Struggling with extended gable roof and ceilings

[dezrap]

Hi All,

My boyfriend and I just bought an old farmhouse and are hoping to use Home Designer as a way to see what our plans look like before we dive into renovating each room. We have struggled with getting the roof to look right in the program, as well as the ceilings/walls inside. As you can see in the exterior photo attached (showing the back of the house), the roof is divided into two perpendicular gabled sections. There are two stories on the left side of the house, plus a "bonus room" that is essentially a finished attic (where that big trapezoid window is). On the right is only two stories. The last owner removed a knee wall and now you can see directly into the downstairs from the second floor (as seen in the second photo).

I feel like I've tried everything, so I'm looking for some guidance mainly on how to get the extended gable roof to extend from the 2nd floor down to the 1st floor.

Any help is appreciated! I'm still relatively new to this, so if you need more info, let me know.

Thanks,
Dez

[David J. Potter]

Welcome to the Forum!

Important posts/threads you should read:

Welcome New Users

How to get good answers

How to attach pictures

What software title and version do you have? How far have you gotten (show us).



DJP

[dezrap]

Thanks for the welcome, David! I'm using Home Designer Suite 2014, build 15.2.0.87x32.

I attached the overview of how my building looks right now along with each floor layout. This is my fourth time "starting fresh", and I think this is (sadly) the closest and cleanest attempt that I've had. I just can't get the extended roof to meet seamlessly with the gabled one above.

My other challenge is the wall perpendicular (to the left) of the sloped roof - it goes from being exterior to interior as the roof slopes up along it.

Again, any guidance is much appreciated!

[JoAnn]

1. Your second floor should look like this 2D example. That will also fix the exterior wall problem.

2. When looking at your real pic and your 3D pic, the ceiling heights appear to be wrong.
Floor 3 ceiling should be set very low (which you can raise after roof is correct and "auto build roof"
is turned OFF.
In my 3D example, I set all 1st floor ceilings to 96".
On the 2nd floor, the left wing is also set to 96". I set the right wing at 68", and the 1st floor shed roof then perfectly attached itself to the upper roof.
So, experiment with the finished ceiling heights and see what happens.

[David J. Potter]

To expand on what Jo Ann has said, you use the ceiling height setting to guide in your lower roof, in this case you use that setting to control the roof and then once you have your roof planes where you need them you turn off "Auto Build Roofs" and then change your ceiling settings to suit your finished model.
Some things (walls and settings) are temporarily set to get the roof result and when achieved you then leave roofs alone and finish your design.
You use the tools at hand to control and guide and then move on.

DJP

[dezrap]

Thanks so much for your help, JoAnn! I finally had time to sit down for a couple hours today and try to work it out. As you'll see in my attached photo, I finally got it! I had to tweak the dimensions of the first floor room that juts out a bit, as the pitch of the "shed roof" isn't perfectly lined up with the rest of the gabled roof in reality. And turning off the "auto build roof" was the key I was missing for the 2nd and 3rd floors. I'm thrilled that I can start working on the inside now! Thanks again.

[dezrap]

Thank you for your added guidance, David. As you can see in my response to JoAnn, above, I was able to get everything in its place. Very excited to be able to move forward!

[Kbird]

make sure the area over the knee wall that was removed is supported properly, what's left is supporting that roof by the looks and may need a new beam if you aren't filling it back in....

[JoAnn]

Thanks for responding with your successful result! It's always great to get feedback accompanied by pics!

As you can see, I couldn't stop with my sample, either. Sample projects just always seem to scream out for more!

[Kbird]

Nice work JoAnn

[Rich Winsor]

.....As you can see, I couldn't stop with my sample, either. Sample projects just always seem to scream out for more!

Have you considered seeking medical attention for your affliction?
As usual your interpretation is spot on.