What is CA BEEF with drawing a simple Porch?!?

[Chief T]

I recently bought CA, so hold the "have you watched the tutorials" comments because there seems to be very few on Porch/Covered Porch or even Screen Porch...

I did some research in some old forums about using the slab tool or even polyline solid. I even used the hidden wall trick, please tell me there is a better way.

Let's get real CA, I can find more info on how to build a treehouse vs. something more practical and useful on an every day basis. I'm not trying to bash ya CA, just looking for a simple command, that's all...

[Kilgore Trout]

Just use the porch tool. You can find it in the menu under Tools\House Wizard\Porch. Easy peasy.

[Chief T]

Thanks for reply... Not quite what I'm looking for. A preset porch popped up and wouldn't lock into walls... This is part of the problem at hand, what should be a simple add/fix, you have to play chess with CA.

[Allen42acj]

Pictures of what you want and what you're getting would help.
I use the deck tools..

[Chief T]

That was my next move, trying decks... Trying to add 4" slab with rowlock front, down to foundation where footings join.
I could attach pic but more of a general question since I will use that a lot in plans I need to draw in CA.

[Chief T]

Sorry, sending pic from IPad, hope you can tell what I'm looking for. On the foundation layer I added a temp wall so you could tell the location...

[Chief T]

LoL, no the world is not turning upside down....

[Chief T]

Since I've added the picture, I want to make this a two part question unrelated to porch....

As you can tell I have soldier courses and sills added to this plan, I do believe I broke some rules to make those look ok...
I tried the example CA gives you, but mortar joints were too inconsistent, so I placed them manually. What is best way to tackle those?

[mcrump]

You can find your answer here: www.chieftutor.com

[Chief T]

Thanks for link!

[Chief T]

To follow up on what I originally posted... I used polyline solids on the foundation layer, still not sure this is the best way. I tried drawing a foundation wall but it modified all walls it was connected to leaving a gap in the wall, no good. This will get me by for the time being...

[VHampton]

To follow up on what I originally posted... I used polyline solids on the foundation layer, still not sure this is the best way. I tried drawing a foundation wall but it modified all walls it was connected to leaving a gap in the wall, no good. This will get me by for the time being...

Keep in mind that the program has the ability to draw pretty much anything you can think of. Unfortunately it takes a bit of trial and error to know which tools to break out in order to achieve your results.

Polyline solids and molding polylines will open up a whole new dimension of possibilities and it looks like you've made it past the first plateau. Keep at it, and the modeling methods will come inuititevly.

Frustration is the mother of invention and sooner or later the notion of a "work around" will have new meaning. Everything custom is done by out of the box thinking.

[Joe Carrick]

Chief T,

1. Draw the wall across the front of the Porch Area.
2. Select the "Room", open it and make it a "Porch".
3. When you build the Foundation of the House it will automatically create the Slab Floor.
4. If that entire wall is to be open change it to hidden.
5. If it's not to be 100% open then:
....a. Make it a Railing Wall - Post to Beam - or -
....b. Place a Window or Door Opening of the required size (even full width up to the header/lintel).

You can cress up the base with Polyline Solids if you need to.

Note: Room Type "PORCH" results in a Slab Floor and a Roof which can be manually manipulated to suit your needs. If you don't want a Roof over it you can just suppress that in the dbx.

[Chief T]

Thanks for reply Val and Joe... I have read a lot about "work arounds" on different forums. I know if there is a will, there is a way. Trial and error is an understatement, I'm trying to learn the fundamentals of how chief thinks and reacts. I'm not too concerned about creating final documents at this point through CA, still using AutoCAD for that. My main thing right now is to learn how to build 3d models using the tools CA gives you.

Joe, on the porch issue...
From what I understand and the way CA "thinks", they like seeing the exterior walls first, then add interior walls later. To me is crazy, but whatever... I did it exactly like that, but didn't include the porch originally, I went back and tried to add the porch after I had already built the slab foundation. I will try your method on the next plan that has a similar type porch config.
Thanks for help!

[VHampton]

You're very welcome. From a modeling point of view this program is really fantastic. And if your 3D model is correct, the working drawings are a cinch. Everything just meshes once that model is done right.

That said, for unique conditions, it just takes awhile to figure out the best way to make use of the polyline solids and moldings. Without these two ingredients it can be very tricky, if not impossible, to illustrate conditions which one would consider custom.

You'll get the hang if you keep at it. One can find some very impressive work in both 3D and in working drawings (done with Chief). It's definitely worth learning the nuances.

FYI, if this helps....for a porch:

• I only build the footings or foundation.
• From there, the slab and masonry is done with poly-line solids (on the first floor).
• The porch lintel is a 3D molding. The roof is done manually.

As others pointed out, the program knows how to follow along with almost any condition, but the manual method is equally fast and allows one to tweak the the way a deck or stoop wraps the outside wall.

The only drawback for some in doing a manual build is that the material list won't register what you've drawn. For some, that's a key feature, especially for the contractors who like to keep tabs on the lumber etc.