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Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

Roof Surface Extra

Anonymous
Not applicable
Has anyone Found a way to change where the roof surfacer starts the Italian tile layout from? It does a really great job of adding tiles to a roof surface but the tiles don't line up on the ridges and the gable ends look horrible! This is my first post for a long time. I purchased C4d and have been doing alot of work with it for rendering AC models,, Awsome! I really like the exchange plugin. It's like having the full tool set of both apps to use at all times. Thanks!
6 REPLIES 6
Anonymous
Not applicable
Mark,
I'm not sure about this, but some time ago there was a thread
regarding this issue and somehow the roof pivot line was involved.
Try stretching the roof pivot line all the way across from rake to rake
so the pivot line center is at the center of the eave line.
This may force the surfacer's origin to be at the center of the roof.
Please let us know if this works as my memory is very vague on this.
Peter Devlin
Anonymous
Not applicable
We are encountering a similar problem with the Roof Accessories tool.

1) When we model a shingle or shake roof we want the shakes or shingles to overhang the roof and facia. The Roof Accessories tool models the roof shingles just up to the edge of the roof that was selected. There is an option to set the roof length that looks hopeful but we are not able to change the value. There doesn't seem to be any other way to change the overhang of the roofing created with the Roof Accessories tool beyond the edge of the roof.

Our workaround has been to model another duplicate roof with eaves that are 2" than the actual roof. Then we select the duplicate roof and apply the Roof Accessories tool. This gives us overhanging roofing material. We model a facia board and then put the duplicate roof on a layer that we shut off.

This is a lot of extra work. Is there a better/easier way to get the Roof Accessories tool to overhang the roof at the eave?

2) There are several roofing materials included in the Roof Accessories tool but there does not seem to be a tapered shingle or shake. This tool would be of a lot more use to us if it included a tapered shingle or shake.

Thank you,
John
Anonymous
Not applicable
Mark,
I just tried my own suggestion and it only affects the 2D symbol
not the 3D model. I think that in order to get the 3D part centered
on the roof you have to calculate the width of the pans and covers
so they have a dimension that evenly divides into the width of the roof
and adjust the tile parameters accordingly.

John,
I have looked at the code for the roof surfacer and it uses
vertical cutplanes at the edges and if you change the code
so that the eave cutplane is perpendicular then if you have
a valley cut in the main roof for a cross gable there is a row
of cut tiles going across the valley cut at the eave line.
Not a problem for an unfinished attic, I often found pieces
of tile in attics, but if you have a cathedral ceiling,
there is that strange clay tile decoration hanging in space.

My work-around is to make a library part that makes a row
of wedge shaped starter tiles having a plumb upper edge with
a masking divice in the script to hide the lower edge of the
surfacer and a perpendicular lower edge.

Peter Devlin
P.S I wish Duane Valencia would pipe in.
He knows more than anyone about these issues.
Anonymous
Not applicable
WOW! 3 replys in less than an hour! You guys rock. I spent the last hour using Archiforma to create a single tile sloped to match the hips, ridges and rakes. Then I used the multiply with elevation values to spread. Tedious but looks much better. I still don't know what to do in the valleys. Thanks guys!
Anonymous
Not applicable
Mark,
Can you use a zero thickness roof at a pitch of 89° (the limit)
to cut the tiles at the valleys ?
Peter Devlin
Anonymous
Not applicable
The problem at the valley's is that the pan spacing has to be set so the tiles align. Not so hard to figure out if there is only one valley on a roof plane, but if a roof plane has valleys at both ends might be impossible.
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