veranico

Hi David, thanks so much for creating the modified file; I really learned a lot from it and the additional tips you provided via the clean up in there were very helpful as to better overall layouts. I ran your alternate by the Architect; I thought it was a very clean solution but he remains enamored with his interior sloping roof idea (!). I ended up preserving the low hip roof by using the idea both you and LawB10 suggested to insert flat soffits in the voids over the pantry that match the underside of the main higher default ceiling height. There is still some minor 'seaming' visible which has me puzzled--see attached--but which will not be a problem for the views requested. Unfortunately the 2nd floor flue as the designer wanted it does not align on the outside pantry wall face.This prevents a cleanly stacked two story wall and results in the more complex low roof layout. I'm 25 years in the biz and have never encountered a roof-under-roof design like this, so can easily understand why there is no call for the HDA software to provide for this feature. I greatly appreciate the time and tips you both provided to get me forward with this challenging issue!

Hi David, Here is a copy of the .plan file. I appreciate your time in review of my question. File DMA-E_08-26-16.plan

Hi, I'm creating renderings for an architect in HD Architectural 2017. His design has a new 1.75 story open volume Outdoor Verandah with a bar area that has a nearby "closet" size pantry space. The pantry structure has a one story 9' plate tiled hip/shed roof. A boxed-in fireplace flue sits over part of the pantry roof from an existing fireplace in an adjacent room on first floor below. My problem is when I try to put a ceiling over the entire high 1.75 story volume space at +18' I can't get that high roof to span over and above the one story 9' pantry roof below. I tried creating an invisible "room" on second floor to project out over the pantry, but I can't figure out how to work this with the existing window and fireplace flue elements in place. I've read through all of the manual sections on roofs; looked at many published HD roof videos, and searched the forum, but so far can't find a similar setup from which to interpolate. I understand that this portion of the high roof is being excluded because the Verandah room itself is divided at the pantry wall so the pantry becomes a room in itself and it effectively creates a void exactly the size of the pantry roof in the second ceiling above. Can a higher roof structure be designed to span completely over a lower roof below, or is there a method to close the void opening in high the ceiling above the one story pantry? The exterior roof design does not matter--I'm only providing interior views for this space. First flr plan.pdf Second flr plan.pdf

Problem solved; thanks! Changing the ceiling height to match the Veranda per Solver turned out to be the easiest solution; the plans had too many objects built in to start over with room defaults. It took me a while though to figure out that in Room Specs dialogue box the line item Ceiling B on conventionally set up 2nd floor is a rough dimension that equals Rough Ceiling E in an open high volume space; I wish the dialogue box would be more clear on this. It is true if you stare hard at the diagram in the Specs box the letter B appears to be centering on the rough framing line on 2nd floor, but this is hard to discern/confirm visually. Why not just label it Rough Ceiling B I wonder? JoAnn is right that her suggestion would have been the best way to start out for an interior view and then build in a dropped ceiling. The drawback there is how to solve building plates on the exterior massing-? I will always start off in future this way if only building interiors. Thanks to all for the excellent guidance and references!

I am just starting with Home Designer. Attempting to design a Veranda Room @1.75 stories adjacent to 2.0 story and 2nd floor to have a balcony that overlooks in to Veranda space below. I set up default ceiling heights in the Veranda Room separate from the adjacent house. When I project a balcony in to the Veranda Room from the 2nd floor it punches out the Veranda ceiling surface (its own roof remains up higher matching to the 2nd floor plate in the adjacent MBR). I tried to lower the ceiling height in the Balcony "room" by inserting the same value 'E' Rough Ceiling of the Veranda Room but I can't get the two planes to align/merge. Is there a way to drawn a balcony element without any roof automatically built in? I saw the thread about using Room Divider/ Open to Below but my defaults are not set up this way. Probably----I'm overlooking some simpler way to do this or have incorrectly set it up? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi, can the diagonal cabinets described above also be accomplished in Home Designer Architectural 2017? I would like to create both upper and lower angled cabinet faces in a corner condition.