additing a second floor on a garage seperate from the house

[EightInchNails]

Hi All,

I have house that I have modeled and am now working on the detached garage. I would like to add a 2nd floor to the garage but I already have a second floor on the house and when I go to add floor I it wants to add a 3rd floor to the house. Any way to just add a floor to the garage? Thank you in advance

[Dave Pitman]

Model the Garage in another Plan File, and use a symbol version of the garage in the House plan file.

[EightInchNails]

Can I still get into the garage and edit it after I do that. I'm new to the software how would I make the garage a symbol? Thanks for the quick response Dave. Will te symbol display the floor plans or just the exterior foot print?

[Mattyt12]

Draw the second floor for the garage on level 2 (the same level as the house) and manually adjust the room heights/floor settings etc by opening the room specifications of the garage/new room.

[dshall]

I suggest you model both in same plan. You do not have to add floor to garage, it is already there. Just draw the walls on level 2 for garage second floor.

[Dave Pitman]

If you develop the garage in it's own plan file, you won't run into the issues like the 2nd floor thing. It is possible to have them both in the same file as Scott suggests, but anything "auto built" in one building will extend to all the buildings in that file. This can become a real problem for new users.

A symbol is a 3d representation of the model. you use it to show both the footprint, and a 3d representation in camera views. If you modify the exterior of the garage after you have made a symbol of it, it would have to be made into a symbol again to be a true representation. Converting a building into a symbol is quick and easy.

For construction document floor plans, it is no problem to send the floor plan from 2 (or more) plan files to a common layout page.

[HumbleChief]

I suggest you model both in same plan. You do not have to add floor to garage, it is already there. Just draw the walls on level 2 for garage second floor.

+1 Yeah - do it all the time. If the garage is huge or very very unique in some way perhaps you need another plan but usually just draw the second floor walls as Scott suggests.

[HumbleChief]

If you develop the garage in it's own plan file, you won't run into the issues like the 2nd floor thing.

Dave, I don't think there IS 'an issue like the second floor thing.' It's just a second floor that's already there. Just draw your second floor garage walls and it behaves like any other part of the plan. I think the OP was thinking that since he's adding a floor to the garage as well as the house he needed to add ANOTHER floor. It's makes sense in the field or during conversation, "Hey let's add another floor to the garage," but to Chief it's already there.

[Dave Pitman]

Dave, I don't think there IS 'an issue like the second floor thing.' It's just a second floor that's already there. Just draw your second floor garage walls and it behaves like any other part of the plan. I think the OP was thinking that since he's adding a floor to the garage as well as the house he needed to add ANOTHER floor. It's makes sense in the field or during conversation, "Hey let's add another floor to the garage," but to Chief it's already there.

Larry, I get that, and I agree, it is fine to draw it all in the same plan file. But, remember what it was like getting started with the program. If anything is different about floor heights, or ceiling heights, for example, then he is going to need to get up to speed quite quickly with his structure dialogs. Not always that easy. If most things are the same from the house to the garage, then being detached won't matter much.

My suggestion was meant to allow him to get his floaties on before he jumps in the deep end.

[HumbleChief]

Yeah great explanation Dave. I would have given anything to have some CA floaties to start off with. That deep end was indeed pretty deep when I first started.

[perryh]

I would draw it in one plan unless the garage is too far from "0", then weird things could happen.

[EightInchNails]

Thanks guys- I really appreciate the input and for giving a guy some floaties. I have drawn it in both its own plan and in my original plan with the house. I want the garage to have a gambrel roof and so it its stand alone plan I just had it ignore the 2nd floor. When I drew it with the house that created issues for the house. So now I am trying to correct that. Any ideas for this issue? Thanks

[kiwideziner]

You will have to do more manual methods, and not hit that auto build. Once you learn the program the manual build usually is better in most cases.
If you were to attach a plan, the one with both house and garage, someone will be able to tell you exactly how to sort the problem.
Hang in there with the learning, it does get easier.

[Glenn Woodward]

There should be no reason at all why you can't draw it all in one plan and even have the roofs auto build.
Are you setting the roof parameters for your gambrel roof in the controlling walls? ie. the upper pitch setting?

There are too many variables to try and do it without you posting the plan.