Terrain Guru Needed

[jlesniak]

Is there a terrain tutorial out there somewhere. I can't figure out how to get my foundation exposed. I have the elevations set but it auto creates a mound of dirt around the house....I can reset the elevation of the terrain plane to 96, would that be the right way to go about that?

[jlesniak]

Guess I should have searched the home site first

[daydreamer]

Why don't you post the solution for others to read or delete the thread?

[jlesniak]

http://www.homedesignersoftware.com/...?faqNumber=718

[jamesbouse]

Jodi,
I was messing with this terrain stuff last night for the first time. Drove me crazy. I was following the directions in the 'big book' and could not expose my foundation. No matter what I did. The link you posted here is a huge help. I didn't think of going to the home page support section. I just printed out 'article 718' and am getting ready to dive into the pool again.
Thanx for the tip!

[Allen42ACJ]

Jodi
How did yours come out?
I just posted a tip on this at Chief Talk today.

[jlesniak]

I'm happy with the terrain and the addition....I just can't find a brick that matches their original better. These do not tile correctly from the library and the basic ones are just that. Still have a ton of changes to make but I like to get a first impression out to see which direction to head before I get off on my own tangent.

Thanks for asking!

BTW since I have your attention....do you happen to know what the snow load on a 4 in 12 pitch hip roof would be? In order to clear the windows I had to make the addition with a 6 in 12 pitch for the gable roof and a 4 in 12 for the hip roof over the porch. I know that snow is a semi issue where they live, but not extreme. Avg. 3-6 " when it does snow but a blizzard every 20 or so years amounting to about 36" all at once isn't unheard of.

[Larry]

Every zone and area has a different snow load spec. I had to ask the building inspector for the area. Unfortunately it doesn't get any deeper here and my spans needed a lot of lumber.

[Allen42ACJ]

I don't think the pitch makes that much different for snow loads.
It is still the same span,the rafter length changes.
Steeper the roof,the longer the rafters.
Think of it like climbing a ladder,the straighter it is,the less it bends.
It is size of the rafter that counts=2X6,8,10,or 12

[Allen42ACJ]

I still stick by the size of the rafter is far more important..

[Larry]

Whatever the building code states.

My lintels don't have any slope.

Wouldn't it be nice to design a home around a particular roof slope, only to have the structural engineer (Architect) tell you it won't work and to start over again...here'$ your bill $o far.

[jlesniak]

So I spoke to the building inspector this morning. Snow load in Western PA must be 25# per square foot. So you both are right. This number must increase the size of the truss in accordance with the pitch to accomodate this load. That being the case....that means that I can have a 4 in 12 pitch I just have to increase the size of the truss to a 2 x 8 or so, yes?

[Allen42ACJ]

But I still want to fight about it..
Now what will we do the rest of the day?
Bring the new TVs in..

[Larry]

Truss manufacturers are the experts in this design and know all about slopes and snow loads for each area.

Here, if you built your own trusses they would be double the lumber used by the Truss Mfg. unless you are willing to put your P.Eng stamp on the design. If it collapses, you go to jail.

[Larry]

But I still want to fight about it..
Now what will we do the rest of the day?
Bring the new TVs in..

I don't think slope matters in our building code. Span is span. If you have a 35:12 slope think of all the area that can hold ice dams and the additional weight of the roof structure itself. (besides it tears the eavestroughs off)

Now, there is a different angle!