Jo_Ann

Thanks, Kbird.

Keith, I was curious as to what type of edge you gave to your moat...but I can't tell in the pic you posted. It looks like maybe you used soffits for the water? I used 'custom countertop' for the water. I added polyline breaks, which enabled me to wrap the counter around the moat. Where the two ends joined, I mitered the corners. I think the mitered corners look better in 3d view. The bridge is in the library. P.S. Exporting a jpg is always easier than doing a screen shot, because there are no toolbars visible in the export (that need to be cropped). Also, fill your screen monitor with the pic you want to export. I created a new folder to save my pics to, and labeled it 'hometalk uploads'. That way it's always easy to navigate to where your pic is, and you always know what pics you have uploaded.

Keith, Are you trying to model something like this, with this type of edge? Most of the edge showing is brown, but the section on the right is using a grass texture.

I tried this too. I added the two pass-throughs, with all of their interior/exterior trim removed. I then added a doorway between them (with all of it's trim removed). Resize the doorway until it meets the pass-throughs. Grab the center handle of the doorway and slightly move the whole doorway over the offending wall of one of the pass-throughs. Grab the opposite sizing handle of the doorway and drag it slightly over the other pass-through wall. You might have to play with the pass-through handles as well, until it works. I think this works for Suite, and it will keep the base molding on the walls.

Keith, I'm not sure how you want your moat to look like, but here is my version of a moat or pond. I used the valley tool as David suggested. I then added a terrain round feature (which contoured to the valley) and changed it's texture to dirt. I then added a soffit lowered to the bottom of the pond and added a 'dirt & gravel' texture (texture enlarged using the rainbow tool), which created the pond floor. Of course I HAD to add rocks and fish. Last thing I added was another soffit, enlarged beyond the perimeter of the pond and lowered until it looked to be the right level in the pond. I changed the soffit texture to 'corsica glass' (library), which I then used the rainbow tool to alter the color and transparency of, to make it look like water.

Break each railing wall where the landing is, then raise each landing wall to the height that is needed.

I don't think you can open the plan created in my program title, but this picture should help to get you moving forward. You also failed to list the all important pitches of the different roofs shown on your picture.

I did this quickie house just to show you that you can do this with suite. There are way too many settings involved to tell you exactly how to do this, and I think that is why David advised you to study the help files. Dimensions, room type, floor and ceiling heights, roof setting AND pitch on each wall (wall/roof tab), floor 1, floor 2, and level 0 settings are all needed to be known, for anyone to give you specific answers. My example was fairly easy to do, but... it was all guessing based on your picture.

Hold down the control key and select every part of the built-in. You might have to do this in the 3d view, to get all of them. Do not right click to copy, as this will deselect all the items (except for the one you right click on). Instead, go to the tool bar/ edit/ copy. Activate the new plan, and choose 'paste' from the tool bar/ edit/ paste. The entire unit should paste. If your software allows blocking, you can make a block and add it to the library. If not, save a plan that contains all of the items you want to keep as units. Then you can always open that plan and repeat the 'ctrl/copy/paste' routine.

Use a piece of soffit, same height and depth as the molding, and add molding to it (same height and depth). Slide it into place. Problem all gone.

But you could look in the library under millwork/wall panels and niches.

After arranging your cabinets, place a soffit (listed in the cabinet icon). Change it's specs to what is shown, and slide it up against the cabinet. If the directional triangles (shows when selected) of the soffits are all on the same side showing on each soffit, then the software will auto fill in the empty spaces to join the soffits (the same thing should have occurred with the open gaps on the backs of the cabinets). No need to overlap or add any 'fillers' or partitions. Then change the soffits to the countertop material that you want. Also, if you hold down the keyboard Ctrl key and select EACH object (3 cabinets, 3 soffits), you can move the entire unit (as if it were one piece) to re-position it if necessary.

Also, place a rounded window (with opaque glass) above the tall window (left pic). Or, use fan trim from the library/ millwork/ Mantels,Capitals,& Sills/ Fan Trim (pic on the right).

You didn't thoroughly read the first link about how to build a 'story and a half' house. 'Attic' room redefined as 'open below' room needs to have the finished ceiling height set to '0' to stop the roof planes from rising. In the tutorial, the room ceiling was set to 24", but ceiling height is your choice.

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00358/52/Home-Designer/Roofs/Automatically-Building-a-One-and-a-Half-Story-Roof.html http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00210/0/Using-Open-Below-Rooms-to-Define-an-Opening-to-a-Lower-Floor-.html Also, read about 'attic rooms' listed in the reference manual contents under 'multiple floors'.

You can draw a railing wall within a house room (keep a 2' distance away from interior wall) and specify it as 'no rail/post to beam'. THEN slide it up against the interior drywall. If your room ceiling is sloping (ceiling unchecked) you will have to use soffits to simulate upper beams in that area (horizontal & vertical). If you want beams to follow the ceiling slope, your only option (in Essentials) is to make them in sketch-up (free program). I think it is easier to just use soffits rather that the railing wall (in the main room).

Thanks for showing a pic of your successful results!!

You should have put your second post in this thread, instead of starting a new thread for the same problem. Others might not look at both threads and see the full problem.

You are on the right track. All 3 front walls (solid and invisible walls) need to be set as 'high shed gable' walls in the wall/roof tab of each wall. Make sure your invisible rooms (designated as a deck? yes) have the same finished ceiling height as the interior rooms of the house (144" ?) In each of those invisible wall rooms, make sure 'roof over this room' is checked, and check 'use soffit surface for ceiling'. You will probably have to go to the attic level and make the attic walls (over the invisible walls below) also invisible.

Keith, You must be doing something wrong. When the polyline is selected, then right clicked, the window with the break-line tool pops up. As seen in the thumbnail example, you can shape it any way that you want.

There are many helpful articles in the knowledge base on the Home Designer website. http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00358/ Also, you should download and save to your computer the user's guide and the reference guide (there are 2 downloads).

Open the soffit dbx and put a check mark in the box that says 'sloped soffit'. In 2d view, (when selected) the soffit will display an arrow. The arrow is the high point of a sloped soffit. When you get the slope correct, it is easy to raise or lower the entire soffit by selecting it in the 3d view.

Using the auto dormer tool always leaves a roof eave in front of the wall. Follow this older thread: http://hometalk.home...the-attic-level

Using the dormer tool always leaves a roof eave below it, and I don't think even the newer architectural program has a way to remove it. So the back wall (with the deck) needs to be created in a different way. Follow this thread from earlier this year (in the old forum): http://hometalk.homedesignersoftware.com/showthread.php?19439-How-to-add-a-dormer-to-the-attic-level

As Kbird said, use the break-line tool. Delete the smaller rectangles, then select the remaining polyline and add breaks. Edit the polyline area to the custom shape that you want, just as if you were using a terrain tool to edit a driveway or sidewalk shape.