Drawing with SoftPlan

1
Drawing with SoftPlan
Selected text from: LEARNING SOFTPLAN, Version
2012, pp. 12, 857-866, 358. Copyright SoftPlan
Systems Inc. 1985-2011
Steps in Creating a Residential Plan
Where to Start?
As time passes you will accumulate hundreds of
drawings. In order to locate the drawing you want, be
sure that you organize your drawings into a format
suitable for your business. One option is to use the
projects folder created by SoftPlan or to create your
own projects folder in another location such as a
Flash drive. Under the projects folder, create a plan
folder for each building plan you create. In each plan
folder you would then place all the drawings for that
plan. The name you give the drawing would signify
what is in the drawing: for example, Foundation, First
Floor, Second floor, Front Elevation, Back Elevation,
and so on.
3. Dimension interior and exterior walls.
• Use Auto Dimension to place dimension lines
for exterior walls.
• Use the Dimension tool to scan in interior
dimensions.
- These are working dimensions that you will
use to accurately set the wall positions. Since
you will remove them later on, you do not need
to position them accurately.
4. Edit the wall dimensions to set walls in the exact
position.
• Use the Edit command to set the exact position
of each wall using the working dimensions that
you added.
• Remember to work from one side of the floor
plan to the other, for example when editing
horizontal dimensions, start editing on the left
side and move towards the right side of the
floor plan. When adjusting the vertical
dimensions, start editing from the top and move
to the bottom of the floor plan.
5. Add all windows and doors.
• Place the windows and doors (openings) in
their approximate location. Do not spend time
trying to get the openings in their exact
location. Edit the dimensions that you place on
the openings to quickly do this.
1. Select Create a New Project from the Start Page,
or select File---? New Folder and enter a name
for the project.
Create the Main Floor Plan
1. A new drawing is already created for you in the
Project.
• The main floor plan will be created in this
Drawing.
2. Sketch in the exterior and interior walls.
• Choose the wall type you wish to use, for
example for exterior, use 2x4/Brick or
2x4/Siding.
• Sketch in the walls to the approximate length
and position to form the room layout you are
trying to achieve
- Do not try to be precise at this time since later
steps will add this precision.
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6. Erase the working dimensions.
• Many times the working dimensions that you
have added to a drawing are not placed in the
best location after the walls have all been
re-located. In addition new dimensions will be
required to dimension the windows and doors.
• Use Auto Dimension to update the dimension
lines for exterior walls. The existing exterior
dimensions will automatically be erased and
new dimension lines will be added.
• Interior dimensions must be manually removed
and added again or existing interior dimensions
must be manually relocated as needed.
- Since dimensioning is very quick and easy,
you will probably find it faster to erase all the
working dimensions and extensions using the
Type Erase command, and replace them using
Auto Dimension for exterior walls and then
re-scan the interior Dimensions.
7. If necessary, set the exact window and door
styles.
• Use the Edit function to do this.
• Use the Repeat Edit and Duplicate functions to
quickly set similar windows and doors.
8. Set the exact window and door locations.
• Position the windows and doors accurately
using the Edit function to adjust the dimension
lines attached to each window and door.
9. Save your drawing using the Save command.
• In the event of a computer failure or if you want
to revert back to an earlier design, you can
easily retrieve saved versions of the drawing
from the Recovery folder for the current folder.
10. Add details to your floor plan.
• Complete your design by adding details from
the libraries of pre-drawn symbols and
cabinets. Add electrical symbols and their
connections.
• For common messages, add notation using the
Speed Note libraries.
• As you add details you may want to make
minor changes to the floor plan to
accommodate the cabinetry or appliances that
you want to use.
• Add stairs and set them to the correct rise and
run.
• Adjust dimension positions as necessary.
• Add reference points.
11. Save the drawing.
Create the Foundation Plan
If your design requires a foundation you must create a
new drawing for the foundation Plan. To do this:
1. Use the Save As command to make a copy of the
main floor plan in the same folder.
• This becomes a separate drawing.
• Name it, for example, Basement or Foundation.
2. Modify this copied drawing.
• Erase unneeded walls, openings, symbols,
cabinets and so on.
• Use the Type Erase function to remove items
by their type.
• Use Block Erase to remove all items within a
specified area.
3. Change the remaining walls to the type used for
the foundation.
• Use the Change Wall function to change all
walls of the same type to the type needed.
Use the Edit function to change individual
walls.
• Be careful not to move bearing walls since they
must line up with any bearing walls on the floor
above. When adding bearing walls you can use
the edit function to set the Anchor option, then if
you attempt to move a bearing wall a message
will appear warning you that this wall is
anchored.
