How to Draw Foundation Plan Support by Piers Beam

The data in this article applies to:

Home Designer Professional or Home Designer Architectural or Home Designer Suite

QUESTION

I am designing a house in an area that gets flooded and I demand to build up on piers. How can I design a house that sits on piers or pilings using Home Designer?

Beach with a stucture, water, and a volleyball net

Reply

Many local building codes require that houses built on flood plains be built a sure height above flood stage. Typically, this requirement is met past edifice on piers or pilings. To create a house on piers, follow the steps outlined in this example:

To build a house above ground level

In about situations, it's all-time to draw the first flooring of a house plan on Flooring 1 in the programme. However, in the instance of a house on piers, the first floor will actually exist an open up surface area in which you will place piers to support the construction above.

Select File> New Plan from the menu to open up a new, blank plan and select Edit> Default Settings from the card.
In the Default Settings dialog, aggrandize Floors and Rooms, expand Floor Levels and then click on 1st Floor to highlight it, then click on the Edit button to display the Floor Defaults dialog for Floor 1.

When this Floor Defaults dialog is opened, it will utilize to the currently agile flooring only. That is, if Floor Defaults is opened on Flooring 1, it will set the defaults for Floor i; if information technology'southward opened on Floor 2, information technology will set the defaults for Floor 2; and then on.
On the Construction panel of the 1st Floor Defaults dialog, specify a Finished Ceiling height of ten' (120"). This will heighten the bottom of the floor platform for the start floor in your firm 10' above the ground.
Click OK to shut this dialog, and so click Done to close the Default Settings dialog.
Next, select Build> Floor> Build New Floor .
- When prompted to derive the new floor from the plan below, click OK.
- Every bit zero has been drawn on Floor ane, the result will exist a bare Floor 2.
Before drawing annihilation on Floor two, you should likewise gear up your Flooring 2 default ceiling height. If you skip this step now, afterward you tin select Edit> Default Settings from the menu, then specify the default ceiling height for the 2nd Floor every bit described in Steps 2 and three to a higher place.
Select Build> Walls> Exterior Wall from the menu, then click and drag the exterior walls of your plan, drawing in a clockwise direction.
Use temporary dimensions and/or the Dimension tools to help you position the walls precisely. When you are satisfied with the placement of the exterior walls, it'due south time to place piers beneath them.

To identify piers beneath the elevated floor plan

In one case your flooring programme is washed on Floor 2, you can insert piers on Floor ane to support it.

To return to Floor 1, select Tools> Floor/Reference Display> Down One Floorfrom the menu.
In club to place the piers in the correct locations nether the walls to a higher place, you need to turn on the Reference Brandish. Select Tools> Floor/Reference Display> Reference Display from the menu. The outline of the walls created on Floor 2 will now display every bit cerise lines on Floor ane.
You at present demand to create piers using one of the geometric shapes institute in the Library Browser. Select View> Library Browser to open the Library Browser window and navigate to the Shapes folder.
In Home Designer 2014 and prior versions, the Library Browser was accessed under the Library menu.
- In this instance, the Vertical Cylinder is used, although the Closed box, or perhaps one of the Pedestals or Columns from the Architectural> Millwork catalog could besides work.
Using the red lines of the Reference Display equally a guide, click at a corner of your exterior walls to place a pier at that location. If y'all need to arrange the pier's location, click on it to select it and motility it using the Motion edit handle that displays at the object's center.
With the pier nevertheless selected, click the Open Object edit button to open up the Geometric Shape Specification dialog. On the General console:
- Specify the desired Height of your pier. In most cases, this volition exist the default ceiling height of Floor 1, specified in the start part of this commodity.
- Specify the Width and Depth of your pier. These values correspond to the cylinder'southward diameter and will be the same in most instances.
Then, on the Materials panel:
- Click on the indented line, then click theSelect Fabric button.
- In the Select Textile dialog, browse to the Concrete category of the Materials library.
- In the Smooth sub-folder of the Concrete folder, click on a concrete material to select it and click OK to return to the Geometric Shape Specification dialog.
- Click OK to close the Geometric Shape Specification dialog and apply your change.
Select 3D> Create Photographic camera View> Tiptop from the menu and click and drag a camera arrow perpendicular to either wall above the new pier. In Home Designer Pro, use 3D> Create Orthographic View> Cross Section/Elevation .
- In the Elevation view, click on the pier to select information technology and utilize the Move edit handle that displays at its center to conform its location and then that it lines up correctly with your primary structure.
- Utilize the top edit handle to make any needed adjustments to the elevation so that it meets the bottom edge of the wall higher up.
- If you lot have trouble viewing the pier, select Window> Zoom from the menu and click and elevate a rectangle around the part of the view that includes the pier and the wall above. The plan will zoom in to fill up the view window with the contents of that rectangle, allowing you to edit the pier more than easily.
- When you lot are satisfied with the appearance of your pier, select File> Shut View to close the Elevation view and return to floor plan view.
Now that the pier has the right textile and size specifications, you can make copies of it and place them around the plan as needed.
- In floor plan view, click on the pier to select information technology, then click the Copy/Paste edit push button, so click the Sticky Manner edit button. Your cursor will now display the Copy/Paste icon. Clicking the Sticky Mode tool after selecting Copy/Paste allows you lot to paste equally many copies equally you like, rather than just one.
- Click at a location that needs a pier to place i there, so continue clicking until all needed piers have been created around the perimeter and in the middle of the plan as appropriate for your pattern.
- Exercise non worry about placing them precisely at this time as they can be positioned more accurately and height adjusted if you have uneven terrain in a moment.
- When you are finished pasting copies of your pier, disable the Paste function by clicking the Select Objects arrow push button.
You can utilise the End to End Dimension and the Center Object tools to position your piers accurately. Slide the piers to the finish of the walls using the Move edit handle.
When the piers are in their right positions, the dimension lines tin be deleted.

To create stairs that achieve the ground

With the business firm elevated on piers, you can now create stairs from the flooring to the ground. Normally, stairs generate from the current floor upwardly to the floor above and snap precisely to both floor heights. When stairs are congenital from a floor to the footing, a different approach can be used.

Select Tools> Floor/Reference Brandish> Up I Floor from the bill of fare to go the Floor 2.
Select Build> Stairs> Draw Stairs from the menu, and so agree downward the Alt key on your keyboard and click and drag to create a stairway. Holding Altwhile you lot draw stairs directs the program to draw them in a downward direction rather than upward.
When yous release your mouse button, a warning message volition caution you most drawing stairs in a downward management. Click OK to close the bulletin box.
To create a landing between 2 runs of directly stairs, create the stair sections as described to a higher place, leaving a infinite between them where you would like a landing.
With the Draw Stairs tool selected, click once in the landing expanse to create a landing that joins the two stair sections.
Select Build> Door> Hinged Door and then click on the wall at the top of your staircase to place a door.
Select 3D> Create Camera View> Perspective Full Overview from the carte du jour to view your elevated house on a pier foundation.