Adding a second building to an existing plan

[LenB10p]

I've just finished my first building and want to add a smaller one on the same plot.  No problem creating the external walls of the 1st (Ground) floor, but when I try to add a second floor the original building gets a new floor instead.

 

Is it possible to create two separate buildings on the same plot?  Or, can one building created in one plan be copied and pasted on another plan?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Len

[DavidJPotter]

 

 

Is it possible to create two separate buildings on the same plot?

Yes but you must think ahead and plan considering the way the software is programmed to work. It is a mechanical device that you must guide to a result (It will not do your thinking or planning for you). Each separate structure will probably have differing floor heights unless your lot is totally flat like a piece of paper, so  you have to allow for that and in the second building you must manually calculate its relative floor and ceiling heights in relation to the other structure. Work it out on paper first and then apply what you calculate to each structure.

 

DJP

[RobynKS]

I am very new to Pro myself but here is what I just tried very quickly as an exercise.

I draw my 1st main house but did not put the verandah on.

 I put the roof on automatically and added my pitch and the gables over upstair.

I put all the roof line in with auto build roof.

Then I draw the second building.

On plan I clicked to go to level two.

Then I clicked reference display

Then I draw the walls for the second story of the barn

Then I put the roof on with the manual roof tools.

 Then I went back to my main house and put the roof over the deck manually

 

David is a big help to us all.

So my next question would be if we build two to many houses on the same lot 

Can we then put the terrain levels in after the buildings are in place then change the footings to follow the terrain.????

 

I keep learning from other peoples questions. But I hope what I have just tried helps you.

 

 

 

[Kbird1]

if  remember correctly Len has Suite not Pro Robyn so no manual roofs ..............Len please update your Signature in your Profile , so people don't waste time On answers you can't use thx..... 

 

Try adding the 2nd storey as a "Blank" floor instead of derived from the 1st floor , you then have to draw your own walls , 3rd floor on House may need to be set to 0" high.

 

It is better to build all buildings at each level as you go, if possible, especially in Titles lower than Pro as you don't have the manual tools to fix problems.

[RobynKS]

Oh Deary me. It should be part of the program that as they sing up for talk it tells them to put their program type in. However it was not a waste of time because I actually learnt something and with my next question will learn yet another skill. 

[Kbird1]

I asked Chief to do that when the Forum first opened last year in the sticky thread about getting good answers but unfortunately they did not implement that, it should be there right under your Location I think, as it wastes a lot of time regularly , usually Eric or David ask them to do the Signature before me but none of us want to be the "Forum Police" , I just don't answer if the is too much guessing involved and move to the next problem.

[LenB10p]

Hi everyone

 

Please keep in mind that some of us are not "forum gurus" and haven't got all the basics of usage for different forums.  I just wanted some information as I find my version, Chief Architect Suite 2015 useful but limited in explaining everything.  E.g., How to add buildings to a current plan is not clear.  Nor is it clear to a novice how to take a drawing on one saved plan and copy it to another saved plan.  And...apparently my version won't allow me to save my created building as a "group" so that I can rotate it on the plot...unless I'm missing this info in the user manual.

 

Everything that I've been given so far in the forum has been very useful and not a waste...in my opinion. 

 

So, thanks.

 

 

[eraser]

Atta boy, LenB.  Us newbies need to stick together.  OK, back to the questions.  This is my first building.  It has 44,000 sq. ft. in it.  I thought that the cheaper??? version might do the job since I didn't want to layout a grand to get the better version.  I learned fast that if the cheaper software package has a good manual to start off it sets the tone of what is to come.  Manual??? You call that little booklet a manual?  Moving right along...on to the Helpful??? videos.  I think that I can make a straight line.  How about videos on the hard stuff and for us old people, don't talk so fast.  My biggest peeve is that thing that is called the "Structure window" in the Room Specification area.  Please work on that area before I croak.  ribbit, ribbit, ribbit :-)

 

eraser

 

Oh, I almost forgot.   In the "Library"  when you open a sub directory, wouldn't it be nice to have the new menu visible on the screen without scrolling down.  The same problem happens when viewing the "Index" in the Home Design User Guide pdf file.  OK, enough blah for now before they call me and have me talk to someone in India.

[Kbird1]

not sure what little booklet you are referring to E.  but my Manual has over 900 A4 pages  , you can get PDF on the help menu along with the User guide which will teach you how to use the program with a number of good tutorials.

