Elovia

Jenner, Perhaps you could explain a little more on how you intend to construct the poured slab over your basement. Will there be floor joists and pan decking to support the slab?

The original poster is referencing the Break Line tool in the object tool bar by its description. If you hover over the tool, the descriptor text reads, "Form join/corner in selected line. Double click for complete break." To eliminate erroneously placed breaks in lines, simply drag and snap the extra point to one of the adjacent points that you want to keep.

I have to confess, I mentally read the word "winders" as win-ders (soft "i"), not wine-ders (long "i") as it more correctly should be pronounced. I always thought it was my own secret little joke, but now see that others do it too.

What, no laundry room? I kid ... I kid ... More seriously, consider having room or a place for the mechanicals (i.e., hot water heater, HVAC, etc.); that stuff doesn't automatically happen.

I, too, wasn't able to reproduce the reported behavior in HD Pro 2015. However, HD Archtectural 2015 has an Arch tab in the doorway specification dialog (as shown in the 2nd image in the original post). You should be able to use the functionality on that tab to restore the arched opening - or apply other arch shapes as desired.

The described behavior appears to be an "order drawn" one. If you use the earlier-mentioned technique to create a soffit out of a countertop AND THEN place the base cabinet with a sink, you won't get the hole in the "countertop soffit". I just tried a model with a simple test plan to observe this behavior. If you already created the base cabinet and sink, you can temporarily move it out of position from under the countertop soffit, then force a redraw/recreation of the soffit at the sink location (you would do this by temporarily removing the portion of countertop soffit over the sink area and then putting it back - easier done than described). Alternatively, if you need a more permanent fix, you could break and remove those portions of the countertop soffit above the sink, and then use a regular soffit with the same crown molding applied. I'm sure there will be exceptions to the rule where this won't be possible; for example if you're using the countertop soffit on a curved wall. Another kludge fix would be to co-locate a slab object in the countertop soffit at the hole - in effect, patching the hole. Yet another approach might be to create the soffit out of a slab, and then also apply a thin veneer countertop soffit at the exposed edges of the slab on which you want the crown molding applied. Hope this helps.

Short answer; no. Longer answer, that ability is reserved for CA. Your ability to edit a molding profile in Pro is limited to changing the size of it (i.e., height, width, etc.).

The issue you're seeing is called z-fighting, and is usually caused by the model being far from the model space point of origin (0,0,0). It can happen with very large terrain plots. What is happening is your video card is trying to render each layer in the roof, but the distance between layers is so small it cannot tell which layer is in front of the other. Normally, if your computer CAN tell which is in front, then it clips the material that is behind from view. It is a long and complicated story why z-fighting happens, but the short story is that number accuracy is lost when computers do math to very large (binary) numbers. How to fix it? Move your model closer to the model space point of origin and/or upgrade your video card drivers. You can search this forum and knowledge base for the term "z-fighting" to see other suggestions how others have solved their issue with it. Hope this helps.

In addition to what Mick said, make sure you start your camera view from within the room with the light. It looks like your porch light is in a porch room, and your camera is outside of the porch room. Initially start your camera in the porch room, and then walk it backward out of the room to show the light shining from a greater distance. This may help, or not.

It appears to be lost to digital limbo, Mick. The original post by user "yves wouters" was found here: http://hometalk.homedesignersoftware.com/showthread.php?18147-quot-building-quot-a-fishtank-in-HD Unfortunately, the technique was described in a youtube video that appears to no longer exist. The only remaining evidence is the still photo in that post. http://hometalk.homedesignersoftware.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=13349&d=1365518573 My limited google-fu did not reveal a winner.

The old (Hometalk) legacy forum that preceeded this one used to have a really nice post for making a photo-realistic aquarium in the Off Topic forum. That's a shame because the legacy forum seems be lost to us now. As I recall, one needs to create a material out of aquarium photos and apply it to a box shape (or I suppose any shape). Sorry for not much help.

Just chipping in two more cents with respect to Jo_Ann's suggestions ... Consider re-arranging the downstairs or placing the upstairs bathroom in closer proximity to (i.e., over) the downstairs kitchen. Your design can be more efficient with plumbing and vent lines if they share a common plumbing wall. Good luck.

Just want to add a small comment because I've been through the exercise of trying to squeeze the most useability out of the least footprint. Don't discount the use of dormers on the upper floor; they can provide additional floor space and head room to increase option flexibility. Good luck.

menu -> CAD -> points -> delete temporary points That should remove them all. There are other ways, such as hit the delete key when nothing is selected, but I prefer the menu just in case something might have been selected unknowingly. YMMV

An octagon of any size can be made in a few motions. Caveat ... the instructions below work in Pro. I'm not sure how well they translate to lesser expensive titles. Draw a square room using either walls or rails. For a gazebo, you'd want to use rails. Set the cross dimensions to be as desired, but make sure that all four sides are the same length. Next, group select all four sides and use the transform/replicate tool to make 1 copy and rotate it 45 degrees. Use the break wall tool at all intersections and delete all of the outer corners. Add a doorway, and change the rails to be post to beam. Build a roof (if one isn't already done automatically). Customize as needed. I'll leave the exercise of building a cupola vent on top for later.

