Terrain help

[George Godwin]

Glenn Woodward wrote:

Enter all your terrain elevation information from the survey at the "real world" levels.
You can now use the Building Pad Elevation setting (Terrain Specification..General Tab...Building Pad...Elevation) to relate the zero floor height to the terrain.
Uncheck Auto Calculate Elevation and in the Elevation box, enter the "real world" level for your zero floor height.
This relates the zero floor height to the real world levels.

Referring to Glenn's method quoted here, this is the way I believe that you have to do it if you are using actual Survey or Sea Level Topo Data. What I have found is that if you enter your Terrain Data from a Survey using, for example, our local topo numbers like 250.64m or 822.3' above sea level for a road elevation, you will find your house sitting way below your terrain if you leave the pad at "0". That has been my experience. By defining your terrain with actual Survey data and then setting the building pad number at a height that will work for your driveway grade at say 251.8m or 826.12' (converted by Chief to inches), the house will rise to an appropriate level relative to the terrain created with the actual Survey or Engineering topo data and an appropriate height relative to the finished road elevation, etc.

If someone can show me that you can create a terrain using actual topo data leaving the building pad at "0" and have the house sit about 18 inches or so above the terrain, then I would like to examine that file. The program does not work that way for me.

Even if one could show that the program would work that way, why would you not want to enter a number for your building pad that represents an actual sea level elevation or a survey related elevation for accuracy especially since you built your terrain from that purportedly accurate topographical data? That way, if someone is sleeping on your main floor, you could advise then that they are sleeping so many meters, feet, or inches above sea level and that they need not worry so much about global warming and rising sea levels.

[Allen42acj]

Louis
Thank you
I will look at it tomorrow.Just got home..

[louis]

George,

No one is debating that!

I helped a fellow in Colorado recently that wanted his lot roughly like it was. He knew the front was about 18" below his floor and he knew the back of the lot was about 35' below his floor. Very easy to do.

[Allen42acj]

Hi Louis
I looked at your example and don't see an advantage over the way I have been doing it.You need to have so much of the foundation above grade..
Still keeping an open mind though..
Thank you..

[Allen42acj]

I just reread the thread and am more confused than before..
Can you put real world data into CA?And have it work without doing a lot of adjusting?
Example=House is drawn with floor height 0,you want to use it on a site that has real world numbers,would either the house or the lot numbers have to be recalculated...
I will see if it is in the book or tutorials..
Maybe I am over thinking this...

[Glenn Woodward]

Allen,

Read my post.
I detailed how to do it that way - with real world levels.
Chief is set up to do it this way. It is not a "workaround".

Once again...use the Building Pad Elevation setting - that's what it is there for!

[Allen42acj]

Hi Glen
I think I almost get it..
If you set the building pad to the survey data,what do you do with the house?I'm think you have to move it up or down..
Need to look into this more I think..

[louis]

Allen,

The advantage is that you are working with one number instead of two. If you know what the height of your lot is relative to the floor then your set. In your method you are entering the building pad height and that raises the building and then to calculate the height of the lot relative to the floor the building pad number always enters the calculations. In my method the distance that the terrain steps down to show the foundation is in the terrain data that I put.

[Allen42acj]

Hi Louis
I understand that,I think..Might be something I need a lesson on to get it right..
I need a bench mark on the plan that could get a real life elevation that would covert every thing to match..

[Allen42acj]

Louis
I added a little more to your example and it makes sense to me now..
Learning it that way would be a lot easier I think..And if you could change just 1 elevation to match real world and they all changed that would be great..
Not sure how I am going to do it from now on yet..
Thanks to all being so patient with me..Was expecting the 2x4 up side my head any second..

[louis]

Allen,

I'm glad you got it. I teach this stuff every day and I have come up with easy ways for people to learn it.

[Allen42acj]

Louis
Some things do take me a while to get,but they stick better that way..
Is there an easy way to convert it to site data?

[skipper6]

I have been following the sage advise about terrain rerlative to the house v. using the imported surveyor elevations. I have really learned a lot.

However, if I follow the suggestion that I use the house as my Zero (0) and I find that the surveyer has given me about 50 different elevation notations, how can I convert to elevations which are relating to my Zero Point?

I hope I have stated my qustion so someone can understand it. And, I thank you for any advice.

[Darwin Skinner]

Dan Baumann has a good video at his site that may help
Creating a Walkout Terrain and Retaining Wall.

Learn how to add a Walkout Terrain and a Retaining Wall. To start, add a terrain perimeter box around the buildings and then use terrain elevation lines and splines to get the top of this box in the right place.

here is the link http://chiefexperts.com/

http://www.chiefexperts.com/members/165.cfm

[Allen42acj]

http://djpdesigns.net/html/tutorials.htm
free ones here..
Darwin,did you join that site?