Evolution

(How are you creating the eyebrow roof?)<br /><br />I am using the automatic roof tool for now, building a small bumped out room with invisible walls set the horizontal wall as full gable, in order to get the roof to bump out over the area where the windows will be.

I want eye brow roof over hang on windows that do not build out but actually continue the wall line, if that makes sense. I used invisible walls to form an imaginary room, made the horizontal wall full gable. It looks good except for the floor shows. I attempted no locate, no room default etc. I figure I have to open the dbx of the invisible walls and check/uncheck something to make the floor and foundation go away, but I don't find anything when I attempt to open the space/imaginary room?

Which plan template would the forum members recommend that would work with this basic concept?

The title of your soft ware (i.e. Essentials, Architectural, Pro 2010-2012-2015)?

Mick, I think you'll find, the only way to get a door, window or other penetration to show properly is to define it as Solver did in his original post, but as you both found out, doing it that way will only allow the wall selected as the "main" layer to show up in the framing over view. Hopefully the tech guys will give us a better fix. I have done a couple of projects recently where I needed a chase wall similar to solvers, and it drove me crazy trying to get walls to connect properly, framing to show as designed and so on.

Sounds like you may have drawn a wall inside a wall, or in other words if you open the wall dbx it should look somewhat like the screen capture I've included. If you drew an interior (nom 4" wall ) inside the perimeter of the exterior wall and show it as two separate distinct walls, the window will not show properly as you've described. If the wall dbx doesn't offer the exact specific wall type you are looking for, you may have to make a special wall type and define it's parts if Suite 2014 will allow it.

Do you know how to place the stair? Try these first: www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00870/ )( www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00946/ You can open the stair DBX once you've placed it, and make some changes to the treads etc., but not sure if this answers all your questions?

Keith, I would suggest you select one of the light shafts walls, open the dbx and take a look at the wall angle and also the wall length in the same dbx. You can make adjustments there that may do what you need as far as wall angle and exact length. Of course this is MY best guess. I used this approach on the plan in the snip to insure all the walls were the same length and correct angle. A little slower I suppose but for me, more accurate.

I am in NO WAYS the xpert that DJP is. What I have done in the past faced a similar need, was to go to the foundation plan, and draw invisible walls in line with where the deck would be, this creates the space within which to place the piers. See if that works for you.

Some of the answer you request will require the forum members to know what version of soft ware you are using. I am not sure based on that answer if there is anything you can use in the library, but you probably could use a shape, custom slab, other CAD drawing tools; etc., to achieve what you show in the attached details.

This forum is basically for users of Home Designer series software. There is a forum for Chief Users, and most likely you might get an answer there also.

Try: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=d7d4e3cf638093628ece235f2d42528

Suites limit is 3 floors. Architectural and Pro 2015 are 5 floors.

( I guess I'd just break apart my outer walls in order to use a hatch mark fill on the shear wall sections?) use the break-wall tool, set breaks at the point where the SW will be, then select that wall section and in the wall dbx>define>select fill for that section and that should delineate the SW from the typical walls. Doesn't your jurisdiction require engineer stamped drawings for those anyway? IF so, you might want to add a note to refer to the specific dwgs/details.

We need to know what software you are using!

Mick, the 12" ceiling height difference makes sense, however you may not have noted, but my ceiling heights are already 12" difference, 96" in baths, 108" in patient rooms. So? Any way, I can't get it to build correctly in "auto roofs", that's why I am attempting the manual roof build. ;-)