5. Add support beams.
• Add any support beams that are required.
6. Add support posts.
• Use the Post (plan) function for this.
7. Add windows and doors to the foundation plan.
8. Add additional dimensions.
• You can choose to add additional dimensions
for the objects you have added or you may
prefer to erase all dimensions and
re-dimension the plan as required.
9. Add details to the foundation plan.
• Complete your design by adding details using
the symbol libraries.
• Add electrical symbols and add their
connections.
• For common messages, add notation using the
Speed Note libraries.
Adjust dimension
positions as needed.
10. Add the floor system.
• Select Floor System mode from the Status bar
(or press CTRL + J).
• Use the Slab function to add concrete slabs in
the basement and garage areas. Choose the
type of slab you wish to use:
- Structural (monolithic) to support the outside
bearing walls
- Slab footings for interior bearing walls
- Non Structural
11. Cleanup the flooring system by selecting the
Cleanup button from the Toolbar (or press CTRL
+c).
• Concrete slabs that you have added will snap
to the walls. Structural slabs will snap to the
outside of the wall while non-structural slabs
will snap to the inside.
• The offsets of walls supported by the slab and
any symbols you have added will be adjusted
to position the item on top of the slab surface.
4. If necessary, Edit the dimension lines to position
the walls.
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12. Set the slab to the proper offset.
• For single level foundations, leave the offset at
0.
• For multi-level foundations, use Edit to set the
level of each slab and the offset you wish to use
for each level. As you adjust the offset of a slab
all walls, stairs and symbols supported by the
slab will automatically be adjusted as well.
• Perform a cleanup.
13. Check the offset and height of the walls.
• Select wall Profile mode from the Status Bar to
check the height, offset, and offset direction of
the walls.
• Use the Edit function to adjust the offset of any
walls that require adjustment.
• If stepped foundations are used the stepped
wall must be divided into each step section.
Use Part Erase to break the walls into stepped
sections. The offset and wall height of each
section must then be set using the Edit
function. You can also use the Step Wall
command.
14. Save the drawing.
Create the Second Floor Plan
If your design requires a second floor you must create
a new drawing for the second floor plan. To do this:
1. Use the Save As function to make a copy of the
main floor plan.
• This becomes a separate drawing.
• Name it, for example, Second Floor or Upper
Floor.
2. Using the same steps you used to generate the
foundation plan, modify this copied drawing to
convert it to the second floor plan:
• Erase walls, openings, symbols, and so on that
are not needed.
• Change the remaining walls to the type used
for the second floor.
• Draw any new walls or move existing walls as
needed.
• Add new windows and doors as needed.
• Add additional dimensions as needed.
• Edit dimension lines to position walls
accurately.
• Add details.
3. Save the drawing.
Complete the Main Floor Plan
We will now return to the main floor plan to add a
flooring system to it and set up the wall offsets. To do
this:
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1. Select Floor System mode from the Status bar (or
press CTRL + J).
2. Add sill plates, ring joists, and subfloor.
• By selecting the Ring +Plate + Subfloor
command, all three can be placed at the same
time.
3. Use Cleanup to position the sill plates, ring joists,
and subflooring.
• When you press CTRL + c to clean up the
drawing, the sill plates, ring joists and
subflooring are adjusted to line up with the
outer edge of the wall studs.
4. Overlay the floor below.
• The objects you draw on a floor plan are
supported by the flooring system for that
drawing.
• Use the Overlay function to see the walls on the
floor below (those, which will support the floor
system).
• With the Overlay function you will see the
supporting walls and beams as dashed black
lines while the walls being supported are
shown as dashed brown lines.
5. Add joist sections to span between supporting
members.
6. Use Cleanup (CTRL +c) to snap the joists to the
ring joists.
7. Use the Hole Rectangle or Hole Polygon
commands to block openings for stairs and
plumbing drops.
8. Add single joists where required to double up
joists under bearing walls.
9. If the floor plan has more than one level, the
offset must be set for the joists to allow the
flooring system to sit on top of the walls of the
floor plan below.
• To set the offset, use Edit to set the level of
each joist set and the offset you wish to use for
each level.
• The offset of the ring joists, sill plates, and
single joists will be automatically adjusted as
well.
• As you adjust the offset of the floor joist system,
the walls, cabinets and symbols that rest on it
will be automatically adjusted as well.
• Perform a cleanup.
10. Add cross-bridging.
• Use the Bridging function to add bridging if you
wish to show cross-bridging on your floor joist
plans.
• If you add bridging to your floor joist plan, your
material list report will have a precise listing of
the cross• bridging material.
