HDS - Problems with multiple buildings on same terrain, can't get foundation

[Veronica]

Hi,

 

I have just started with this program, Home Designer Suite, and have build my house as starter. After the house was finished I wanted to add my garage and barn into the same terrain.
These are buildings that lie separate from the house (not attached to the main house).
 
The problem is that if I try to build a garage with exterior walls the program does not create a foundation, only the walls and I can also add the roof.

The reason is most likely that the Auto Rebuild Foundation was turned OFF, so I tried to turn it ON and build again.

First I got a warning that I would loose the information I had already put in for the garage and after I pressed OK the walls on the garage disappeared. This is no problem since I can easily build it again, BUT...

When I then try to build exterior walls with Auto Rebuild Foundation ON I got a new warning;

Cannot build new wall with Auto Rebuild Foundation turned ON, would you like to turn it OFF?

 

So, to be able to build a new wall, the Auto Rebuild Foundation had to be turned OFF and I tried again with a different approach;

I built the square of exterior walls. Chose Build Foundation and selected Slab and pressed OK.

Then a new warning appeard;

Any work on the foundation plan will be lost. OK?

 

When I then pressed OK, I lost all information I had put in on the garage. All the walls disappeared and the foundation on the main house got changed instead of creating a foundation for the garage.

Not unexpected since I got the warning, but I thought I would be able to build a separate building in the same terrain, with foundation etc.
Is it not possible to have several buildings in the same house plan and terrain?

Does it have to be build on a separate plan and importet into the terrain where the main house is, or is this possible at all?

 

 

[DavidJPotter]

What you are trying to do can be done but does require a lot of preplanning and trial and error to tweak in and create the final results.

 

What you must do is to draw all your structures at the same time, in the same plan but you must then adjust, manually, the floor and ceiling heights of each enclosed structures relative to how they relate to each other in terms of topographic relative heights. It requires planning and patience (I would work out on paper the relative floor and ceiling heights and then apply that to each enclosed structure and then build roofs only after all floors and structures are verifyably set up properly.

 

The difficulty is that the software is programmed on the premis that whatever is in the plan is treated the same so that places the burden of exactness on the end user (you) to pre program enclosed spaces to achieve a specific outcome.

 

Here is an example

 

The rear most building's floor is 15' higher than the buildings in the foreground in the image. No single structure is exactly the same floor height to the other buildings.

 

After I got the building models set up only then did I start to modulate the terrain plane to match the buildings, then adding the driveways and parking lots.

 

You work out the first floors only and when all is then correct only then do you create foundations for all structures. Roofs are built last.

 

Here is a link to a Knowledge Base Help Article that addresses this problem in detail:

 

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/article/KB-00564/

 

DJP

[solver]

Is it possible to have 2 different structures, each with a unique foundation, and have Auto Rebuild Foundation on?

 

If I create 2 structures on a plan, then Build Foundation, I get the same foundation for both.

 

If I create 1 structure, then Build Foundation, then create the second structure, I can set it to a slab foundation in the Room Specification, but if i go to Build Foundation to create a foundation, the program wants to rebuild all foundations to be the same.

[DavidJPotter]

 

Is it possible to have 2 different structures, each with a unique foundation, and have Auto Rebuild Foundation on?

Yes, the software always follows your settings, once they are relationally correct your foundation will be also whether set manually or auto, settings are King.

 

If your settings are wrong, all else will also be wrong.

 

DJP

[Veronica]

Thanks so much, guys!

I will try again, and plan better before startingup this time