DIG5050

Hello ConleeH I opened your plan in HDPro 2021 Trial and get the same results as you -- missing wall segments as shown in the pic below. I'm surprised that it does not occur with Solver's install of the software. I have experienced this same issue in the past while working on plans. Lately, I have seen posts/plans from others that are experiencing similar issues with missing wall segments over roof planes. Maybe there is a basic setting that is unchecked, or a default setting that isn't correct. I ran a plan check on your plan and there are some walls that are mis-aligned with those above or below, but I don't think it is the reason why the wall segments are missing. Sure there are work-arounds for this issue, but I'm wondering why the model doesn't build correctly, at least not with the most current product release. If you send this into support, please share their response -- it will be interesting to hear their opinion.

Rosbelgtz73, were you able to get the roof the way you want it?

Based upon a survey of the property on which you wish to build, and local building code requirements, one can manually generate the existing and finish grade elevation views of the building as you have stated. Use X, Y, and Z data you obtain from your first floor view, survey and and finish terrain/contours. As you probably already know, the property survey will provide data for the existing grade, and the appearance you or your client desires plays a large part in the finish grade and appearance of the building on the lot. If the property is in an allotment, uniformity with the neighboring houses will need to be considered, as well as surface drainage. Sometimes the developer of the allotment, the builder, or the grading contractor can provide input for the finish grade. Attached is a *.pdf site plan of my own house drawn 3 years ago with HDP 2016 used as a part of the con-doc set. The lot is tilted and has irregularly shaped boundaries, keeping the house's exterior walls aligned with the edges of the computer screen . Utilities are marked, and surface drainage was sketched within. Utilities located under the driveway were abandoned. All of the data our county required was drawn on the site plan as shown. If course, where you are located may have totally different requirements, but the concepts are the same. A south elevation view shows the existing grade and the finish grade desired, obtained from the process noted above. Permits were granted and the house is built on the lot pretty much as shown in the drawings. site plan with stormwater data.pdf south elevation.pdf

Hello, Are the house walls parallel to the edges of your computer? If you rotated the house, the rotation could be causing your problem. If you have a copy of the plan saved without the terrain, and house is aligned with your screens edges, open it and the current plan with the terrain. Copy the terrain and paste it on the copy of the plan that is correct. Rotate the terrain to locate the house correctly on the terrain. Save it under a new name. This should resolve you issue.

rfcomm2K, I would use terrain elevation lines to represent the slope of the property. At least, that is what I used to create the elevation views for my house plans drawn in back in 2016. You can specify the lines at intervals and as the slope of the property permits, and the program will interpolate between the lines to create a gentler slope. This eliminates the more abrupt changes and makes for a smoother transition between the elevation lines. It takes a bit of fiddling with the elevation lines and such, but you can end up with what you want. Start a default plan and add a terrain perimeter, and 4 - 5 terrain elevation lines. Place them at an angle across the terrain, from upper right corner to lower left corner. The lowest terrain line should be at the lower left corner of the terrain perimeter.. Then, starting at 0" in the upper right corner, define them at -12" increments. After this, generate a 3D view and look at it. You will see that it is more like you envisioned. Ultimately, a combination of the lines and regions will be necessary to get what you want.

Hello rfcomm2k, Keep the upper terrain feature in your plan as is, 0". Break the lower terrain feature into 3 smaller terrain regions, with the highest elevation on the right region (-18"), middle region a few of inches lower, and left region lower by a few of inches, or whatever the elevations might be. Delete all of the smaller terrain regions between the gravel driveway and the road. They just cause trouble. Set the road to 0" so it just matches or follows the terrain slopes. Spread them apart so that the blending from one region to another is more gradual. Unless auto rebuild terrain is set to "on" rebuild the terrain. This should get you going.

Please see pic attached. Maybe this will help.

Hello MikeinOregon, You should be able to left click-drag-select the terrain and points and move/rotate them. Then rebuild the terrain. If that doesn't work, post your plan file. Maybe someone can help you better.

Hello, Draw a horizontal or vertical wall or cad line on the workspace, of a known dimension present on your PDF drawing. This could be a wall on a structure, or a lot line, etc. Click on the imported PDF image to select it. Choose a grab handle on one of the corners of the selected PDF and resize the PDF it until the same known dimension on the PDF matches the drawn object you drew on the workspace. Rotate the selected PDF as necessary. As a check, If you used a horizontal line/object to scale the PDF, compare a vertical line dimension in a similar manner to make sure the PDF isn't distorted. If necessary, resize using a grab handle in the center of the selected PDF. Once everything matches, vertical and horizontal, scaling is done you are good to go. You will need to trace over the imported PDF to get objects onto your workspace.

Hello, Try going to EDIT -> Default Settings -> Walls -> General Walls and make sure "Auto Rebuild Attic walls" box is checked. Worked for me. Try that. Will your house have a foundation?