11. Add ceiling board to your floor plan.
12. Select wall Profile mode from the Status Bar and
check the offset of the walls.
• When the offset of the joists is set, the offset of
the walls is adjusted automatically.
• Check the wall offset and use Edit to adjust any
walls as necessary.
13. Save the drawing.
Complete the Second Floor Plan
If you have created a second floor you must now add
a floor joist system and set the wall offsets for that
floor.
• The steps used are the same as when
completing the main floor.
• When setting the offsets for the second floor,
remember that the offset is relative to the
baseline, or zero.
Add a Roof Plan
A roof plan must be added to each floor that is
covered by a roof. For example, the roof covering the
second floor must be added to the second floor. If
there is a garage area on the main floor that is not
covered by the second floor, a roof section must be
added to the main floor to cover this area. You can
add these roof areas separately or you could use the
Multi Floor Roof command to add the roof over the
areas.
For each floor do the following steps:
1. Select Roof mode from the Status bar.
2. Use the automatic roof functions to add the roof
plan for that floor.
3. When the roof plan has been designed, use the
Profile function to check that the roof profile is
correct.
4. Use the Birds Eye function to check that the roof
is correct.
• Note: If the roof is correctly referenced to each
wall, yet the roofp1an is not correct, the reason
may be that the wall offsets or wall heights are
not set correctly. If the walls are not correct you
must return to the floor plan and make the
necessary corrections.
5. Add the roof framing.
6. Save the roof plan for the floor.
Add the Cross Section Cut Lines
Before you can generate cross sections, you must
place the section cut lines on the floor plan. These
same lines will be used to indicate the point at which
all the floors, including the roof above, will be cut
when generating the automatic cross section.
Stack the Floors of the Building
When generating the automatic cross sections,
elevations and 3D views of the building, SoftPlan will
build the sections and views from the bottom up using
the floors you select. Use the Model section of the
Navigation to assemble the floors:
• Drag and drop the lowest floor and drag and
drop each floor in ascending order.
• Any roof plan that has been saved with the
drawing will also be included with the drawing
when it is selected.
Generate the Cross Section
Use the Cross Section feature to generate full cross
section drawings of the plan you have created. These
cross section drawings can be used to verify wall and
joist offsets. To generate a cross section:
1. Select the cut line by which to generate the cross
section from the Navigation Window.
2. A tab or new window is opened and the cross
section drawing appears showing walls, joists,
and roof.
3. Save the cross section by selecting Save As from
the File menu, entering a name for the cross
section drawing, for example Section A, and
pressing the Save button.
4. Repeat above steps for additional cross section
views.
Generate Elevation Views
The elevation feature allows you to generate exterior
elevation views of the building. To generate an
elevation view:
1. Select the direction from which you want to view
the model from the elevation section of the
Navigation Window.
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2. An elevation drawing showing walls, windows,
and the roof appears.
3. Use the Modify menu to change the appearance
of items in the elevation, or you can return to the
2D drawing, make your changes there, and then
return to the elevation view and press the
Regenerate button to regenerate the elevation.
4. Save the elevation by selecting Save As from the
File menu, entering a name for the elevation
drawing, for example Front View, and pressing
the Save button.
5. Select Camera from the SoftView menu bar to
generate additional elevation views.
Complete the Cross Section and Elevation
Drawings
SoftPlan can only generate the elevation and section
drawing to the level of detail available from the floor
plans and the roof plans. You may need to add
additional details such as trim detail, notation and
dimensions. These additions are made in Drawing
mode using the Symbol libraries, drawing tools and
notation tools.
What follows is intended to give you some tips that
will increase your speed and design ability when
drawing with SoftPlan.
Drawing Knee Walls
In some designs such as in side splits and mulit-level
homes, the floor plan is split, allowing a portion of the
house to be raised or lowered relative to the rest of
the floor plan. When this occurs, the wall shown on
the floor plan is often two walls stacked on top of one
another. In most cases the second wall, called a knee
wall, is of a different construction. See below:
There are two methods of handling this situation
when using SoftPlan. Because SoftPlan uses the
information in the floor plans to generate the other
drawings and material lists, you must include
information on the floor plan about both parts of a split
wall; therefore, you must use one of the following
methods to draw the Knee Wall.
Using Hidden Walls to Create the Knee Wall
To create the Knee wall using hidden walls:
1. When you draw your floor plan choose the type of
wall to use, and then place it on your drawing.
2. When the wall represented on the floor plan is
actually two walls, one on top of the other,
choose the wall type of the lower wall and place it
on your drawing.
3. To add the upper portion of the wall, select its
type and draw it over top of the lower wall.
