Hillside terrain problem

[OldUncleMikey]

My old house in San Francisco was built on the side of a hill. (See attached snapshots.) The plot the house sits on is about 7' above the level of the sidewalk and was graded flat. Concrete steps lead up from the sidewalk to the basement level (level 0) and wooden steps lead from there up to the first floor level.

The concrete steps and the retaining walls around the steps are cut into the original hillside at the street side of the house so that only 7' or so of hillside is exposed at the uphill side of the steps, when the house is viewed from the sidewalk.

The sidewalk slopes downhill in front of the house by 29" in 25', so that while the uphill edge of the lot at level 0 is about 7' above street level, the downhill edge of the lot is almost 10' above street level.

I've been trying to create this terrain in HD Pro 2018 (and, previously, HD Pro 2017) and have come close, but can't get it right. The plan I've attached is one of the test drawings I start with. Can anyone tell me how to make this work?

Elevation_test_1.plan

[DavidJPotter]

Terrain and Roof systems are the hardest to learn for new users, so you are not alone in that. I suggest that you carefully read the Reference Manual Sections (found under "Help - Read Reference Manual") about "Terrain and related tools". Developing your own competence takes some time for study, practice which will end up in your own success. There are also Knowledge Base Help Articles that you can search by topic at the Home Designer Website .

 

My advice is to learn on a gradient, by that I mean a little at a time and then, once learned, a little more. With Terrain you should add at least two different "Terrain Elevation Objects" (two different values will create a gradient slope between such values). You make a single change by adding additional elevation objects and when done for each one, evaluate the effect or effects each objects causes right after placing it to see if your effect is in the direction you want it to go. The most common mistake new users make is to make several changes or additions but when that is done it is more difficult to then tell which change was right and which are wrong. Develop your modulated terrain slowly and simply to keep it less confusing. Hilly terrain with embedded stairs such as you have is the most difficult to emulate. The learning curve is rather frustrating and stressful but worth the doing.

 

DJP