Rookie65

Rob, In a split level, the lower level IS the basement. As I mentioned, go to your settings and make the foundation "stem wall" the height of what you need the lower level to be PLUS how far below the grade your foundation is (typically 4' here in New England). Then go to the basement level (level 0) and check the defaults. There, you can see the full height of the foundation and then change the finished floor to ceiling height. That will give you the lower level floor you want. Then the stairs can connect level 0 to level 1. Then you can look at the stairs display, see the level that each stair section goes to. Then you drop your front door from floor 1 DOWN to where the landing is. Theoretically it's halfway between the 2 floors. Don't give up. Just do one thing at a time. .

When doing a raised ranch, the lower level will be floor 0 and the main floor level 1. You run the stairs from floor 0 to floor 1 and they should be able to be split. I don't know what suite has, yet pro has U shaped stairs, which make it very quick. If your foundation goes below the floor of the basement, you can adjust the overall stem wall (hopefully in suite?) and then adjust the floor to ceiling to the desired height. Hope this helps?

Possibly the roof on the right is overlapping the siding and cutting it back to the sheathing. Manually adjust the roof so it's just touching the siding.Or change the wall type of that wall if they are not to line up at the ridge.

For what it's worth, you could probably draw a split level yourself that you want to use as a base in the time it will take to find out if there are samples available. If you just want to try out additions, keep the main house you draw as a plan with no additions. Then draw addition versions from there and save each one separately. Plus it's a good way to learn about some of the new features. Don't even need full rooms inside. Draw a box, split the heights with a stairway, put in some exterior doors, windows, maybe a deck and off you go!

Hi Mike, I keep a master plan saved w/all of the default settings I want. Then when I start a new job, I just "save as" the name of the new project I am doing. That way the master doesn't change and the new plan has any new/changed settings specific for that job. It helps an awful lot.

The reference manual is probably the best place to start. Open the program, top of the screen is "help" and it's there.

I have my own design business drawing houses, additions, decks, etc. and I find Pro works just fine for me. Started with it in 2013 and have done over 300 projects with it.. The help here is fantastic and I have learned a lot of nice tricks and workarounds from this forum.

I guess Premier does that. I have gotten used to it and don't mind it. When I am doing a project, I just save it as a page number and what's on it. Gets very fast after a while.

Save the 1st as a PDF or however you need it saved. Then go to the layout, delete the image, then send the second image to layout. Change any page numbers, title, or other info you want changed. Save the same way with a different title from the 1st so you can keep track of them.

Read up on "Pony Walls" for your wainscot height. Then maybe a soffit to simulate the z trim.

Open up the stairs dialog box, and on "style", see if extended stringers is checked? That may be the culprit unless you can post the plan for others to see.

I use sloped soffits to make the bracing I need. Then position them in an elevation view. Once the 1st one is done, then I go to plan view and copy and paste them to the required locations.

Another option is to open up (click on) the particular roof in question and set the ridge to below the windows. It will ask you to confirm that you want to turn auto-rebuild roofs off, so if everything else is set, it's ok. Then you can experiment with either the ridge height or the pitch you want it to be, Just keep baseline height checked so that doesn't change on you.

Gotcha. Thank you for the clarification. I use it successfully to design additions, homes, decks, garages, etc. It's a life saver. Your advice is always helpful.

Chiefpdb, then good luck on your research and writing. I'm sure you'll be enlightened at the end. DJP, not everyone that uses the Home Designer software is an amateur or hobbyist. Though I do think that any version other than Pro will limit the details that one often needs to generate a set of buildable plans.

Frankly I think you could do better things with your time, especially if you have a "busy" routine. To me it would become very frustrating turning the clock back from what I have to something that isn't even close. Especially knowing what you do now about Pro. When I started my business up again in 2013, I bought Architectural. After about a week I realized it wouldn't do what I needed with its limitations, so I upgraded to Pro and haven't looked back.

Fredo649, Now that you have listed that info, please update your signature so it's always there so people can help you a lot easier. In the truss details, you can create an energy heel as an option. Read the reference manual for those to understand the settings and then you are on your way!

It'll depend on which program and version you're using.

Hi Mike, Do you give your plans to builders to estimate off of when you have them printed at "scale to fit?" If so, you would be doing yourself and them a huge favor to use the HD Pro provided 18" x 24" layout sheet and send it to that sheet at the scale that will fit and have it printed at scale on 18" x 24" paper. Trying to estimate from a plan with no scale will be of little if no help to them. The sheets will resize in both directions to fit the sheet and I think any consistency will disappear. Just my 2 cents.

Or you can select the item, click "transform/replicate" and then move the object the desired distance along the axis it needs to be moved on.

Pro 2019 has 3 different options to choose from. Sorry to hear that Architectural didn't offer it.

Have you tried the bonus catalog-accessories-08-holiday decor-winter holidays? Under that tab are holiday tress with a couple of options. Then you can break apart the architectural block and resize the tree.

I was goofing around with this and what I found is that the sink in this situation places itself below the top of the cabinet. Even when I set the sink to be at the top of the counter, it sat below. May not be a bug other than the sink is set to default at a certain height. If you do a cut through view, you should see the sink "floating" in air in the cabinet. Then just change the height to where it needs to be and that should do it.

Kevin, On a product related comment, if it's not too late, I would suggest NOT using a double door with sidelights already mulled to it. It makes it nearly impossible to shim the unit plumb and square when trying to shim if off the sidelights. Ideally you want to be able to shim the door square and level so hardware lines up correctly, etc. A stud pocket between the door and sidelights will allow that and will make it easier to adjust over time if the door moves, etc. Most manufacturer's instructions recommend installation of screws in one or two of the hinges into the frame, which can't be done w/a sidelight. Plus it allows the unit to support less weight since the header would be unsupported for only the width of the door (maybe 6' in this case) than over the entire 8' opening. Just a thought, yet after 37 years in building material & construction related fields, I'd hate to see you have an issue down the road that can't be fixed easily.

The framing will disappear if you modify the framing in any way and turn off "auto rebuild" in the "deck" section when you select that room. I was given a nice tip from the customer service people that if you have an intricate set up with posts, beams and footings needing to be in a specific spot, and need to edit the deck for any reason. Go to the "display" options and turn off "deck framing". Then, use "Copy" and copy all of the items you need to remain. Then go back and rebuild your deck and then eliminate the items that you don't want to show. Then go to "Paste>hold position" and those items will be put back right where they were. Turn on the deck framing display again and see it all.