Working on a concept plan for an client, I started my plan by setting all my defaults for this plan. Since I will have several differing ceiling heights, and also different roof types and lines for this project, I set the basic defaults for typical room at 108". The corridors will all be 108", patient rooms 108" individual rest/bathing rooms 96". The central plant services area will all be 144"-with flat roof with parapet over the entire central plant area and situated centered in the E-W length of the building. E-W wings are mirror images. Individual rooms are standard and form projecting pods, only interior changes will be minor as not to change the roof lines. The patient rooms each will have their own private bath that extend to the exterior of the rooms and have the lower ceiling height. The configuration of each pod is so that the roof over the patient rooms will be gable as well as the private baths (which will be lower gable). To the plan east and west of the central plant, and on plan North side of the corridor is a large open area the client has yet to determine what they wish these spaces to be used for. The roof over these two areas will be a long shed so as to start at the height of the parapet and slope down. The gable roof will tie it all together and it too on both E-W side of the central plant parapet will marry with the shed, and terminate around the parapet where ever it intersects it; as to allow infrastructure i.e. HVAC, electrical feeders etc to enter the attic spaces through the vertical wall of the parapet and to feed the main corridor, patient rooms and ancillary spaces. I have pretty well finished the interior walls, exterior windows and doors now starting on the roof with manual roof tools. Current issue, is I draw the gables in over the patient room and then the bath projections, and as soon as I do that you can see the exterior wall height changes at some of the bathrooms and raises to the height of the main gable, (an example of two rooms in 3d shows one side has changed but the other didn't) and when I check each room dbx the bathroom heights have all reverted back to the patient room height on the ones the gables changed on. So until I can get this solved I am not attempting to go further on the roof. DJP I know you are the roof "guru" and as you usually say practice makes perfect, so I will keep practicing, however any advise is appreciated.

I'm pretty sure, if anyone opens (in PRO) a file you've done (and sent them) in HD Suite, and then sends it back to you, you will not be able to open it. I have experienced several times; those attempting to help me with similar issues and using a newer or more advanced version of HD product versus what I used, I could not open the file they sent back.

Mick, I did "un-check" the skylight feature as I understood you want the hole for the skylight, but not the skylight. It may be the size of the roof opening. When I get the opportunity / time today (maybe) I will go back and enlarge the opening and see if it allows the walls to build. I tried both the auto dormer, and the floating-however one (I can't remember which, kept looking for a wall that wasn't there and I didn't understand (even after reading the ttrl) how to make it function. The other (again I don't remember which one) was to be used when you wanted a "fake" dormer, so there wouldn't be a hole in the roof. If my patience holds out, I will get it! ;-)

Thanks Mick, but I didn't check ignore second floor, and set the wall height at 12". I think what happen is selecting "blank" 2nd floor. I went back and this time built the second floor from derive from first floor. Now the 2nd floor walls are there, and I was able to build the roof line. So, now it's dormer time: http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00396/ Again following the tutorial, up to the point where the walls are supposed to build after creating and sizing the roof hole, however; all I get is a hole with no exterior walls. There must be some detailed instructions missing!?!? I so believe I've followed this to a "T". I don't know, but I will NOT give up. I will save this plan and start back on it tomorrow. Work requires my attention!

Seems like every time I open HD Pro 10 something changes. OK so I KNOW IT's ALL MY FAULT. Just that I can't figure out WHY? Since I was attempting to do a better job at building a manual dormer, I decided I'd practice on a new blank plan, and since I need it for the current "Hip with turn out" as-built I am working on I started with a 50'X50' box. using this tutorial http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00358/ to build a story and half, I created a blank 2nd floor. It looked just fine walls and all. In my 1st floor I set up the roof line with the upper lower pitches etc. Did a Perspective full over view, wow it looked so good. Back to the 2nd floor, so I went to 2nd floor, but walls do not display. I looked at display preferences and all the floor related options appear to be turned on, so; I am not sure why the 2nd floor walls that were created BY THE SOFTWARE, are not showing up.

I am not sure what the pitch is........I've tried 10/12 but given the approx. location of the dormer as built dimensions, it still is buried in the roof. And, I followed the tutorial and cannot get it to draw correctly. I am a slow learner and need "step-by-step" instructions" also, the tutorial is based on a "gable" design. It should work the same for the gull-wing, but again, I cannot follow the instructions as well. I created a story and half per tutorial added all the walls per the tutorial.

Another attempt using invisible walls inside the porch area to create a space I can define but nothing works so far!

WOW!!!!!!!! How simple was that?!?!!

Well Mick, I tried that....failed! See results. Looks even "crazier" than last time. Something different each time I attempt it!!! BUMMER!