Advanced CAD in Chief Architect Tutorial
Knowing how to use all of the CAD tools that Chief Architect has to offer is important because you will need them to draft all of the detail drawings needed in a set of residental building plans. You were introduced to CAD in Chief Architect in the book, “Residential Design Using Chief Architect”© or in one of the Learning Chief Architect Step by Step books. I’m assuming that you are versed in the basic tools described in one of those books.
Detail drawings are needed because they show a relatively small part of a building that otherwise cannot be clearly seen in the overall plan and in the elevation drawings. In order to see every component clearly, the portion of the building that is detailed is drawn in a larger scale than those other views, which is the same as moving closer to the components. Many building departments require to know how certain different building
components are joined and fastened together. You will need to show this by making detailed drawings.
Chief Architect has hundreds of detailed CAD drawings in its library, which you can use to save time. However, you will find that each building is different and even if you use one of Chief Architect’s CAD drawings you will often need to make modifications to fit your situation.
There are going to be many different situations in your plan development where knowledge of Chief Architect’s CAD tools and capabilites will speed up your work. The more proficient you are, the more efficient you will become. This tutorial will help you in achieving that goal.
This tutorial is the entire first section of the upcoming book, “Become a Chief Architect Expert (X-9 Edition).
If you like this tip, you can find more handy ways to improve your 3D home design software skills by picking up your Chief Architect X9 tutorial book at ChiefApprentice.com.