alexdrafting 2 Posted February 3 Hello, I am trying to incorporate a widow's walk on the top of my house's hip roof. Access to it will likely need to be from an internal staircase located beneath the walk. The widow's walk will be approximately 10' by 10", with a railing located around the perimeter. I have searched extensively through the chat forums, online tutorials, etc., and have been unable to find a way to create the widow's walk and the staircase beneath it in Home Designer Pro. If anyone could please offer some help with this project I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you! Alex Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 3 27 minutes ago, alexdrafting said: I am trying to incorporate a widow's walk on the top of my house's hip roof What does it need to look like? In the simplest terms, it will be a room with a railing around it, and the stairs will be like any other stair. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidJPotter 183 Posted February 4 A"Widow's Walk" is basically a deck with railings around a tower or copula, that means that BEFORE you create roofs you need to have already drawn the Widows Walk and copula BEFORE then roofing them. This is a little difficult for most beginners but is doable. Just layout the spaces, name those spaces and establish ceiling heights, when you get the settings and room names right, then build roofs. DJP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidJPotter 183 Posted February 4 This You Tube video should get you started ( I hope): https://youtu.be/erR9EaSh-us DJP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 4 My take. Watch on YouTube: http://youtu.be/8N5rG2hNAn0?hd=1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DavidJPotter 183 Posted February 4 Looks great Eric!, Well done! I like your outcome better than mine DJP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 4 11 hours ago, DavidJPotter said: Looks great Eric!, Well done! Thanks David. I took the easy way and made mine square 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 5 My sincere thanks to both Eric and David for your time in helping with designing the widow's walk! Can't thank both of you enough! I'd like to attach some pictures of the house to give you a better idea of my project. The open widow's walk (no roof above it) will be centered on the main roof of the house. Is it helpful to post the actual Plan file, or just pictures? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 5 40 minutes ago, alexdrafting said: Is it helpful to post the actual Plan file, or just pictures? Yes. If you had done so in your first post, The videos could have used your plan Show us images of the actual house and your best effort with Pro. And ask questions ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 5 Thanks Eric. Attached please find the colonial house design I've been working on...and for more days than I should admit! It's been a slow, but perhaps steady process. Designing the Widow's Walk has been my biggest stumbling block to date, which is why I posted my question on the forum in the first place. My wife and I were also hoping to have a second design (for comparison) having the concrete porch, columns and the deck (balcony) above it go around the entire perimeter of the house, much like some of the plantation homes in Louisiana, but I have yet to figure that one out. But firstly I wanted to address the Widow's Walk, which should be rectangular to match the shape of the house...perhaps 8' by 10'. The roof pitch is 9/12, and the vaulted ceiling on the second floor is 6/12. I'm guessing that access to the Walk will be from a floor hatch that is reached from the stairs below. Colonial House Design.plan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 5 2 minutes ago, alexdrafting said: Attached please find the colonial house design I've been working on This is a new build? Do you have inspiration pictures? After watching the videos, what problems are you having? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 5 Yes, this is a new build. Here are some of the photos that we used as inspiration. I'm currently working on the Widow's Walk using the technique you showed in your video...will let you know how I make out. The next challenge is how do I create a concrete porch (with a basement below it) that surrounds the perimeter of the house? Above this porch will be a wooden balcony, and above that a hip roof over the entire house and exteding over the balcony. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 5 Sorry, I forgot to include these photos in my previous post.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 5 46 minutes ago, alexdrafting said: The next challenge is how do I create a concrete porch (with a basement below it) that surrounds the perimeter of the house? Above this porch will be a wooden balcony, and above that a hip roof over the entire house and exteding over the balcony. Don't overthink this. You are just creating rooms, some of which will be defined by railing or maybe invisible walls. And remember to set your Room Types, Porch, Balcony etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 5 Did you use exterior walls to create the Widow's Walk? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 5 Wall type (interior/exterior) doesn't really matter. It's how the wall is defined that is important. You can draw an entire house using only the default Interior-4 wall -- the program does not care. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 6 Photos -- I was hoping for some showing a widows walk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 6 Good point! Sorry about that. Here's a few that inspired our design.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barthmv 5 Posted February 6 attached is an image of my home which I am finishing modeling using pro 2020. I was able to do the widows walk by manually moving the roof planes creating an opening in the peak. I inserted a slab for the floor and then added deck railings. Still a work in progress but shows what I had intended it to. Hope the jpeg shows up ok in the post regards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 6 7 minutes ago, barthmv said: attached is an image of my home which I am finishing modeling using pro 2020. I was able to do the widows walk by manually moving the roof planes creating an opening in the peak. I inserted a slab for the floor and then added deck railings. Still a work in progress but shows what I had intended it to. Hope the jpeg shows up ok in the post regards. Thank you for sharing your design and how you achieved it. Impressive house too! Will the floor of your widow's walk be recessed below the top of the roof planes, or flush with them? I'm working on trying to place the floor about 16" below, then have the top of the railings about 24" above. I'm also trying to figure out how to access the widow's walk from below.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
solver 581 Posted February 6 3 minutes ago, alexdrafting said: I'm working on trying to place the floor about 16" below Similar to a shallow swimming pool? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 6 2 minutes ago, solver said: Similar to a shallow swimming pool? Yes! lol I'm trying to do so using a pony wall for the 4th floor (which is the widow's walk): the lower portion being a wall up to the top of the ceiling plane, then a railing for the top portion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 6 1 hour ago, solver said: Similar to a shallow swimming pool? Can't seem to get the "pool" drawn. Any idea why the two long sides of the room appear, but not the two short sides? I've been trying to figure it out for hours without success. I've tried pony walls, but they don't appear either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alexdrafting 2 Posted February 6 All I'm attempting to accomplish is to have each exterior corner of the widow's walk line up with the corresponding roof plane corner. Why would the software be preventing this? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