4. Use the Edit function to set the correct height and
offset for each part of the wall.
5. Use Edit to set the upper wall to be hidden. It will
then appear as dashed lines on the screen but it
will not appear in our printed or plotted drawings.
• When you point to the wall using the Edit
function, SoftPlan will locate the wall whose
edge is closest to the cursor. If both walls are
the same thickness you will find it difficult to
locate the wall part you are interested in. In this
case you will find it easier to right click to find
the wall you want to edit.
Creating a Knee Wall Plan
If your design requires many split walls, you may
prefer to generate a separate floor plan for just these
walls. In this case the plan, often called the knee wall
plan, would just contain the upper half of the split
walls. A separate plan allows you to easily set up the
offsets for these walls. In addition you can also print
or plot these walls as well as generate framing
diagrams for them.
To Create the Knee Wall Plan
1. Make a copy of the floor plan containing the lower
walls.
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2. Convert this floor plan to the knee wall plan using
the same steps as you would use to create a
foundation plan or a second story plan:
• Delete walls that are not split.
• Delete symbols and other floor plan details.
Convert the walls to the correct type.
• Adjust dimensions.
• Set the wall offset and wall height for each wall.
• Add windows and doors that would be placed in
the upper section of the wall.
Tips to Help You Draw Floor plans Faster
• SoftPlan’s Toolbars
Use SoftPlan’s Toolbars. The toolbar located on the
Status bar and the quick select floating toolbar
consist of function buttons that let you quickly access
your most frequently used SoftPlan functions. Note
that there are different Toolbar buttons for the
different drawing modes. These buttons can be
changed if they do not suit you.
• Symbols
Symbols are time saving since they can be reused on
your drawings. They can also be used to create new
symbols, If there is a particular drawing detail that you
use over and over, make it into a symbol so that it is
available for future drawings. Many symbols will be
used frequently in all your drawings. Use the Library
sort function to move the frequently used symbols to
the top of the symbol list so that they can be quickly
accessed.
• Speed Notes
Use Speed Notes on your drawings whenever
possible. They allow you to quickly add text to your
drawings. Many speed notes have been created for
you but you can also add your own speed notes to the
Speed Note libraries. Remember that a Speed Note
can be made up of multiple lines of text or of a single
line of text.
• Zoom
One of the main ways that you can increase your
drawing speed is to learn how to move around on the
Drawing screen more quickly. To do this, become
familiar with the SoftPlan Zoom commands.
• Draw Select
The Draw Select command allows you to quickly
choose an item to draw by selecting it from the items
that have been added to the current drawing. Once
selected, you can immediately draw the item with all
the properties that have been previously specified for
it.
• Keyboard Shortcut Commands.
There are many predefined keyboard shortcut
commands help you increase the speed at which you
draw. A list is provided later in this handout. The
predefined keyboard shortcuts can be modified or
new keyboard shortcuts can be added for any
SoftPlan command.
• Repeat Edit
To save editing time, use Repeat Edit, Repeat Edit
(Box), and Repeat Edit (Poly). Repeat Edit allows you
to apply changes you make to an item to other items
of the same type.
• Duplicate
To save editing time, use Duplicate. Duplicate copies
the settings of one item to another item of the same
type.
• Copy
Use the Copy commands to make single or multiple
copies of objects as well as place them repeatedly at
an exact distance and direction.
• Group
Use the Group command to move or erase a number
of separate items as a group. When separate items
are moved as a group they still maintain their
positions relative to each other. This feature is
particularly useful when designing unit type housing,
finishing elevation details or temporarily grouping
back together an exploded symbol.
• Tools
Use the various commands from the Tools menu.
These commands make drawing with SoftPlan
easier.
• Cursor
The cursor normally moves at 1/8" increments. This is
good for most work, but for highly magnified work
such as creating symbols, paint patterns, or small
details, it is better to use the small cursor. It moves
freely and allows you to locate on specific points of
your drawing more easily. To select the small cursor,
press the Accent (`) keyboard key (under the tilde ~).
Press it once again to enable the regular cursor.
Shift + ~ - By pressing the Shift and the Tilde (~)
keyboard keys, you can toggle between the
horizontal/vertical cursor and the cursor angle
currently specified.
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Designing a Built Out Bay on a Floor Plan
Frequently when you are designing floor plans with SoftPlan, you will want to design a Built Out Bay. The following
steps will show you the easiest and most accurate method of designing them.
Draw the exterior walls as shown.
Place an exterior wall directly below wall A.
Dimension what will be the exterior depth of the bay
and then edit that dimension to the value you want.