Try this link: https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00113/restoring-toolbars.html Follow the directions for 2016 and older versions. See if this helps.

You can CAD-up the existing house as is, or scan the drawing(s) you have and export in a PDF form. Import the PDF into HDPro, and then scale it, CAD over the scanned copy, and go from there. Your CAD copy could probably be simplified to save time and effort, unless codes and permits requires more detail on the existing structure.

Hello kieranc, There is nothing preventing you from designing the addition/remodel yourself. But, depending on the county/state in which you live, the requirements may vary. I would check with codes and permits department in your city/county. As far as engineering goes, again that will be determined per above. Having an engineer scan your plans and make changes will require additional $ expenditure. Home Designer Pro has all the tools you need for a remodel, and better printing controls that the HD Archtectural, and the less capable versions. HDA of HDPro has the capability to design construction docs you would need for this. The HDpro and HDA free trials are a good place to start, but as Solver said, you cannot save your work. CA has even more design options and better print options than HDPro, but I wouldn't think CA would be necessary for this job. Here is a link to webinars where they were doing something similar in the first one. https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/products/training.html Choose the remodeling project dated today. It lasts about an hour, but it might give you insight into the process. Since you have previous CAD experience, there is a learning curve, but you will pick it up rather quickly. It's really amazing what these HD programs can do compared to their respective cost. Sure beats a pencil and paper! Good luck on your project!

Jimintexas, The waypoints should not move when adjusting perimeter. I imported a *.gpx file into HDPro 2019 trial last night and I could move the perimeter without affecting the waypoints positions. Perhaps your waypoints and the perimeter have been inadvertently blocked into one object. If so, you can unblock them. If you gather gps coordinates of your lot’s corners, you can use these to establish the corners of perimeter in HDPro. If you don’t already have the coordinates , you can use google satellite view or another gpx file generator to obtain them. Hopefully the gps accuracy is close enough for your desired results.

SeabeeMike, Opened your plan in Pro 2019 Trial. If the soffit components you used to create the header trim are locked as an architectural block, the block does not seem self-lengthen and snap to the corner. Hence, if created for a certain width door or window, copy/paste the architectural block above as needed to doors or windows the same width. Else, unlock, and adjust the components then lock again for different sized windows and doors. It's a little tedious but gets the job done, but if you prefer the header you created, done.

Choosing the window type with the trim characteristics they way you want them is important, but once that is done, check the characteristics details. After wasting some time playing with this a bit, the reason the window trims don't appear when you place a certain type window into a default plan, is that the trim materials are not chosen, so they don't appear. In the picture below, the window on the left is the A&C window from the library, but circled in red, the molding materials aren't chosen, so they don't appear. For the a given window-with-trim type, perhaps the trim should appear in some manner, with final material selection left up to the user. You can always turn the trim off with the check boxes elsewhere in the same menu. Once the materials are set to something, like ash colored alder in the window on the right, they appear.

How about vertical cylinder in the core catalogs/shapes library? Change the diameter and height of the cylinder to suit your needs.

Hello, Nice lot. Import the PDF file into HDPro. Draw a line along the north lot line to a length of 165.85' . Angle your line parallel to this north lot line. Click to select the PDF image and expand it to match the 165.85' lot line with your line. You must grab it at the corner of the PDF image to maintain the same aspect ratio so the PDF stays proportioned. Once the PDF's north lot line and your drawn line match, stop and click. As a sanity check, draw another line along the east lot line to check to make sure it's close to the 130.37' length. Angle it parallel to the east lot line. It should match the east lot line in length closely but probably won't be exact. If it doesn't match closely, it means the drawing proportions are "off" for some reason. Expand or shrink PDF along the proper edge to match your line and the east lot line. I'd save it to a file called Sedona_topo... in case you need to start over again. Now you can trace over the PDF and draw in lot lines, terrain elevation splines, and other cad details, such as setbacks, water line, sewer line, etc. and the North pointer using the PDF as an original. When done, save it to a file like complete_sedona_topo.. Depending on how you want to place the building on the lot, or how you want to illustrate the building on the drawings and site plan, you can opt to select and rotate everything appropriately. I would always design the building with the walls parallel to the edges of the drawings as possible. Once you are happy with your completed topo, I would save it again for later use, just in case. This should get you on your way.

Hello Sedona, What version of the software are you using? I tried importing your data file using the format of #Y X Z, default settings of FT. and no other boxes checked. What I get is a terrain that is pretty close to square, with dimensions approximately 217' x 220'. There are some points outside the terrain that I deleted, assuming they were something else other than pertinent data. 217' x 220' is almost equal to an area of almost 48000 Sq. Ft. You stated your lot is 20,000 Sq. Ft. Is it possible that your lot is located somewhere inside the terrain that is created? Perhaps your surveyor can provide a little more information to you regarding the data points, regarding the scaling of points, and location of the lot within the terrain bounded by the points in the file, assuming 1 Ft. default units in HDPro.

