Entry Door Sidelight

[bbbuilders]

Can entry door sidelights be set as not operable? Is there a way in the elevation view to not show the swing indication on a sidelight?

[Curtis Johnson]

Most entry door sidelights are not operable. If you created your own, use fixed glass rather than an operable type window if you can for the look you want.

[VHampton]

Great suggestion.

Fixed glass windows with enlarged frames are the best alternative to the sidelites. I usually make a polyline rectangle and convert it to a molding to simulate the bottom panel (if needed). Attached are two windows with 4" frames and a 44" high bottom. It works pretty well.

Doors cannot be made fixed. Don't know why but that's the way it is.

[Curtis Johnson]

Very nice Val ... I have never done them that way. I may have to experiment some day.

[Bradley Boltz]

What ever happened to the "Empty Door Frames and Side Lite " options that used to be available in Chief's standard library. It no longer comes with the "X" versions and I can't remember what version of Chief that still had it. Did it migrate with the libraries? I've lost many of my older libraries by not migrating correctly when installing new versions of Chief. I'm currently using X4 and miss my older (and better) libraries.-BB

Also, what's up with this newer more cartoonish interface on Chief Talk?

[ebdesign]

Brad,
You looking for this?

[Joe Carrick]

Those are "Mulled Units" but it's also possible to do it with a Doorway Symbol. OTOH, I think most users don't have the experience to make that kind of Symbol. It takes a bit of study and experimenting to learn how to do it.

[Joe Carrick]

Those are Mulled Units but it's also possible to do it with a Doorway Symbol. OTOH, I think most users don't have the experience to make that kind of Symbol. It takes a bit of study and experimenting to learn how to do it.

[Gene Davis]

Very nice use of the software, Val. I played around with the settings to get a good rendition of a 14" half-lite sidelite for a 6/8 high door.

The ability to control sash frame size (for casual readers, you do this by manipulating the sash widths around your glass opening) means you can get this to work well. By making the sash thickness 1-3/4" and then adjusting the position in frame using INSET control in the dbx, you can position the sidelite in to the same plane as the door, so things look good when rendering interiors. I did not do an applied molding to simulate a lower panel.

If Chief were to make a slight change in the program to permit specifying a FIXED door, we could do this with the door tool quite nicely, and for the purists who want to model their own door symbols, they could get some really nice realism.

[ebdesign]

That one & a few others can be unblocked. You can use any door you want from your library or make it a doorway. The sidelites are already set up to be sidelights, & are completely editable just like any other window. Even if there are no sidelights in the library exactly what you want, they're a great place to start & create your own.

[Bradley Boltz]

Brad,
You looking for this?

Yea Jim, thanks,
but didn't there used to be just blank openings that you could put any door in? Also, there was a separate section with 8' tall frames as well. Seems like Chief took a lot away and replaced it with a lot of useless ones. I don't understand why they wouldn't just have the entire Thermatru or Simpson Lines.
When they had the generic : door frame(no slab) w/ single sidelite, door frame w/ double sidelite etc, it was easier to get what I wanted. Now I just pick a door slab style that's close and fake the sidelites with fixed windows. Then I notate it "actual door as selected by owner or GC".-BB

[ebdesign]

Brad,
Yes, you're right; I think they did come into the plan w/out a door in earlier versions. Now they come into the plan w/ the default exterior door- whatever that is. But, I think they're pretty much the same thing as in previous versions. I don't think those units could be unblocked though.
The Therma-tru doors from the manufacturer's library are modeled correctly now; not just textures applied to a flat surface.No sidelights though.

[Bradley Boltz]

Exactly Jim,
how and why would they give us their doors without single and double sidelite options? I just don't understand why no one complained when Chief reduced our options sometime around or after v10?!?

We also had better generic control over the garage doors/ albeit no craftsman style options. Shouldn't the program be more evolutional and less substitutional to retain consistancy of use and continuity? Thanks again for your corroboration and information. Now back to Mott the Hoople's second album(Mad Shadows) streaming on Grooveshark.-BB

[Bradley Boltz]

That one & a few others can be unblocked. You can use any door you want from your library or make it a doorway. The sidelites are already set up to be sidelights, & are completely editable just like any other window. Even if there are no sidelights in the library exactly what you want, they're a great place to start & create your own.

Now I need to check that out and give it a try sometime when it's more important for a project. Thanks, Jim. I need to find some smart Pa users to hookup with and commisserate with. I used to have a good dialogue with Dave Kauffman in Reading when he worked for Greth Homes but he's no longer accesible.-BB

[VHampton]

Thanks Curtis and Gene. I guess necessity sort of inspires these type of solutions.