Select your wall type and then press CTRL +A to draw
the angled walls as in Step 3 at the angle you require
to meet wall A.
Use Partial Erase to cut out a portion of wall A. Use
Adjust Item, if needed, to adjust the comers where the
angled walls and wall A join. Do a Cleanup.
Dimension the Built Out Bay that you have drawn.
Use Edit Item to set the dimensions of the built out bay
to the correct measurement.
Remember to edit the dimensions starting from the left
and moving to the right or from the right to the left.
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When you have completed editing the Built Out
Bay, add the needed openings to the bay, and then
edit the openings to the correct specifications.
Shortcut Keys
To:
Press this:
To:
Press this:
To:
Press
this:
To:
Press
this:
Measure A Distance
CTRL +
HOME or
CTRL + click
Do Not Cleanup
Item
CTRL + N
Open Draw Menu
F1
Select Item To
Draw
S
Add Construction Point
At Cursor
CTRL + END
Show Profile Of
Walls
CTRL + P
Open Erase Menu
F2
Adjust Item
A
Suspend Action
ESC Key
Set A Construction
Point
CTRL + END or
CTRL +
right-click
Open Move Menu
F3
Set Distance
Between Items
B
Toggle Cursor Size
CTRL + `
CTRL + Q
Open Dimension Menu
F4
Copy
C
Toggle Cursor Axis
Cursor Angle Lock (15
Degree Increments)
Draw Any Degree Of
Angle
SHIFT + `
CTRL + A or
F12
CTRL + R
Open Note Menu
F5
Dimension
D
Save Drawing
CTRL + S
Open Edit Menu
F6
Erase Item
E
CTRL + A A
Quick 3D
CTRL + V
Open Zoom Menu
F7
Fillet
F
Cleanup The Drawing
CTRL + C
CTRL + W
Open Model Menu
F8
Group Poly
G
Divide Into Segments
CTRL + D
CTRL + X
Opne Options Menu F9
F9
Insert Symbols
I
Explode An Item
CTRL + E
Show Paint
Return To The
Previous Display
Window
Include Item Under
Cursor In Cleanup
CTRL + Y
Adjust Cursor Snap
F11
Draw Line
L
Temporary
Enable/Disable
Fractional Dimensions
CTRL + F
Display The Center
Zoom Window
CTRL + Z
Exit
Alt + F4
Move Item
M
Display The
Multi-Drawing List
CTRL + G
Zoom Out On Zoom
Window
ALT+X
View a List of Shortcut
Keys
CTRL +
/
Offset
O
Open Help
CTRL + H
Go To Ceiling Mode
ALT + J
Open Floating Toolbar
Add Detail
Note
T
Select/Cancel Floor
System Mode
CTRL + J
Go To Roof Mode
ALT + R
Add A Single
Extension
X
CTRL + K
Undo
Zoom
Z
CTRL + L
Redo
Backspace or U
Shift +
Backspace
Double
Click
Right
Mouse
Button
Use Calculator
Locate A Specific Type
Of Item
Enlarge Dimension
Numbers
Redraw Screen
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Determining Wall Locations
To set up the wall accurately we need to note the typical location of the zero baseline for the level - or it won’t build
the section correctly.
Floor
Typical Location of Zero Baseline
Basement
Bottom of basement wall
Main Floor
Bottom of sill plate
Second Floor
Bottom of floor joist
Location of the top of an object = Offset + Height. Draw sketch.
Example:
Item
Location of the
Top of the Object
Height
(thickness)
Offset
Offset Direction
Basement Wall
8-0
8-0
0-0
N/A
Basement Slab
4
4
0-0
N/A
Garage Slab
7-0
4
6-8
up
Stem Wall
8-0
4-0
4-0
up
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Electrical Symbols and their Locations
Symbol
Electrical
ceiling fan 4
bladed 01
Location
Ceiling Fans
ceiling fan
globe 01
Ceiling Fans
chime
Extra
condensing
unit
Extra
disconnect
Extra
doorbell
Extra
electrical
panel
Miscellaneous
exhaust fan
floodlight
light wp
(bath)
Symbol
Electrical
Location
outlet 220v
Standard
outlet 42
Extra
outlet 42 gfi
Extra
outlet floor
Extra
outlet wp
Standard
pull chain
light
recessed
light
recessed
directional
light
Extra
smoke
detector
Extra (not
Standard)
split
receptacle
Standard
switch
Standard
switch 3way
Standard
switch
rheostat
Extra
Standard
Extra
Extra
Extra
Extra
meter
Extra
outlet
Standard
telephone
cable tv
outlet
wall
mounted
light
Standard
Standard
Extra
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