Hi All, I had to do the same when drawing my new construction house plan a couple of years ago. With a little trial and error, you can get it reasonably close. I also had a surveyors Topo map for the bare lot, which had the elevation contour lines already sketched in. All I had to do was import the map PDF, scale it, place the north pointer in the proper direction, and then model it with HD Pro. The results just needed a little tweaking to show the existing grades and (expected) finish grades in plan views. After the plan was drawn and wall elevation views were created, I adjusted terrain elevation lines to show the grades per above. Scallypads, you should be able to do this with the plot plan pdf you have. MikeMike, you might be able to obtain a topo map for your area from USGS or a local authority. If you only have a plot plan on paper, take it to a blueprint shop, Kinko/Fedex or Office Depot. They might be able to scan it to a PDF file for you. First, start with a new blank plan, import your plot plan PDF. Scale it by using the program's tape measure to measure a straight line on the perimeter of your lot. Expand/reduce the imported pdf image (grab it's handle at the corners of the image to keep the lot shape proportioned). Expand/reduce the image until the tape measure agrees with the dimension on the plot plan. It is now scaled. You should be able to measure a few other points on the plot plan image and they should be very close to the plot plan dimensions. If not, there is a possible problem with the plot plan PDF proportions. Its a good idea to check dimensions in two different directions on the image for accuracy. Save this as a plot_plan_pdf.plan file for future use, in case you need it again to locate sidewalks, utilities, etc. You are basically saving a plan with only the imported and scaled plot plan PDF on the CAD, Default layer. Assuming all above is good, Save the file again as terrain.plan . You can create a terrain perimeter by tracing over the plot plan PDF, and then trace the elevation lines and set their elevations, per the plot plan PDF. Place a couple of CAD points or point markers on two corners of your house as shown on the plot plan PDF to position the lot to house later. Then have a look at the 3D full perspective to see how your terrain looks. Fix any mistakes in the elevations, and tweak the shapes or settings of the elevation lines a little until you get sloping you want/need. Once you have what you want, save terrain. plan again for future use should the need arise. When you have the terrain the way you want it, copy and paste terrain, terrain lines, north pointer and cad points into your house plan. Rotate/move the selected terrain, terrain lines north arrow until the two cad points align with the same two corners of the house. Don't worry if they are off a little. If they are off a lot, then there is a problem. The terrain perimeter will paste into your plan as a polyline object. You should be able to select it and convert it to a terrain perimeter and you should have what you want. If it is not exactly correct, you can adjust it a little using the elevation lines until it is. If HDA does not allow polyline to terrain perimeter conversion, simply redraw the terrain perimeter by tracing the polyline, then delete the polyline object. If the lot has any raised area, you'll need to add terrain modifier in the shape to provide the desired result. There might be a better way to do this but this procedure worked for my needs and permitting; I'm sure it can provide reasonable results for your needs. Attached is a pic of a simple example of an irregular shape downward sloping lot to the north-west. It is shaped with simple elevation lines placed throughout. I hope this helps both of you.

Same issue here. I have a Core-I7 PC w/ 8Gb ram, and a Radeon HD5700 series 2Gb Radeon video card as well. No shadows can be made to appear in the room camera views. In Perspective Full Overview the camera view is entirely white, except for landscape plants, when "Preferences-> Render->use enhanced lighting" option is checked. Updated AMD driver to the latest version. Video card is orphaned. That said, I don't recall having these issues with HD Pro 2016. My present video card exceeds the minimum requirement as well. I routinely use this same PC to design electronic circuit boards in a 2D and 3D mode, with no issues. The E-CAD software used costs about $12K-15K per seat. Take a look at CA's video card suggestion recommendations. What is suggested is not an inexpensive upgrade. One shouldn't have to start changing out pcs of expensive PC hardware just to make the $500 CA software work correctly. Judging from DJP and other's comments, perhaps something is amiss at CA. Of course, I can use HD Pro as is, but to get the most usefulness out of the software, I would have to start replacing PC components, starting with the video card, etc. Where does it stop? Jeez.

I have tried printing a model of a complete house plan designed using HD Pro 2014 and have run into difficulties. Sometimes walls or roof planes are missing, especially dormers. Sometimes walls are on top of other walls which makes them unusable. Sometimes part of a wall or roof plane appears on one sheet, but the remainder is nowhere else. I have tried several paper sheet sizes from 8.5 x 11 to 11 x 17 and get different results. Sometimes better, sometimes not. I have used PDF995 as the printer so I can view the results with a PDF reader before printing. Is there a better PDF printer available that is more compatible with HD PRO 2014? Does the "print model" portion of the program work correctly in HD PRO 2014? Any help would be appreciated.