Message: The layers may be reversed for this wall.

The information in this article applies to:

QUESTION

When working in a particular plan file, I encounter the following message:

• "#272003078 - The layers may be reversed for this wall. Normally the layers appearing at the top in the layer diagram in the Wall Specification dialog should be toward the outside. Select the wall and click on the "Reverse Layers" edit button to correct this."

What does this mean?

ANSWER

Every wall type has an interior and exterior layer. This message will display when the program finds a wall in the current plan that appears to have been drawn with the exterior layer facing inward and the interior layer facing outward. Because wall orientation affects how roofs are built, the program typically checks for this condition when the roof is built or rebuilt.

To correct the problem

To correct the problem, locate the wall in question, select it, and click the Reverse Layers   edit button.

• In some instances, the program will circle the problem wall in a floor plan view, as shown in the following image.
  
  
  
  
• If you're unable to locate a circled wall, create a Perspective Overview  of the entire model and rotate the camera around the model, looking for walls that display an interior material like sheetrock instead of your exterior siding material.
  
  
  

To avoid the problem

In legacy program versions, you can prevent this issue from occurring by always drawing exterior walls in a clockwise direction.

In Chief Architect X4 and newer, however, the program will automatically orient exterior walls so that their siding layer faces outward, regardless of which direction the walls are drawn.

To take advantage of this and other new features and improvements, consider upgrading your software license to the latest version. To learn more about upgrading, contact our Sales team.