Changing the color of a single wall within your Chief Architect plan is easy and fast.
If the walls in your Chief Architect plan look jagged, this article will show you a fast and easy fix.
Wall intersections in your plan are easy to modify using Chief Architect.
Several properties relating to wall layers can be adjusted using the Wall Type Definitions dialog. Once these properties are specified, wall layers can be toggled on and off using the Layer Display Options dialog or Active Layer Display Options side window.
Roof planes that cut into the surface of walls can result in undesirable 3D views of those walls. Edit the roof planes so that they no longer cut into the walls. If the roof plane seems to keep jumping or snapping back to the original location, open the Roof Plane Specification dialog and on the General panel, check the box beside No Special Snapping, then click OK and proceed with editing the roof planes again.
Specify the pitch for a roof plane building over a particular wall or railing on the Roof panel of the Specification dialog.
If you see siding on the wrong side of a wall, use the Reverse Layers tool to correct it.
In Chief Architect, a pony wall, sometimes referred to as a split wall or stacked wall, is a single wall composed of two separate wall types; one built above the other.
If the program is unable to determine where you need an attic wall, then manually draw the wall where it is needed and specify it as an Attic Wall in its Specification dialog.
The CAD to Walls tool can be used to convert CAD lines in floor plan view into architectural objects like walls, windows and doors.
In most circumstances, the Main Layer should be specified as the structural layer of the wall, particularly when the wall is a framed type.
Furred Walls are placed against the inside of a primary wall, typically an exterior wall. The inner wall should be specified as a Furred Wall on the Structure panel of the Wall Specification dialog.
A parapet roof can be created using half walls, or solid railings, and then specifying a roofing material for the Parapet room’s floor.
Walls can be aligned between floors using their Main Layer by clicking the Align With Wall Above or Align With Wall Below edit buttons. In order for these edit tools to be available, the areas of the walls in question must be partially aligned, or overlapping. You can use the Reference Display to check whether or not walls are aligned, or to see if the walls are too far apart for the edit tools to display.
If you do not see wall framing, first make sure that you have built wall framing in the plan. Then, check to see if the 'Retain Wall Framing' setting is enabled. Lastly, ensure that the Wall Type has been correctly configured.
Check Lower Wall Type if Split by Butting Roof to specify the wall type for any portion of the selected wall located beneath an adjacent, abutting roof plane, should one be present. A wall affected by this setting is specified as a Pony Wall and the upper wall is defined on the Wall Types panel.
Walls may not appear in camera views because they are set to invisible, the 'Walls, Normal layer' is turned off, or the ceiling heights are incorrect.
In Chief Architect, you can specify the Inset value for a window's frame to control whether it is located near the exterior of the wall, near the interior, or at the center. Similarly, you can control the inset of the sash, the portion of the window which actually frames the glass, relative to the frame.
Change a wall already placed in your plan by accessing the Wall Types panel in the Wall Specification dialog.
A CBS, or concrete, block and stucco wall with a tie beam on top can be modeled using pony walls. The bottom wall type typically has a stucco exterior, then a layer of eight inch concrete block, followed by a thin framing stud, and finally a layer of half-inch sheetrock. Along the top of this block wall is tie beam composed of a continuous pour of concrete all the way around the top of the structure.
Wall height is determined by the ceiling height of a given room. To change the wall height, you need to change the ceiling height. Use the Half Wall tool for creating solid railings as their height can be set on the Newels/Balusters panel of the Railing Specification dialog.
When the program detects an open space between a wall and the roof plane above, it automatically creates an Attic Wall to fill in the gap.
Objects on layers with a lock symbol in the Lock column cannot be selected by the user and new objects cannot be drawn on a locked layer. Layers with objects that you need to see as a reference while working, but not select, are good candidates for locking.
The Make Arc Tangent edit tool allows you to take the math out of trying to make your curved walls tangent.
The height of a retaining wall is initially determined by the heights of the terrain on either side of the wall. Once placed, a retaining wall can be modified using various edit handles in a Cross Section/Elevation view.
A completely circular wall or railing can be modeled using two segments.
Specify how walls align by going into the General Wall Defaults in Default settings and adjusting the Resize About setting which determines how walls snap together.
Window wells enable fast egress for any basement level window.
You can set framing defaults to generate steel framing and concrete structural members as well as lumber and other framing types. Individual framing members can also be specified as concrete or steel, as well. When setting up defaults or modifying an individual object, make sure you specify both the desired framing Type and the material.
Most wall assemblies can be modeled using a single wall type. In some situations, such as where the walls of two modular home units meet, two walls are drawn side-by-side. When two walls are both parallel and touching, they are referred to as Double Walls. There are three types of Double Walls in Chief Architect: Frame Through, Split Framing and Furred Wall.
This warning indicates that you have changed the Main Layers section for a wall type that exists in your plan, and that walls will be moved to accommodate the change.
Although dimensions display as you are drawing, you do not need to position walls precisely when you first draw them. Move them into place precisely after they have been drawn using dimensions. Make sure to go in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction around the entire structure until all exterior walls are set correctly in order to ensure you do not accidentally undo your previous changes.
Use half-walls with a custom countertop to create a custom enclosure for a drop-in bathtub.
A stepped foundation can be created in Chief Architect using pony walls that have been modified in a section view. The lower part of the pony wall would consist of the concrete wall with a footing, while the upper part of the pony wall is a framed wall built to the first floor platform.
Use Windows to create curtain walls for commercial or residential buildings.
Use a supported DISTO™ measuring device to enter real world measurements into a Chief Architect plan file.
You can create an arched parapet wall by building a new 2nd floor, adjusting the height and materials as needed, then modifying the front parapet wall using a roof plane.
Moldings can be removed from one or both sides of a wall using the Wall Specification dialog. If you'd like control which types of moldings are removed from a single wall, consider creating a room molding polyline.
Design a steam shower for a bathroom complete with vapor-resistant walls.
Chief Architect's Material Region tools can be used to place different materials on a floor or wall within the same room, such as a walk-in shower.
Create custom wall types using the Wall Type Definitions dialog.
Rooms need to be made up of a completely enclosed space in Chief Architect. Do not leave gaps between walls, instead use Room Dividers or Doorways. Make sure walls do not have 'No Room Definition' selected in their Wall Specification dialogs.
The exterior or interior wall materials can incorrectly display inside of windows is the wall top or bottom has been modified, or if it is misaligned between floors.
Automatically generated roof planes are placed over curved walls at specified increments. In the Build Roof dialog, you can specify the degree increments for the roof over curved walls, from 6° to 90°. The lower the number, the more roof sections are created over the curved wall.
To create a wall with exposed studs you must create a custom wall type with no interior wall layers, generate wall framing, and then turn on the display of the 'Framing, Wall' and 'Framing, Headers' layer(s) while in a camera view.
Stair rake walls can be created by specifying a railing to be a pony wall and having it follow the slope of the stairs.
Wall caps can be applied to a variety of different walls in Chief Architect.
Create a custom glass shower in your designs by utilizing the Glass Wall and Glass Shower Door tools in the software.
This article provides detailed and in-depth instructions on creating a structure using post-frame construction in X13 and newer program versions.
Access the Plan View Specification dialog to change how pony walls are displayed for the active plan view. Choose from the following options: upper wall, lower wall, upper wall and lower wall outline, upper wall outline and lower wall, or upper wall and lower wall.
