Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    21

    direction of the decking

    I have HDP9 and for the life of me, I cannot change the direction of the decking. The framing is perfect, but no matter how I change the direction setting, the decking is perp. to the house.

    A unrelated issue on the same drawing is, how do I change the stair railing to a solid railing.

    Thanks
    Mark

    HDPro 9

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    725
    Mark,

    We may need a little more to go on before being able to solve your problem. Once you apply changes to settings on the Deck tab, have you then used the Advanced Deck Framing tool to build the deck framing? When you say that your decking is perpendicular to the house, are you referring to the actual deck planking or the texture applied as flooring to rooms designated as "Deck" in the Room Specification dialog?

    For a solid rail next to your stairs, use the Railing Tool to draw a rail next to the stairs (take care to NOT place them under the stair edge) and open its specification dialog to change it from the default to solid. Then open the stairs dialog and change (or deselect) the "railing at wall" options on the Railing tab if desired.

    Hope this helps.

    Edit to add: On the Deck tab of the Room Specification dialog, you should be able to specify the planking direction (angle). Make sure you uncheck the Default direction option.
    Last edited by Elovia; 06-01-2010 at 11:01 AM.
    Home Designer Pro 8
    Home Designer Pro 10

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    21
    Sorry, no it hasn't helped.

    no matter what changes I make to the decking direction, in the dialog box, it does not change. It remains perpendicular to the house.

    I can change the framing direction, just fine, but not the decking itself. It will show the decking parallel with the joists.

    I've tried these changes with or without using advanced framing. Defaults are off.
    Mark

    HDPro 9

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    21
    I finally figured out how to rotate my decking. You have to go to the decking materials, from your plan, and edit it to change the direction of the decking.

    Next question. I somehow lost the railing on my deck. How do you add a railing to a existing deck?
    Mark

    HDPro 9

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    21
    I created the decks with straight deck railing.

    I have 2 levels of decks. Both have exactly the same specification in the DBX. The lower one has the railing, as specified, the upper has no railing.

    Both Decks are framed and planked correctly, but only the lower deck with the railing has the room title of Deck. I am unable to select the upper deck, as a whole. I don't see any gaps in the corners, so it seems to be all connected. It did have a railing initially. I was having problems with the lower deck, trying to connect the 2 levels with stairs. The stairs kept passing through the deck, to the ground.

    One other thing, that may be related. When I do a Full View, in perspective or Orthographic, my model is very very small. This occurs even when I select "Fill window Building only". I'm assuming that this means that there is a object floating, out there in space, that I can't see. This does not occur in plan view.

    Any ideas!

    Thanks
    Mark

    HDPro 9

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    21
    Here are a couple of screen shots of the decks in question.

    I found the object in space. It was one of the stair attemps that I had made. I don't know how it got where it was, but I deleted it, and all is well with those views now. Still no railing, though
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Newman deck frame.jpg 
Views:	230 
Size:	143.5 KB 
ID:	10783   Click image for larger version. 

Name:	Newman perspective view.jpg 
Views:	241 
Size:	108.1 KB 
ID:	10784  
    Last edited by redwood; 06-07-2010 at 08:16 AM.
    Mark

    HDPro 9

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    725
    ... only the lower deck with the railing has the room title of Deck. I am unable to select the upper deck, as a whole.
    Can you select the room space for the upper deck in Plan View? If not, you have an error in enclosing the space. If you can select the room, be sure to define the space as a deck, and then use the advanced framing tool to remove the framing that you've already built; any extra pieces of framing left over should be selectable and deletable.

    I was having problems with the lower deck, trying to connect the 2 levels with stairs. The stairs kept passing through the deck, to the ground.
    I'm going to assume you're using the Click-Stair tool for this. I believe that you will need to make sure the two decks share a common wall (even if invisible), so that the software knows which two (adjacent) elevations to connect with stairs. If your two decks need to be separated by a gap (that the stairs will then bridge), temporarily build an invisible wall extension to the upper deck that also connects to the lower deck (be sure to set the correct elevation of the extension); then use the click-stairs tool to automatically build the stairs, and then manually drag the stairs over until the top of the stairs meets the visible deck edge.

