How to draw a support cable to a platform?

[MikeBaldus]

Hello,

 

I am trying to draw a cable from the extended rim joist in the screenshot up to the wall above the small window nearby. I haven't been able to figure out what kind of building component to use for this. 

I suspect it will be Slab, but I haven't figured out how to manipulate it to look like a cable going up at an angle.

I should clarify: I did create a vertical cylinder by placing a CAD circle, then converting to a Slab, so I have a "pole", but I can't find the way to lean it at an angle. IF using a Slab is even the right approach...

I can't find anything in Shapes that might help either, but then I only have the core Library that came with HD Pro 2015.

 

Any help will be appreciated!

 

[Rookie65]

Try using an angled soffit and see what material you can make it from to look like a cable. Even using a galvanized steel might look ok. Set the bottom to be at the rim joist height and the top height to the height you want it to be to clear the window.

[Jo_Ann]

If you are planning to do in reality, what I think you are wanting to show in the software, then I hope that you have extremely good liability insurance.

[solver]

A Ceiling Plane might work, or a Custom Backsplash.

[MikeBaldus]

@Rookie65 (Keith): Thanks for the suggestion. I tried playing with a soffit but every time I tried to tilt it I got weird results. 

 

@solver (Eric): Thanks for those suggestions also. The custom backsplash gave me similar weird results (but different LOL) as the soffit (whenever I tried to introduce angles).

And even after extensively reading the Reference Manual, I couldn't get the software to draw a ceiling plane. I thought perhaps I could get one drawn in the wrong place and then edit & move it, but I couldn't figure out how to draw it in the first place. Never done one before (like so many things here), so I need more time to play with tutorials and test models, but don't have it. And I didn't try drawing it inside the house first, which might have helped.

 

Any of those 3 ideas might have worked under a more experienced hand.

 

@Jo_Ann: An architect and myself hatched the cable suspension idea because there is a cellar entry directly below, which would interfere with a post. He already drew the stair details, including the support (which would be well backed in the house attic), so it was well engineered. However, with the trouble I had drawing and your comment, together made me rethink the plan. I extended the deck platform beyond the house wall enough to squeeze a post and footing next to the existing cellar entry foundation. It's going to be easier and cheaper, and the esthetic compromise will be worth it. Thanks for nudging me into doing a basic re-think!

 

Sincerely,

 

[DavidJPotter]

DJP

[Jo_Ann]

Food for thought.

 

[MikeBaldus]

@DavidJPotter: Thank you David! @Rookie65 (Keith) had suggested soffit, but I needed your video tutorial to begin to make sense of how to use the tool. And you're right, you really do have to play with it awhile to get things to go your way. This is especially true when you want the thing to start and stop at precise points in 3D space. Some of the behaviors are counterintuitive, but you can definitely get there with it! 

 

In the screenshot attached, I got most of the way there, but stopped short of the finished product since I'm going to use a post instead. Thanks for the answer. Now the video will always be there to help people solve this problem.

 

@Jo_Ann: That is food for thought!  If you figure that the small window is a bathroom window, you'd be right.  Your idea would make it harder for a "visitor" to look in the window.

I won't go with it because it would cost more, and I've never been crazy about steps immediately outside a door - this is a rental property, so it's always possible I could find myself in court after a guest stepped out and tumbled against the railing opposite.

P.S. I would love to know how in the world you took my screenshot and recreated all those elements so faithfully and quickly! I can even see interior elements that match my plan.  Did I leave a copy of my plan in another forum post?

[Jo_Ann]

I would worry less about the safety of 3 short steps (with a hand rail) out the door, than all those steps to get to the ground level.  The upper landing and the mid-landing are closer to the ground.  This means fewer steps, and shorter support posts (less cost) and more safety.