 

If you are going to post Questions please add you HD Title to your signature and what yr it is, there are 10 versions of HD this year alone if you count the MAC ones.

 

this post will tell you how

https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/12-please-add-your-version-title-and-number-to-your-forum-signature/

 

and when you need to post pictures of your problems this one,

https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/topic/221-how-to-take-pics-of-your-plan-to-post-here/

 

you can use the same method above to post a copy of your plan file which is much better as we don't need to "guess" what the problem is.

 

 

And PS Tech Support is done at Company HQ in Idaho ............however these Forums are TOTALLY DIY   it just End Users like You and Me here

[DavidJPotter]

The "go easy on newbies" is a cute thing to say but in fact, the only way from incompetence to competence is by way of applied study, followed by practice of what one just studied until the theory studied then becomes useful knowledge and experience. There is no other route other than turning apparent  "mystery" into knowledge. Ability is earned, driven by one's intention. Nothing easily acquired is worth keeping.

 

DJP

[LenB10p]

Blimey!  All I wanted was to know how to copy a pair of buildings to add to a new blank plan.  Anyway, I figured it out after trial and error as there isn't anything (as far as I can determine) in the 900 page A4 manual regarding copying multiple objects and pasting them in another plan.  I'm still struggling with the creation of a two story square structure with a hipped roof that is steep and open (lofted) with beams on the inside.  More trial and error and more searching the forum.

 

Knowledge by experiment and trial and error is okay..as long as time is not of the essence.  Otherwise, perhaps we could have a mechanism to submit requests for additional instructions/examples/information to be included in the manual (the one for Designer 2015 is only 526 pages)?   There are a number of good ideas and techniques from members of this forum that could be incorporated in the non "pro" version of the manual..

 

 

 

Ta

Len

[Kbird1]

hmmm well that is not what you asked in your 1st question , you asked about adding a 2nd floor to a second building , but I digress....

 

Copy and paste and copy and paste/hold work just like any other windows program and are explained on pages 81- 84  of YOUR manual not the Pro one.

 

Have you downloaded the User Guide?  (Help Menu>UserGuide download)  and worked your way through the Basic tutorials?

 

Another good area to get tips is the KnowledgeBase (KB)  , use the search bar to find your question here:

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/support/database.html

 

The Mechanism you are asking about  is exactly what this Forum is , a place you can come and ask questions about any issues you are having, I am not sure home much better this Community could be ?  though I think you maybe under the miscomprehension that this Forum is Run/Moderated by Chief Architect's Paid Staff ?   this Forum and the other 3 here are for End Users just like you and the only answers you get are from Other End Users "in the know".

 

If you have the current Year's version of the program you can also open a Support Ticket on the Company's Website via the Online Support Link on the front page of the Forum near the bottom, however I think you will receive a much faster answer here.

 

Perhaps start another Thread , and we can all try this again .

 

M.

[LenB10p]

I have looked through the manual (which I downloaded at the first point of purchasing the CA Suite 2015 application) and have looked through these pages.

 

I'm still not certain how to copy an entire building (all floors) in one go to another plan.  I've looked at available forum topics and suggestions, but I'm obviously misunderstanding how to do this.  I've tried doing a copy and paste/hold position to create the building a one floor at a time.  But moving all the floors as a group to where I need the building on the plan is a mystery.  I tried doing the edit area, but that only works on one floor at a time.  I can't seem to select all floors simultaneously to copy and past in another plan.

 

All I'm doing is creating an extension to an existing building. 

 

any guidance will be appreciated.

 

Len

[solver]

Not sure Suite has this option.

[DavidJPotter]

Suite has "Edit Area" but no other choices or variations, just edit area. But the point is that this is only a starting point UNLESS all buildings in your plan are exactly the same topographical height (their floor levels match in other words), which is rarely the case in the "real world". It is more usual for adjacent buildings to be higher or lower than their neighbors. So "Edit Area" would only be valid in the unusual case where all buildings are exactly the same topographical height. 

It might be easier to just draw the buildings all in the same plan and then adjust their topographical heights to themselves, Like I said in my earlier posts, you plan it out and think it through and then draw what you planned out. I have done this many times so it is not just "what I think works", rather it is how it is best done, no matter what software you have and use.

 

DJP