also dropped the room height to 8' and then set it back to default so it built again nicely at the ceiling. I agree with Eric , you have some messy attic walls around the porch.... and a structural brick wall running back thru the house, on top of a standard interior wall ( in line with the Porch wall on the side) M.

It is actually a fairly common technique in Chief Jo_Ann , for some and there have been some recent discussion on CT about it , some like it , some don't but both are viable methods ,just remember that most of these guys are very familiar with Chief and know how it works, some consider this a "workaround" and have request CA allows levels below the basement level (0) A thread on CT with a "Play Plan" I did with this idea https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/5028-can-anyone-tell-me-where-my-ceiling-has-gone/page-2#entry43600 and some others including vids......... https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/5053-starting-a-project-with-the-foundation-on-level-1good-or-bad-idea/?hl=%2B1st+%2Bfloor+%2Bbasement https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/5059-basement-on-level-1-or-level-0-videos-by-dsh/?hl=%2B1st+%2Bfloor+%2Bbasement#entry43736 https://chieftalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/1066-walkout-basement-stuff/?hl=%2Bfrost+%2Bwall

It sounds like Eric and Jo , have explained things pretty well , I am guessing you added the garage after you designed the 2 storey house? , in situations like that ,were you add a single storey addition or garage in this case, you will need to manually draw the walls on the 2nd floor , on the addition/garage ,otherwise you would lose all your work on the 2nd floor ,when you deleted the 2nd floor and rebuilt it ,auto, over the whole structure, which maybe an option in this case now? If you now don't care about the second floor over entire structure ,you could just delete it ..... or delete it ,add the new 2nd storey ,set at 0" height and use the "ignore 2nd floor" option in the Build Roof DBX, then you will have one massive room on the 2nd floor ready for further development. If you intend to upgrade to Pro 2016 ,Eric or I could share plans with you if needed. M.

cx ------ you had the plan open in HD Pro when you zipped it up (plan is 0kb file) , plan needs to be closed , HD Pro doesn't though. *** correct plan now above for something like this you can just post the plan file direct if under 25mb , most should have the textures on there system already if you used standard items. sounds like you may need to use the Upper Pitch box in the Wall's DBX though, 3/12 and then 8/12 in the upper pitch box and set the in from baseline to about the width of the porch M.

1st sorry Richard for taking over the thread but this may help you too The "12 Bug" as always bothered me, and it has always seemed as long as you were 12" apart in room heights on the same level you were ok , but after playing with different scenarios tonight to see if CA has worked on this quietly it appears not, and I noticed that the Addition width and Roof Pitch made a difference whether it "bugged" or didn't , though it always did at some point. So after playing with cross sections I think I may have it worked out, someone else should test it out as well but I think the pics are self explanatory, and Kat's comment on it being "expected behaviour" maybe correct (hardcoded in program) though it shouldn't happen in this case as the wall is marked Full Gable. If the Addition walls line up with the Main house Walls , you get something totally different BTW. VS

do you want brick stairs or semi circular brick stairs ? two different animals especially in Suite. if you change all the staircase materials ---- tread/riser/support wall to brick and uncheck open riser and open underneath, you will have a Brick stair , or concrete ,or whatever material you choose ..tile etc. M.

The 12" bug has been around since I started with CA software , it even pops up on Chieftalk occasionally too , but Eric's response is the only one I have ever seen regarding it, from CA's side. I am actually surprised the extension roof builds that well but in this case the two side rooms may make all the difference , as in the past if you tried a shed roof the exact same width on the end of a gable like that it wasn't unusual for the shed roof to cut the gable end off. I haven't played with it since last yr , perhaps they have quietly fixed the shed roof on gable end issue? Personally I don't think having to turn off Auto Roof and having to do everything manually for the rest of the Project is a good option. @ Eric....might be time to reply to that email with a link to this post. Now how did I know Jo would have a solution for this looks like to me the pitches / heights etc are wrong too, get all that right 1st then play with Jo's solution , on a copy of your plan 1st.

post the plan and fill in your Profile signature so people know what Software and version you are using , see your user name at top right>my profile>edit profile it maybe difficult depending on the software you have , or you may have just built it incorrectly seeing the plan should help

So Far ...... Looking at your plan vs your photo the Roof on the main house is setup wrong , as well as on the Extension (Pitch -too high) and Room height-not equal to Porch) and the porch roof (pitch) is too high. Main house -Are your 1st and 2nd floor heights correct? (model looks diff than pic but maybe just the pic?) and they are different in plan -45° pitch vs maybe 33° ? in photo -check the option for Boxed eaves ,set overhang to 300mm? (or whatever is real) -you have sheetrock for the Soffit, fascia and skylight material --change to Brite and charcoal for the skylights -Fix auto attic wall on north side of extension by pulling outer part left across other part of wall till the join back together Extension -set room height to match Porch or vica versa (which is correct?) photo show fascia heights almost the same ,so assume room height is close as pitch looks similar. ( ***set extension room at default height and porch at 1870mm and roof works (after I set porch as Entry and default floor structure) ...aka the Bug I was talking about earlier) -check/set pitch correctly if not ...18-20° ? (use Level App on phone) -change overhangs to 50mm ? on sides 200 mm on main wall as you can see I played with your upstairs windows too ...set Arch to Broken 100mm I'll play some more when I have time , PS what does the roof on the back of the Extension really look like? same issue? currently each room is set different heights

You may have run into what I call the 12" Bug , it has been around forever ,but not enough complaints I guess as they have never fixed it in CA or HD. If you search 12" Bug you may find other threads on it here too. I'll have a look at the plan , but usually if your room heights are 12" different at least its works as expected. you can sometimes fool the program by bringing the walls in on the shed roof part by an 1" or two each side so the don't line up with the main house, then it builds right. I think the Floor height issue is just that you have set that room as a porch? so it auto gets a 100mm thick concrete floor ,whereas the rest has the normal 300mm thick floor , and you notice it now as it doesn't look like you have built the foundation yet M.

The KnowledgeBase can be a very helpful place to visit 1st , lots of good tutorials available like these two http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00120/52/Home-Designer/Roofs/Creating-a-Parapet-Roof.html http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00877/52/Home-Designer/Roofs/Creating-a-Flat-Roof-on-a-Structure.html