Why don’t my short walls clean up properly?
By default, walls will automatically join other nearby walls when you Cleanup. This may cause very short walls to disappear. A Wall Join Tolerance setting in the Dimension and Extension Options controls this wall Cleanup feature. By default, when you Cleanup, each wall will search out a diameter of 6 inches from its end point and join with other walls. If you draw a wall shorter than 6 inches, however, SoftPlan will remove that wall during Cleanup.
To enable you to Cleanup these walls properly, you have the option to control this tolerance setting. Select File » System/Drawing Options » Dimension Options. For the 6-inch wall example, you can reduce the item Wall Join Tolerance to less than 6 inches. Note that by reducing this value you will need to draw walls more accurately to ensure proper Cleanup.
An individual wall can be edited before being positioned or adjusted into place. Edit the wall and in the Wall Joins button, reduce the Wall Join tolerance of the required ends where the intersection will be formed at less than 6 inches. Then Move into place, or Adjust Item. If done correctly, when a Cleanup is performed it should not remove the short wall.
When drawing a wall, what does the trace line represent?
The default trace line is the centerline of the wall, but this setting can be changed in File > System Options> Setup Options. Under the Wall Trace Line section. Interior wall and Exterior wall trace line positions can be changed independently.
How do I draw a wall of half block or half concrete and half frame?
This is accomplished by defining a new wall through the Wall Definition. Select File > System Options > Define Wall > Edit. Highlight on one of the predefined framed walls and select Save As. Type in the desired name and press enter. From the Wall/Beam Selection list, click on the new wall for editing.
You will first want to edit each of the framed wall's material heights and vertical start (i.e., on an 8'-0" wall height, the siding height could be 4'-0" with a vertical start of 4'-0"). Once all materials have been adjusted accordingly, select ‘Add Material’ which will place an Adobe Brick directly below the last material on the inside (drywall).
Change this material to Concrete A, Width = 9" and Height = 48". The horizontal start of the Concrete would be the measurement from the outside of the siding above to the outside edge of the concrete.
How do I slope the top of a wall for a Vaulted Ceiling or for a sloped Retaining Wall?
Select Edit > Edit Item and choose the wall. Place a checkmark next to the Rake Wall option, and that will replace the Height field with a Multi Height. You may now select the Multi Height button and input the appropriate wall heights to slope the top of wall.
My brick wall is stopping short of the siding wall how do I reverse it?
From within the floor plan drawing, change the mode to Framing. An Edit Item of the Siding Wall will display that the wall is forming the corner on the respective end. By removing the checkmark on this wall, and editing the Brick Wall to Form Corner, the plan view of the walls and how they form the corner will be reversed and will appear correctly.
How do I create a Concrete Wall with a brick ledge?
This is accomplished by defining a new wall through the Wall Definition. Select File > System Options > Define Wall > Edit. Highlight one of the predefined Concrete Walls, and select Save As. Type in the desired name and press enter. From the Wall/Beam Selection list, click on the new wall for editing.
1. Assuming 8'-0" walls, change the concrete material height to 7'-4", which is the height from the top of the footing to the underside of the brick ledge.
2. Select Add Material, which will place Adobe Brick material on top of the concrete with a height of 8" and width equal to the width of concrete below. Edit the Material to Brick A, and the width to 3.5".
3. Select Add Material, which will place Adobe Brick material beside the Brick A material. Edit the material to Concrete A.
NOTE: The following is not necessary to the wall sectioning, material calculating or displaying in 3D. Its sole purpose is to display the brick ledge in plan view.
In plan view, SoftPlan will display the wall at the midpoint. In order to actually display the brick ledge in plan view there is one further material that needs to be added. Add Material, which will place a material to the right of the existing wall. Edit this material to None with a width of 3.5". You will also want to change this material to display a Texture of brick with its Texture Visible on. Textures and their visibility are accessible by sliding the horizontal slider bar to the far right of the Wall Definition screen.
Now change the Horizontal Start to 0" which will move the None material to the front of the wall overlapping the brick and concrete below. As this material runs the full height of the wall, it will also display in plan view and show brick with the assigned texture.
How to display my walls in a Solid format for presentation work?
All wall displays are handled from within the Wall Definition. To change the settings select File > System/Drawing Options > Wall Definition > Edit Item > and select a wall type. Each Material Texture Pattern setting may be modified to solid and enabled by double clicking to place an "x" in the column "Texture Visible".
Cleanup is not removing portion of walls that bisect with one another? How do I change this?
Draw as you build. Do not continually draw partitions through partitions. One of these walls will need to be broken into two walls so that they may then abut to the main wall. The easiest way to rectify this is to use the Part Erase command. Position your cursor on one side of the wall to be broken and press the From key. Move the cursor to the other side of the wall that this wall bisects and press the To key. The wall will be broken between these two points, and when you perform a Cleanup the intersections will appear correctly.
How do I change the dimension and extension locations on a wall?