Addition/Renovation of old house

[Sunny]

My project is a major addition and renovation of our very old farm house. I purchased HD Suite 6.0 and started on the "as built" portion of the design. I have run into a few problems and wonder if they can ALL be relieved by upgrading to the pro version. (I did read this forum, downloaded the 6.04 beta version offerred, and solved the walk out basement landscaping problem, so thanks for that.) The house includes the original structure plus several add ons over the years, is built into a hillside, faces North, and is 3 stories on the East side, 2 stories (more narrow front to back) on the West.

Ref the as built drawings:

1. The stair cases between the 3 floors are steeper than 42 degrees. I cannot get them entered properly. I put in the measurements manually, and the program reverts them to its definition of "acceptable".

2. I can not put the small, under stairs closet into the design.

3. The well is in a small block sided area, built adjacent to the SW corner of the 1st floor, and is covered with a few feet of dirt. I cannot 'cover' this area with the landscape tools, and had to eliminate it, draw it in with a CAD box and label it (not a major problem).

4. The third story is only on the front half of the East side of the house. The roof peaks over it, then has a shallow pitch down the South side to the top of the wall on the second floor. The roof over the 2 story portion is basically a shed style, starting against the West side of the third story and sloping down to the top of the West end of the first story. This second story room has a triangular front and back wall. In escence, these two 'top' floors are attic rooms. I cannot depict them properly.

5. The joists between floors 1 & 2 are different heights based on when they were built. They are not the preset 12". I have adjusted the ceiling heights on the 1st floor to level the second floor floors, but this does throw the reality of the measurements off.

6. There are walls that are 2 feet of stone, and walls that are 2 inces of wood, and everthing in between. I have drawn these with as much width accuracy as I can, compromising on depicted materials vs reality. Electrical additions must be routed through compatable walls, hence a minor problem when the contractor makes his game plan.

"New House":

1. The new house will have a wide, new staircase from first to second floor in the new construction portion. This will be between the living room and dining room, with a step through landing between the rooms. I can't seem to get this step through landing to look right (3D).

2. This referenced staircase "box" will be extended some on the 1st floor, to provide more separation between the two rooms, and allow for under stairs coat closets on the LR side, and built in china closets on the DR side. I don't think I can do this w/ suite.

3. The roof gets simpler, but there will be an attic room over the 2 story side, with entry from the 3rd floor (Will be a full 3rd floor front the back of the house. Both shed style roofs go away.)

SUMMARY: I am most interested if HD pro will allow me to solve all these problems (and probably a few I han't discovered yet). Upgrading to pro, and still coming up short won't get it done. Yes, I have reviewed the product description and comparisons which leads me to suspect that some (mostly the roof items) might be solved with HD Pro.

Thanks for your time.

"Sunny"

[John Pallett]

Hi Sunny --

1) Try typing 42 degrees into the stair dialog after you've positioned the end of the stair where you want it. Click on the Rise Angle text box, type 42, don't hit enter and hit OK. This worked for me. In Pro, you have more control over stair properties but I believe you can get what you need in Suite.

2) In the stair dialog, go to the style tab and select "Open Underneath". Next, draw an interior wall on the stairway, very close to its edge. You will now have an interior wall under your stairs into which you can place a door. You may find placing and sizing the door easier in a 3D view.

3) You can use the Soffit tool (under Cabinets) to create generic boxes in 3D. Try creating a soffit and applying a grass material to it, this may help cover your well.

4) Suite does have shed roofs - you may need to break some of your walls and set them to knee walls to get the effect you want. Pro gives you full control over individual roof planes, depending on your roof system this feature might be worth the upgrade.

5) Pro allows you to set your platform thickness - Suite assumes a standard default.

6) In Suite, try using the "Default Wood Frame" wall option. This will allow you to create walls anywhere from 2" to 12" thick (though not 24"). Suite will also allow you to "Hatch" your walls, this can be useful for delineating between New and Existing.

In Pro, you can create your own wall definitions at any thickness, and also change the way they display (colors, patterns, etc.)


"New House"

1) I'm assuming you've created a landing by clicking between two stair sections using the stair tool. If you select that landing you can control its shape. If you are having trouble getting an exact 3D shape you may want to use a soffit to fill in the gaps. Pro gives you better control over stair landings, including the ability to create curved edges.

2) See note above about closets. You can simulate under-stair cabinetry using very thin cabinets placed against the stairs -- this will give you the 3D view. Make sure to set your backsplash and countertop to 0 height.

3) Pro gives you full manual control over roofs.

It sounds like most of your issues can be addressed with Suite, but for your roof system, your floor joist thickness, and your wall definitions, you will find Pro to be more flexible. Pro also gives you more fine-grained control over items like stairs... though Suite can do the job for you there, Pro would probably make it easier.

Final note: You may also want to look at the full line of Chief Architect products. Among other features, Chief includes features such as creating a CAD detail from a view, allowing you to overlay your Before and After floorplans... very useful for remodeling. Whether this is worth the investment for you will depend upon how far you intend to take your plan sets.

Hope this helps,

[Sunny]

John,

Thank you for this valuable information. I will try your advice. It looks most helpful. The good news is that if I can get the 'old house' plan done within reason with only a little bit of fudging, the changes to the new house makes its plan much simpler.

Thanks again,

Sunny