    Good luck.
    Home Designer Pro 8
    Home Designer Pro 10

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    21
    [QUOTE=Elovia;64395]Can you select the room space for the upper deck in Plan View? If not, you have an error in enclosing the space. If you can select the room, be sure to define the space as a deck, and then use the advanced framing tool to remove the framing that you've already built; any extra pieces of framing left over should be selectable and deletable.


    I'm going to assume you're using the Click-Stair tool for this. I believe that you will need to make sure the two decks share a common wall (even if invisible), so that the software knows which two (adjacent) elevations to connect with stairs. If your two decks need to be separated by a gap (that the stairs will then bridge), temporarily build an invisible wall extension to the upper deck that also connects to the lower deck (be sure to set the correct elevation of the extension); then use the click-stairs tool to automatically build the stairs, and then manually drag the stairs over until the top of the stairs meets the visible deck edge.



    I must have a error in enclosing the deck. Messing with the stairs and railings, I must have deleted something important and not noticed. I cannot select the upper deck, only it's framing members.

    Regarding the stairs and the invisable wall. Do I make from the ground to the elevation of the upper deck. Or do I make it from the lower deck elevation to the upper deck elevation?

    Also, by practice, we actually mount our railing posts outside of the fascia. Is there a setting that allows this. I tried offsetting the posts, but the rest of the railing did not move with the posts.

    Thanks
    Mark

    HDPro 9

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    725
    You want to connect your two decks, but have an elevation distance between them. In your image, you could just extend the platform of the upper (right-hand) deck over to the lower deck.

    I just tried it two ways in Pro 9 trial.

    First, I used an invisible wall to create a room between the two decks. I set the elevation of the room between the decks to be the same elevation as the upper deck. I then created a stair between the lower deck and the "gap room" by clicking on the railing between the two. Now that the stair is made, I then deleted the invisible wall (thus deleting the room) and slid the stairs over to connect to the upper deck, thus bridging the gap.

    The second, and probably more direct method, was to extend the short stub on the upper deck (as shown in your image) over to the lower deck and connect them. I then made the stairs using the click-stair tool on the railing between them. Next, I drew a new railing where the actual one should be, thus creating a new deck room between the two decks. Using the break wall tool, I cut the railing and deleted the "gap room" rail, thus deleting the "gap room". And then, I slid the stairs over.

    Only after I had finished forming the decks and stairs ... the last step is to use the Advanced Framing Tool to create deck framing (provided, of course, that the proper settings were made on the Deck tab of each Deck Room's Specification dialog).

    Hope this helps.

    Edit to add the following:
    Also, by practice, we actually mount our railing posts outside of the fascia. Is there a setting that allows this. I tried offsetting the posts, but the rest of the railing did not move with the posts.
    The deck on my house has its railing attached to the outer fascia, and doesn't have newel posts. The short answer is no, there is not a setting to do this quickly. However, it can be done depending on how detailed you want your decks to look. Attached below is an image I made in Pro 9 trial. One railing on a sample deck was made using soffits for balusters, a wedge for the tapered bit, and a sphere for the bolt head; the handrail is another soffit sized to model a 2x4 dimensioned lumber. It took a little time making the first baluster, but afterward the Transform/Replicate tool took care of copying and distributing the group along the edge of the deck. If you want fast, the automatic tools will work; however, if you want custom details like shown below, you need to be prepared to give your model the time required to make the details.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Click image for larger version. 

Name:	deckrail.jpg 
Views:	228 
Size:	49.6 KB 
ID:	10785  
    Last edited by Elovia; 06-07-2010 at 04:45 PM.
    Home Designer Pro 8
    Home Designer Pro 10

 

 

Posting Permissions

  • Login or Register to post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •