I’ve separated the cladding and sheathing vertical offsets (top and bottom) into separate parameters so you can now offset each independently of each other:
Notice the two value in the edit wall menu for the offsets. This should allow for maximum flexibility, however the addition of more parameters might make the entire interface more overwhelming to some.
I have given this some consideration but so far I haven’t had a lot of requests for this level of granularity.
Cladding of course is even worse since the material may come in bricks, strips, irregular sized sheets or even shingles or shakes.
For now I’m just going to represent the sheathing and cladding as a single solid per wall panel, from that one can calculate the area (sqft or m^2) and then make their construction estimates from that.
Even if I were to sheath it out with 4x8 sheets the builder will probably build it quite differently. Sheets can run vertical or horizontal and then where they decide to put their joints really doesn’t matter as long as they are aligning with the stud layout. The other issue is that OSB is available in 4x10 sheets if I am not mistaken, some builders use that size for 9’ ceiling walls (addition of rimjoist depth) so it is hard to predicate what or how the sheathing will be applied.
I can see a need for a plug in. …stand alone perhaps. …to provide solutions to sheathing on both walls and roof structures in regard to sheet optimization.
I think the pre-fab wall builders would be possibly interested in that level of detail with regards to the sheathing layout.
With some of these larger multi-family apartments and condos there is a lot of repetition, so the determination of the exact layout of each wall panel (sheathing included) with optimization could translate into significant savings for the contractor.
I guess this is getting a bit off-target perhaps, but as far as I know, there is no current software that can creating a brick wall using individual bricks, or add individual timber planks as cladding to an exterior wall (including trimming around windows and corners etc).
This would be a real time-saver for a lot of architectural designers and the entire arch-viz industry. It’s a big step up in quality compared with using a flat material for the wall’s surface.
Nathaniel, it looks like you may have the skills to pull off such a feat.
It probably would not be to hard to write an algorithm to create every brick or plank in a wall cladding but it would quickly make the model extremely large and heavy. I tried a similar idea with just cubes about a year ago (ie. create a minecraft plugin) and after adding about 200+ cubes the model started to becoming noticeably slower.
Since the brick layer or siding contractor will probably adjust to field conditions with this sort of thing I don’t really see the utility.
For design and rendering purposes, applying textures (materials) to a flat surface is probably good enough for 99% of cases, but correct me if I’m wrong on this.
This evening I’m going to take a break from windows and doors and switch gears to the wall corner trim.
The wall corner trim (outside and inside corners) will be configured within the wall edit menu.
The door and window trim will be configured independently for each framed opening and edited within the door or window edit menu.
With trim in general I am trying to decide whether the trim should sit on top of the cladding or sit on top of the sheathing, or possibly a parameter that determines this location: ON SHEATHING/ON CLADDING
My initial list of parameters for the wall (corner) trim is looking like:
Trim Location: ON SHEATHING/ON CLADDING
Trim Thickness (in.): (defaults to 0.75 inches)
Outside Corner Trim: YES/NO
Outside Corner Trim Width (in.): (defaults to 3.5 inches)
Inside Corner Trim: YES/NO
Inside Corner Trim Width (in.): (defaults to 3.5 inches)
You’re not entirely wrong… but that 1% of users will pay a significant amount of money for a plugin that does these things. Probably not contractors, though.
I wouldn’t be too concerned about the number of objects in the model once it’s been generated. I import houses from Revit and other software where every roof tile, piece of timber and brick is an individual component, and the models run OK (I work on projects of between 20 and 200 houses).
The corner trim options within the Wall Edit Menu:
Then later today, a Style A (left wall) and Style B (right wall) window trim:
Style A is per the previous drawing I posted on the board. Style B is where the sill trim extends past the jamb trim(s). Note, that the thickness of the header, jambs and sill can all be independently set. At some point I would like to set it up so that users can save specific configurations
I’m now looking at the interior casing for the windows and also at the baseboard and crown molding trim. I’m not sure how elaborate I am going to get with this with the first go around, this may have to come later after the initial release. I’m trying not to get bogged down in the minutiae but as I’ve come to realize there are a lot of details when it comes to a full architectural design.
I’m also starting to think about the Windows and Doors. The doors (man doors) are fairly straightforward in my mind, use a typical pre-hung door, I’ve got some details that should guide me fairly well in that regard. Windows on the other hand are a real mixed bag, there are vinyl windows with the nailing flanges (the type I’m most familiar with) and then there are the much more expensive types. Any particular styles, brands or suggestions would be helpful.
Here is my draft for Window Casing (Style A):
View model here:
The parameters will probably be:
Head Casing Width: 5.5"
Side Casing Width: 3.5"
Apron Width: 2.5"
Jamb Ext. Depth: 2.5"
Casing Thickness: 0.75"
Stool Thickness: 1.0"
Apron Thickness: 0.75"
Jamb Ext. Thickness: 0.75"
Header Extension: 0.0"
Stool Extension: 1.0"
Apron Extension: 0.5"
Stool Projection: 1.25"
Casing Reveal: 0.25"
Shim Gap: 0.25"
The values given are the default values and coincide with the model given above.
Some details show shims between the framing and the jamb extensions, others do not:
Here is a quick preview of the Window Trim and Interior Casing:
In this video I’m only showing Style A of the interior casing, I will finish up Style B later tonight.
View model here:
Link failed. Went to your YouTube Channel. Here’s the correct link:
Window Casing Options:
From right to left:
I’ve decided I’m not going to attempt a full blown window and door plugin just yet since the Wall Plugin has become a larger project than I anticipated. However, for the time being I will provide a rudimentary (fully integrated) window and door feature which I have been testing out today, see images below.
The jamb extensions are automatically calculated so that they close the gap to the window and finish out the window well as shown:
Currently I have the Picture, Slider and Single Hung window types enabled.
I’ve decided I’m not going to attempt a full blown window and door plugin just yet since the Wall Plugin has become a larger project than I anticipated. However, for the time being I will provide a rudimentary (fully integrated) window and door feature which I have been testing out today, see images below.
The jamb extensions are automatically calculated so that they close the gap to the window and finish out the window well as shown:
Currently I have the Picture, Slider and Single Hung window types enabled.
View model here:
Am I correct in assuming that you’re now moving on to doors?
Yes, doors will be next but first I want to switch gears just a bit and get the auto-corner configuration thing worked out. Along those same lines I should then be able to enable the additional (polyline and face) wall creation tools.
How about I throw a complication into your to do list?
For those of us wanting to use “advanced framing”, ensuring studs line up on opposing walls (across the short dimension of a rectangular outline) so we can position ceiling joists/rafters directly on top of studs.
Why? In my case, for my Tiny Home on Wheels. Reduced weight through fewer studs and single top plate use.
Thought I’d mention it now since it might affect decision making when you go for polylines.
Hmmm, I don’t know if I can automate that easily but the stud direction (left or right) option is already in place so it is relatively easy to switch the direction of the studs so that they will line up, with a couple of clicks.
My initial thought with the polyline and face tool is to utilize and algorithm that looks at the direction of the wall (the direction vector is defined by the start and end points that define the wall). If the vector is pointing north (Y axis, positive) then the stud direction is “Left”, if the vector is pointing south then stud direction is “Right”, likewise if east then “Left” and if west then “Right”.
However after giving this some more thought I think it makes more sense to look at the corner angles between wall panels. I’m not a framer but I think it makes things easier to space your studs with outside corners as the starting points rather than inside corners, correct me if I’m wrong.
In my case, lining up from the outside corner would be best. Virtually all trailers designed specifically for Tiny Homes are available in lengths that are even multiples of 24 inches, so if the outside corner is used for the origin, then it results in minimal cuts when it comes time to sheath.
One detail that I don’t recall if you’ve mentioned: If you specify X as your stud spacing and your using YxZ studs, is the first stud spacing X-Z/2? before beginning the X spacing?