Hi Jon, Which software title and version do you have? If you have HDPro, you could use a slab and apply a tile texture to it. If you have the ability to use a soffit, then you can use one of those in the same fashion. If neither of those work, and you have a box shape in your shapes library, then again, use that with the appropriate texture applied. Good luck.

Beyond the question of how to (in Suite) model the roof shown in the image (if that's even possible), the bigger question should be, "is this a good idea?" To model it correctly would require a saddle (a "hip"-type roof plane in the valley between the two gables) which is unlikely to be modeled in Suite. If you had Pro with its manual roof plane tools, you would be able to add the saddle and have a correct model. The reason for the saddle is in answer to the "is this a good idea" question. If you have a valley between two parallel gables without a saddle, then water will not shed between them and will eventually infiltrate into the structure along the base of the vee. You need the saddle to shed water out to the facia, and then another way to discharge it away from the house. Good luck.

If you're trying to match a backsplash provided by an adjacent base or wall cabinet, (and even if you aren't) then consider placing a custom sized soffit against the wall behind the range. Set the soffit thickness and texture to match the cabinet counter backsplash or as desired. Good luck.

Hi mayall ... While a cabinet base is supposed to automatically remove the default countertop when a custom one is placed over it, I suggest that you take the additional step of opening the base cabinet's specification dialog and setting the counter thickness to zero to ensure it is removed ... also delete any molding that may be applied to it. Then draw a custom countertop and shape it as needed to provide the opening for your skp object. Perhaps the following help database article will help: http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00983/262/Home-Designer/Custom-Objects/Creating-a-Custom-Shaped-Countertop.html Good luck.

Hi Kat ... Just to clarify the quote ... One or more holes for tub or sink installation(s) in a custom countertop may be created from a single countertop piece using the break line tool and wrapping the smaller extruded sections around the object to meet back on itself. That said, Pro 2015 provides a "caution" dialog pop up that may be safely ignored since wrapping the custom countertop back on itself in this case is intentional, not inadvertent. Hope this helps or inspires.

That certainly appears to be odd behavior. I recommend that you submit your plan to technical support so that they can look at it and advise you of the situation. Good luck.

Unfortunately, this is an either/or situation given the software's current capabilities. You can create a plan view using the normally thick wall and window (hence my suggestion to use a detail or note to describe the desired work), but if you want to create a 3D render for visualization purposes, then you'll need to sacrifice the plan view for the aesthetic. And yes, because of the manual workaround, making changes is much harder. Now that you've gotten the technique down for the visual detail, you can apply it again fairly quickly after you've decided where your window should go. Good luck.

Hi Malcolm, Do I correctly understand your request that you want the window opening on the interior of a thick wall to be wider and taller than the opening on the exterior? If so, the short answer is "yes, you can do this in Pro but the software doesn't have tools to do it automatically." This type of construction detail may be better explained in a note or in a stylized detail added to plans. However, if you need a visual 3D model, then you'll probably have to build it manually and the model will get somewhat messy from a materials perspective. I suggest forgoing the window tool altogether, and create a window opening using a doorway (i.e., grab and pull up the bottom of the doorway to form the bottom of your window opening). Then build the window, case and sills manually using a combination of wedges, soffits, and cylinders (if you're going for a rounded flair opening) ... all with appropriate textures applied. The work will be somewhat tedious and will require patience and attention to detail, but you may be surprised at the results. Probably an easier way would be to use a thinner wall thickness for the section where you want the window, and then apply interior soffit layers to match the thick walls on either side and to frame the interior opening. Then, use slabs to form the vertical sections that flair. I created a quick mock up shown below using a triangular slab on the left and a curved slab on the right for different flavors of flair. Good luck.

Hi Alex, Welcome to the forum. Is the issue that the left gable wall is not coplanar to the wall below? Or is it more complicated, meaning that the entire upper floor needs to shift to the right by the amount to make that wall coplanar? You can use the align walls tool to fix the upper left gable wall. But if that makes incorrect measurements elsewhere, then you'll need to adjust them to the right by the same amount. After you turn on the reference display to show both floors, you may need to manually adjust the upper wall a bit to get the align wall tool to appear on the object toolbar. Once it does, click it and the walls will align per the default settings. Then adjust all of the other items, including the opposite exterior wall, to get their correct measurements. In your plan, it appears you have the same misalignment for the 2nd floor left and top walls (relative positions in plan view). Hope this helps.

Hi 4ndrew, Take a look in the library under the following headings: Home Designer Core Catalogs -> Architectural -> Fixtures. Therein should be several sub-folders for bathtubs, showers, sinks, and toilets. You may create a vanity from a base cabinet, and simply place a sink in it. Hope this helps.