Putting roofs on a design that has both single and double storey wings.

[Keith_K]

I am proud to say that I am at the stage of putting roofs on my design. As mention in the thread title my plan has bouth single and double storey wings.

I therefore turned to the User Manual for guidance but after battling to make sense of the tome in which every paragraph refers you to another page in another part of the Manual and you do your head in big time by flicking back and forth from one page, to another, to yet another and to yet another ad infinitum I managed to find Article 415 in the Help Database which is much easier to follow.

However the article doesn't actually tell you what to do in the case of a double storey. Logic tells me that the roof should be designed using the upper level plan and not the ground floor plan but when I did this I got a gable roof going through the middle of the building with staircases and windows sticking out of the top. I almost wet myself laughing.

Could someone tell me the correct way of roofing my plan? Please ignore the annotations on the attachments. They were put there to describe the plan in an e-mail to a friend.

Thank you.

[Katalyst777]

The Reference Manual is supposed to be a reference, not a "how-to" guide, so it makes sense you had better luck with an article.

Looking at it, it has to do with manual roofs that only apply to the Pro version, rather than the automatic tools.

Most folks suggest getting the roof as close as you can get using the auto tools, then just modify it with the manual ones as needed.

Don't forget about the online tutorial training videos, there's one for Pro on manual roofs.

http://video.homedesigner.chiefarchi...ch=manual+roof

[David J. Potter]

I wrote a book that comes with Video Tutorials because I felt, after reading the entire Reference Manual, Help Files etc that such a book as mine would be useful to others, it addresses Manual roof editing and creation.
I cannot tell from your posted images what sort of roof design you have or intend (what is correct and what is unwanted as well as what you want to end up with), it may seem (and probably is) obvious to you, it is not so for us on this end.
More information is needed from you to help, other than to buy my little book.My book does not tell you how to fix your roof, what it does do is to introduce a person to the manual tools necessary to do any roof design (you master the tools, functions and procedures and then you can just design what you want after study and practice).
When you want specific help (like now) you need to post exterior images of your existing roof and what is right and wrong about it and or perhaps a photo of a similar roof system so we can compare the two and then suggest useful help.
Also you do not state which Home Designer software program title or version you are using, this is vital information we need to better help you since all Home Designer software is not created equal in terms of ability and choices.

DJP

[Keith_K]

Thanks Kat.

As you will see from the attachment I do, somehow seem to be able to create roof using the manual tools (and article 415 which is written simply and clearly) which I personally find easier than the auto tools as, although I specify that I want auto to draw gable roofs, it just generates hip roofs on each attempt. I don't have a single hip roof on the plan. All are gable.

So my first attempt worked on the garden room but when I tried the second you can see the result. The only setting I changed was in the Build Roof dialogue where I unchecked "Ignore Top (2nd) Floor" because that is where I wanted the roof placed. I can find nothing that tells me how to create a roof on an upper storey.

[Katalyst777]

What you want will be super easy with the auto tools.

You should leave "Ignore Top Floor" UNCHECKED.

And define the walls appropriately ON FLOOR 2 as "Full Gable." (I think you only did this on the first floor, based on your description.)

[David J. Potter]

Thanks for posting the image and additional text, I agree with Kat as to how it should go now. Automatic roofs just work when all settings are just so.

DJP

[Keith_K]

Thank you gentlemen. I was totally convinced that I had specified the walls as gable but on checking now I found that they weren't.

Senility must be creeping in and after I have recovered from a morning of household chores and grass cutting I'll give it another bash. When I went to the upper story plan to check I noticed that a mysterious wall has appeared. This is the front wall of the only room that I have roofed and when I tried to delete it I got a pop up saying that it was an "automatically generated wall" and deletion was not possible.

Any ideas as to why it is there and as to how to get rid?

[Keith_K]

And just one more question for now, if I may.

If you look at the image I posted at 0:917pm yesterday you will see a single storey timber-clad section which joins the two large two storey sections at the front of the building. As this section doesn't actually have it's "own" walls, how do I specify a gable wall when I want to put a roof on? Am I right in thinking that I should do it on the abutting walls on the ground floor plan?

Thanks.

[jcaffee]

You can turn off the Attic wall layer if you don't wish to see auto-generated attic walls (your mystery wall)

jon

[Katalyst777]

Article Number 1102: How to Turn Off the Display of Attic Walls

[Keith_K]

Thanks to your responses to my opening post I am relieved to advise you that my building now has all it's roofs as you will see from the attchment

However I need your assistance to clear up the mystery of why some walls "grew" when I did the roofs for certain sections. The tall wall on the right used to be the height of the top of the windows on the ground floor. When I put the roof on it shot right up. The two walls on the left were originally quite flat (I intended to put a shed roof over what is the log store) but now they have that kink where they join the garage walls.

Because I have been on a clear liquid diet since 6pm (UK time) last night as I have to undergo a procedure in hospital tomorow morning might be a cause for my brain not functioning properly but I can't make them right again. I can neither delete or drag them in 3D and if I delete and re-draw them in CAD that come back the same.

Any suggestions as to why this has happened and what I can do to correct it?

Help me now and I promise never to discuss roofs again. You'll just have to wait for me to ask for help with elevations and sections as those are my next learning curve.