Wrap around porch questions


long88
 Share

Recommended Posts

Just purchased Home Designer suite (had interiors from 2005).  I am somewhat familiar with the program but mostly interior things.  I am trying to get the basic exterior of my house in the program so I can work on designing a patio roof and area.

 

I put on a wrap around porch in the program but my house is 22" off the ground because we are pier and beam.  I made the foundation 22" in the program.  I added a wrap around porch but am not sure how to make is have concrete underneath it like the rest of the house???

 

Also, I played around with the railing to see what I could do to have no railing but just columns.  Is the best way to deselect all railing options and then select and put in posts?  I did this but couldn't put columns exactly where mine are (I ended up with one that I didn't want on the end by the front door).  This will do if that is the best way.

 

TY

 

my house.jpg

20180113_112352.jpg

20180111_131328.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please take a minute and add Suite 2018 to your signature. Keeps me and others from searching for this info.

 

Start by checking this setting and rebuild the foundation. It may or may not help to make the model match the house.

 

ht1.thumb.jpg.ec959d824e7913803b6de111c5fdbfa6.jpg

 

Define the porch with a room divider wall instead of a railing. Check the library for columns and place them manually. Check the bonus catalogs available on the website for other columns.

 

You can make the porch floor thicker so it fills in below, or on the foundation level, draw in new walls.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ty.  I don't see the options - Hang 1st floor or the Show S Markers.  I did have it rebuild the foundation but that didn't work. 

 

6 minutes ago, solver said:

Please take a minute and add Suite 2018 to your signature. Keeps me and others from searching for this info.

 

Start by checking this setting and rebuild the foundation. It may or may not help to make the model match the house.

 

ht1.thumb.jpg.ec959d824e7913803b6de111c5fdbfa6.jpg

 

Define the porch with a room divider wall instead of a railing. Check the library for columns and place them manually. Check the bonus catalogs available on the website for other columns.

 

You can make the porch floor thicker so it fills in below, or on the foundation level, draw in new walls.

 

So I will try a room divider wall, place the columns and make the porch thicker and see if that works.

 

TY 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I already have it set to porch and under structure it gives me:

Floor:

Floor Finish (K): 22"

Floor structure (L): 4"

I can change the finish from 22" to whatever.  I can't change the 4".  It cannot be edited.

 

I can change the room type to slab.  Should I do that?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BTW, something I don't understand is I have the wall height set to 22" in the build foundation dialog.  But I have to set the terrain and now the porch at 44 (or -44") to make them at the right elevation.  I'm not clear why that is happening.

 

It isn't terribly important as I'm just using this for a mock up plan to cover the patio with an attached roof to the house. We just want a visual idea of what it will look like before building.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think you have gone about this all wrong, and made it complicated.  I can see your house floor sticking out half-way up your garage door.  You have 5 rises on the porch steps. Even if the risers are only 6", that would mean that the porch floor is at least 30" above your terrain.

Solver's suggestion, use the divider wall, label the room 'Porch'.  Go to level 0, turn on the reference display, grab the foundation wall tool, and draw in walls under the porch.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok. I have had time to read the responses and I am not sure what I need to do.  This is new to me and I am unclear exactly what I need to do.  I do see that the elevation of the floor is too high in the house. 

 

I set the build foundation at 22" to represent the pier and beam height of my foundation.  But nothing lines up right with that, including the terrain unless I force it to.

 

I appreciate you all being patient and helping me.  I did read and try to figure it out before starting this thread :-)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Because you are looking for a visual and not an accurate structural model, I would make the foundation 48" high and the terrain will hide the excess.

 

Then raise the terrain so the spacing between it and the porch is correct. 

 

Open the patio and lower it -- give the Floor field a negative value.

 

Your yard is sloped, so you may want to work with the terrain giving it the same slope.

 

I suggested you make the porch floor thick was so you could rebuild the foundation and not need to manually redraw foundation walls under the porch. Again, you are looking for a visual, and any excess would be hidden by the terrain.

 

And keep in mind that measurements are relative to your 0 (zero) height first floor.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok...before I do that will that make the interior floor come down?  

 

I wish I understood the problem better.  I just need 22" of concrete under my house so my porch is all concrete for the 22"  with stairs coming down and same for the porch (haven't built yet) by the french doors on the patio.

 

Was trying to make the foundation 22" the wrong approach in the first place?  And it makes me have to double that amount to raise/lower things to the right place.

 

I'm so confused :(

 

I've only ever used this program to make interiors and everything level and on one elevation.  I never tried to to the exterior.  And that was back in 2005 with a really old version of the program.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wonder if it would work to make no foundation and then make exterior pony walls (22" higher than the exterior walls are right now) with concrete material on the bottom?  Would everything then be at the right level except the interior floor which I guess would need moved up 22"?

 

(oops just realized that Home Designer doesn't do pony walls)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, long88 said:

Ok...before I do that will that make the interior floor come down?  

 

The interior floor is fine. Why do you think it needs to come down?

If you are worried about the floor at the garage door, put a wall in to divide the garage and call that space a Garage.

 

10 minutes ago, long88 said:

Was trying to make the foundation 22" the wrong approach in the first place? 

 

Can't answer without understanding how your house is built. Again, it's not important. Make the foundation taller, then raise the terrain so it is the correct distance below the porch.

 

9 minutes ago, long88 said:

which I guess would need moved up 22"?

 

Don't mess with the house floor -- it's correct.

 

Here is the house with the changes i suggested above.

 

ht1.thumb.jpg.272b2b2e0ae4a4c65dc7aabdd0c80dc2.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share