Can't figure out stepped foundation

[xJonQx]

In Home Designer Pro 2017 i'm trying to replicate an existing foundation and I can't figure out how to do it. I have 2 issues:

 

1. The garage foundation walls are a different depth than the main house. When the foundation is auto-rebuilt, it creates a second footing in the middle of the shared wall, and the footing extends into the living space of the basement. I want to complete prevent this footing from being generated.

2. The garage foundation walls are 60" H and the slab is 18" from the top. I can't figure out how to get the garage slab rendered in the right location, as it currently always appears at the bottom of the stem wall.

 

I've attached a diagram of what's happening vs. what i'm trying to accomplish.

 

Thanks for the help!

[solver]

This general problem is often discussed on the Chief Architect form -- plenty of confusion on the professional side too.

 

Posting your plan file is the best way to get help. 

[xJonQx]

I finally figured out how to accomplish this, and I'm convinced that it's not possible in HD Pro 2017 with Automatically Rebuild Foundation enabled.

To minimize variables which might be confusing the issue, I created a very simple plan from scratch which reflected the essence of what I was trying to accomplish:

Stepped Foundation - A.plan

I immediately noticed that the foundation, even with the default settings, wasn't rendering properly with this configuration. Notice how the floor framing is exposed on one of the walls:


I also noticed that many of the Room Specification > Structure settings wouldn't stick anymore. I'd change them, and then immediately return to the dialog to see the old settings remained.

I then proceeded to manually edit the foundation, and was able to accomplish the stepped foundation I needed:

Stepped Foundation - B.plan

Here are the Structure settings for the left and right foundations:


Here are the Structure settings for the rooms above the left and right foundations:


I then re-enabled Automatically Rebuild Foundation and it undid all my work:


I tried plugging the Structure settings above back in, but once again they wouldn't stick.

Hopefully this info is helpful for anyone else who's running into this issue.

If there is a way to accomplish this with Automatically Rebuild Foundation enabled, I'd love to learn how.

Thanks!

[solver]

[xJonQx]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for proving it's possible. I'm having difficultly replicating your results on my full plan. Could you please share that plan so I can see the Structure settings for each room?

Thanks,

Jon

 

[xJonQx]

Eric, let me clarify further...

 

I was able to replicate the foundation you showed, but when I did that, those lower concrete rooms are at floor 0, so no walls can be placed in them (if auto build foundation remains enabled)

 

In the plan B I uploaded, my lower concrete rooms are at floor 1, so I can place framing for the basement etc.

 

I'm curious how they're setup in your plan.

 

Thanks!

[solver]

11 hours ago, xJonQx said:

see the Structure settings for each room?

 

Room on right set to Garage. No other changes.

 

2 hours ago, xJonQx said:

I'm curious how they're setup in your plan.

 

Basement/foundation on Level 0.

 

 

I think you have answered your own question. Auto rebuild foundation is really only useful for simple foundations -- slab and crawlspace, not a typical basement.

 

What I would do for your plan is; set defaults, draw first floor and build basement/foundation (level 0). Once the foundation looked correct, turn off auto rebuild and proceed.

 

It's also easy to copy what's inside the basement walls, rebuild the foundation, then paste back in place what you copied.