Help needed - complex Gambrel roof


JonathanElvers
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Hi, I am struggling with my new Pro software to model my existing house before i start looking at possible modifications.

Specifically the roof is creating problems. It is gambrel, with very shallow flat roofed windows on the second floor.

I have read the many roof videos/reports but this looks a complicated case and not obvious. With other roofs on the property from various extensions i am learning to do everything manually.

So i need help on the roof, the windows, and how to add the loft/attic which is currently missing!

Images of my attempt below.

I am also using metric UK version and struggling with the 1 or 8 in 32 as this is not what i see in my dialog windows!

Any help greatly appreciated.

Very impressed with this powerful piece of software.

Cheers

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Hi Jon , with complicated Roofs it is best to post your plan , as there are just too many issues that may cause problems to guess from pics of your problem.

 

There was a post about 2 months back that Jo_Ann and I worked on ,about exactly this , I will try and find it and post a link back here.

 

I think you have 2016? it doesn't say in your Sig. and people can only open plans from someone with the same version or Older than them , so good info to know.

 

Edit: some old posts

https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/994-cant-get-this-roof-right-for-the-life-of-me/?hl=%2Bgambrel+%2Broof

 

https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/224-how-do-i-design-this-roof/?hl=%2Bgambrel+%2Broof#entry1158

 

 

oh....in the DBX's there is a "numbers" box in the bottom LH corner , click on that and you should be able to change the Pitch/degrees etc if needed or in Defaults>Plan there is a box in the Top RH corner to "show degrees" (defaults is the wrench icon)

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I have struggled to do a typical Gambrel roof per the instructions David indicated given the multiple other roof around the property on front/side/back which are all different types.

I will post the plan file. I have been learning the many elements of the product as you can see in the file.

I am using Home Designer Pro 2016 Mac version - I only bought a week ago.

 

You will notice - i still have much to learn!

 

In getting the proper gambrel roofing elements, the wall doesn't seem to work and the windows disappear from the earlier version above.

 

Marshall v2.plan

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there is a quirk with Pro ,  if you make the overhang too wide on a gambrel it does weird things to the walls , we found issues in that other thread I posted above about that, not sure if that is what you have run into or not.

 

It is always a good idea to get a finished structure 1st . ie all your walls/floors/foundation etc done (and correct) , then  do your roof ,  then your Terrain / or interior ,with things like cabinets/furniture etc.

 

if your walls are right , it is more likely the Roof will build correctly as walls control the roof style in the Walls Roof DBX , however Roofs/ceilings control walls as far as heights ie setting the Room ceiling height ,controls the wall height ,which is where the roof builds from. (as a general rule ,in Pro you can alter settings in the roof plane dbx if needed too)

 

M.

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Wow many thanks for all the help. I fell off my chair when i saw you had made a whole video of the plan - that is fantastic. I really appreciate all the support.

 

The big open question for me is now i have the gambrel roof, with a near vertical side, what window do i put in it ? Would a dormer work or not ? Current windows slightly protrude with a flat roof.

 

thanks again.

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Dormers are your only realistic option, Figuring out the exact default settings for such a dormer will be the trial and error hard part. Once you get one configured that works you can then copy-paste additional ones to the steep sides, then "explode" them, one at a time so you can better control editing the window sizes in them. Do  NOT explode any dormers until you have them perfectly placed. exploding them ( which releases them from a unified object to their parts), which can then be finely edited at need. Such a job is not easy even for an advanced user, so apply patience and a methodical approach.

 

DJP

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Wow many thanks for all the help. I fell off my chair when i saw you had made a whole video of the plan - that is fantastic. I really appreciate all the support.

 

The big open question for me is now i have the gambrel roof, with a near vertical side, what window do i put in it ? Would a dormer work or not ? Current windows slightly protrude with a flat roof.

 

thanks again.

 

check the thread above and you will see how Jo_Ann did it in that plan ,she even posted here files to check out 

 

eg here https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/994-cant-get-this-roof-right-for-the-life-of-me/#entry5716

 

or here

https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/994-cant-get-this-roof-right-for-the-life-of-me/page-3#entry5850

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