Creating complex porch railings

[Anonymous]

I hope someone could help me on this...
I need to design a porch with quite a complex pattern..it consists of several straight parts in different angles and an arc.How can I apply railing to that porch?Will I have to create a custom object? Can I use the standard library parts included in AC 8.1 and just adjust them?
Thank you in advance people.
I would hate to go back to AutoCAD for such a simple matter..

[MMontgomery]

Using the Slab, Roof, Revolved profiles, primitive parts, and the multiply & SEO commands, you should be able to build about any stair you can come up with.

[Jacek]

Chriss,
I have designed fairly complex railing patterns in the Craftsman style (Green & Green, famed California architects from the turn of the century, heavily influenced by Japaneese esthetic, for those not familiar) using slabs shaped as wood members and or iron, and roof slabs for sloping, angled pieces. It can get quite involved, so keep the 3-D open and refer to it as you draw in plan and section.
It helps to keep it as a separate file and when done save as a library file and place it where needed.

[lapishawaii]

Two other helpful techniques:

Make a basic slab the thickness of your railing width. You can then cut out almost any shape from this slab. The slab can then be saved as a library part that is placed in your ArchiCAD model as a vertical plane. You will need to construct the slab to the required size since it is not stretchable.

One of the greatest new tools in ArchiCAD 8 is the Solid Element Operator. This tool can be used to cut and trim almost anything. Another trick is to use this tool to trim walls to the roofs. Whenever the roof is raised or lowered, the walls will automatically adjust. I no longer use the trim to roof command.

[Anonymous]

Thank you indeed...I was thinking of doing the same thing myself although I was hoping there would be an easier (and faster) way to do things right...
You see time is crucial to me since I have to work on several plans a day..
By the way,how will this look on the floor plan?
I think I won't get away from Autocad that easily...
Chris

[David Collins]

chris_pap wrote:
I would hate to go back to AutoCAD for such a simple matter..

NO! Never go back!

One thing you may not know is that you can create your railings flat on the ground and then save them standing up as library parts. Very briefly:
- Start at ArchiCAD's origin. Draw the railing"in elevation" using walls, slabs, roofs
- Open the 3d window with Side Model View so that the railing is shown from the top
- Go to File/GDL Objects/Save 3d model as and save as an object type with "editable GDL" selected.
- The new object should open immediately with the object tool.

The resulting library part will be stretchy, after a fashion, so you can make minor adjustments to its overall length and height. Keep these objects in a separate Library folder specific to your project.

If this helps, you might look for a copy of "Object Making with ArchiCAD."

[lapishawaii]

A construction drawing trick that I use when there isn't time to construct a complex building part is to place a simple element in the plan/elevation and then draw a 2-D detail. With a porch railing there are probably a number of similiar sections that can be referred to as typical.

[Anonymous]

Thank you very much for your advice but I am not sure how can I build railings using slabs walls and roofs.Could you be more specific?Maybe if you could use an example?Perhaps you could email me with an example?
My email is o_kritis@mail.gr
Thank you very much in advance
Chris

[David Collins]

chris_pap wrote:
By the way,how will this look on the floor plan?
Chris

Awful, if you use the "save as GDL method" I just posted. You'll hate it.
So, to take this one step further into the terrifying undiscovered country of GDL, here's the Good Old Project2 Trick:

-Select your railing object
-Go to File/GDL Objects/Open object
-In the resulting menu find the "2d script" box, lower left, and click on it
-The resulting window will be blank. Type in PROJECT2 3,270,2
-Click on the "check script" box. It should say "The script is OK."
-Close the object menu

This will give you a hidden line projection of the object as a 2d symbol. It should be an improvement. If your railing is still too complex in plan, you might have to keep the railing objects on a separate layer and show them in plan with empty fills.

[David Collins]

chris_pap wrote:
...I am not sure how can I build railings using slabs walls and roofs.Chris

Easy: Use slabs for steel sections. Set the thickness and draw your plan dimensions. There are pipes in the library if you need them. Build it up from the ground, adjusting you heights as you go. Check it in the 3d window or, better still, build it entirely in the 3d window.

Basically, you construct the railing just like the steelguy will do.
This railing was created using the draw-it-flat-and-save-as-object method.