Locking the thickness of a roof.

[Anonymous]

In respect of this thread here.

Currently when you change the angle of a roof, the perpendicular thickness stays constant whilst the vertical thickness changes to suit.

I'd like to be able to lock either the vertical thickness or the perpendicular thickness of a roof depending on which was required to stay constant when the roof angle is changed.

Personally, I'm voting important essential as I think it an obvious funtionality enhancement that has been strangely missed out, which would require minimal programming to implement.

Many thanks!

[Eduardo Rolon]

Another way to conceptualize the problem is that the settings for angle and thickness should not affect each other. Once the thickness is set for the roof, changing the angle shouldn't change the thickness. Design wise you choose the thickness of the roof once but you tweak the angle multiple times.

Using a bad analogy, imagine that rotating a wall changed its thickness. Ouch!

[Dennis Lee]

Just out of curiosity, in what situation would you want to lock the vertical thickness of the roof?
For me, it seems logical to lock the perpendicular thickness (actual thickness of whatever the construction material) would be.

[Anonymous]

Dennis wrote:
Just out of curiosity, in what situation would you want to lock the vertical thickness of the roof?

As you know, a roof doesn't always have to be used as a roof, it could be used as a sloping floor slab, some kind of beam or anything else that may slope.

My argument is that you should have the option if you need it. It should be my choice whether to use it, not a limitation of the software.

Thinking about it, I would also like to wish to be able to set the pivot line of the roof to the top surface rather than being fixed underneath. Again because I shouldn't be constrained if the situation required it or I wanted to do something unusual.

Having the option to do something, however unusual, is much better than it not being there at all!

[Eduardo Rolon]

In the project I am working on I have an inclined plane that meets a concrete slab that are 6" wide and I "want" the connection to be vertical since the plane is going to be concrete also. Since I was playing with the angles I kept wondering why it was changing since I already specified the thickness.

[TomWaltz]

If you want that to be an 8" fascia, then the thickness is 8" (perpendicular to the angle of the roof). The vertical height would be irrelevant.

Archicad gives you the thickness of the roof at the current angle. The vertical height is an aftereffect of that thickness and the angle.

I would think you would complain more than an 8" profiled beam sloped is 8" vertical instead of 8" perpendicular, which is contrary to how anything is actually built.

[Eduardo Rolon]

Nobody is arguing about how its going to be built, I was working on a preliminary design and was going crazy as to why the thickness kept changing when I only wanted to change the angle. As to why I wanted at 6" vertical, it is my design decision at this point, that's it, I don't know if the project is going to be concrete, cmu's or wood.

As for the beam tool doing it as I "want" the "roof" to behave, I agree and GS should be consistent but being consistent does not imply limiting flexibility.

The problem is that changing one item changes another automatically and it might be a good idea to have an option to override it.

PS it is not a Fascia so it does not have to be 8" perpendicular

[Eduardo Rolon]

Another possible example where specifying the thickness might be important.

[Eduardo Rolon]

changing the angle and forgetting that AC changes the thickness automatically might cause a problem, since now the hole thickness is wrong by 21/64"

[TomWaltz]

When you angle a wall in plan, you don't expect the thickness to change? Why should a roof? If you use the wall for a weird purpose, like trim or structure, you have to think about things like that. Roofs are no different.

[Eduardo Rolon]

TomWaltz wrote:
When you angle a wall in plan, you don't expect the thickness to change? Why should a roof? If you use the wall for a weird purpose, like trim or structure, you have to think about things like that. Roofs are no different.

Thanks Tom for the basics reminder, I just forgot that I started to learn AC yesterday. The newbie is going to sit on the corner and sulk.

[Jere]

I voted average. I can see how it might be useful, but in reality I doubt I'd ever use it. Materials generally have a fixed thickness. How it gets rotated in space shouldn't change its thickness. The tools should reflect how we build.

I would vote essential for having flexibility on the pivot line location (top or bottom or offset.) Being able to offset the pivot line such as you can to the reference line in a wall composite would be much more useful. In fact, that would be a nice feature on slabs as well.