Help with the very basics

[Anonymous]

I have just installed and watched the ArchiCAD 12 tutorials. I need to create a 3D model of a house along with all the windows, doors and services for a University Portfolio.

Are there any books and help that I can get to help with the very basics and getting started, as the tutorials are all pre-loaded with configurations and favorites.

I would be very very grateful of any help given.

Thank you

NStocks

[Anonymous]

Hi NStocks,

I'm going to disagree with Dwight (again! Sorry!) Do not set it all up on one floor! As a beginner you will want to use storeys to set up the building; they are simple to use. Get into the habit of doing it correctly. Doing it by layers is too complicated and has greater implications elsewhere. Also ignore the floor plan cutplane at the moment, leave it as the default. Use the 'Home Storey Only' and 'Symbolic Cut' floorplan display modes for the walls which will look correct the majority of the time. These are found in the walls settings.

Model the building so the top of each the floor is at the 0 level for each storey and 'hangs' underneath. The walls will start at the 0 level and go upwards. The picture below shows the typical placement in section.

Creating the outer wall of a building can be done by either using single storey high walls on each floor as I suggest above, or using multistorey high walls that pass through both floors. You can do it either way to be honest. They both have benefits over the other depending on the situation. You can even use both ways if necessary! Use the 'All Relevant Stories' and 'Projected' display mode for multistorey walls.

[Anonymous]

Ok this is one of the problems I'm having with the stories. I have use the setting within so that the height to the next is 0, so in reality there shouldn't be a gap ( right ? )

This is only a draft until I know how o sort it out.

[Anonymous]

Do never draw two floor on the same story!
This is a common principle!

[Anonymous]

NStocks wrote:
Ok this is one of the problems I'm having with the stories. I have use the setting within so that the height to the next is 0, so in reality there shouldn't be a gap ( right ? )

I'm not entirely sure what you mean. Was there meant to be something attached to your previous post? Use the browse button under the message composing box to attach an image; a picture is worth a thousand words!

Are you trying to set up a zero height storey perhaps? What are you trying to achieve? There isn't normally a need for them.

Try setting up the storeys in a similar way to my last image. The lines and text on the lefthand side indicate where the storeys actually are.

[Anonymous]

Dwight wrote:
A two storey building can be managed with layer visibility and not necessarily by creating separate storeys. You make layer sets to study different building aspects.

One of the advantages of separate storeys in a project is to force elements to relate directly to a storey level.....

Experiment with both ways and see what works for you. Most challenging in a situation like this is with what we call a "Split-level" dwelling.

Another factor is the floor plan cutting plane issue - where, in each storey, the slice is taken.....

Yeah there was suppose to be something attached but that doesn't matter now.

Is there any other way of showing me how to do this ? So far I have used the slab tool to create the concrete slab, then I selected teh wall tool and drew around the slab. Next I went to story setting any copied and pasted the ground floor.

I know this isn't how you explained it but I genuinely don't see how you got to the stage shown, and is the attached image just a cut plane ?

sorry for the trouble, but I have no idea what anyone is talking about as this is all new to me and I'm sure that once I have done it, it will all seem easy !

[Anonymous]

Ok, Instructions right from the start just in case!

1. Set up the storeys correctly. A quick way to access the storey settings is to right-click on any of the existing stories listed in the navigator (The long list of storeys/sections/elevs/etc). You should consider the measurement is taken from top-of-floor to top-of-floor. (Doesn't really matter whether it's finished floor, or structural floor at the moment.)

You can see the ground floor always starts at 0.000m. Work upwards adding a height to the next. You can rename the storey names for easy reference.

Ignore the 'edit elements of selected story' for the moment. I find it best to copy and paste elements directly on the floorplans

[Anonymous]

Ok, this is what I got :

And sorry about the image, I can't get crop to work in preview ( Mac )

[Anonymous]

2. Draw the Slab.

A slabs level is measured to the top surface, and any thickness is offset downwards. Make sure that it is set to show on 'Home storey only' for the moment. The relative base height should be 0.000m. This is the height from the current storey level.

3. Draw the Walls.

A wall is measured from the base upwards. Set the height to the same as you entered as the storey height. The base level should be also 0.000m.

In the walls settings use the 'Home Storey Only' and 'Symbolic Cut' floorplan display modes for the walls which will look correct the majority of the time.

You can also select a composite fill for the cut fill hatching which allows you to represent multiple elements and skins, but still contained in one wall object. You may notice as well that the thickness of the wall is automatically adjusted when a composite is selected. To change this you have to either edit or create a new composite with the right thickness, or select a 'normal' fill instead.

Check in the 3d window as you go along to see you are getting the expected result.

[Anonymous]

4. Duplicate to the next storey.

I suggest simply selecting both the floor and walls on the floorplan and Ctrl+C to copy them. Navigate to the next floor up by double clicking the name of the floor in the Navigator (There are several different ways of doing this, but do it the way you are most comfortable with) Make sure you are in the Project Map list to avoid any unexpected cutplane/layer/scale/pen/etc changes. That is another lesson all on its own!

Ctrl+V to paste them back in the same position on the floorplan. You will need to click outside of the marquee (marching ants) to confirm. In the 3d window the new slab and walls should be sitting on top of the old lower walls.

These walls and floor are now separate from the walls and floor below. They currently have the same settings as the ones below, but these can now change completely independently. If your storey heights are different you may want to re-adjust the heights of these walls. You can save time by selecting them all and then clicking the wall settings button again to adjust them simultaneously.

[Anonymous]

Thank you, it works ! One more question what does elevation mean on story settings ?, and if I am copying and pasting the ground floor to the second floor, would/should the slab be the same thickness in reality ?

... We haven't actually learnt about how exactly a house is constructed