Layer Z offset - roof not sitting on wall

[IanH]

I am a garden design student new to VW 11.5 landmark - its a steep learning curve and I have nothing but the atrocious online documentation that makes very broad assumptions that you actually know what you are doing by telling you to do something but doesn't explain why. So I apologise upfront if this is a really stupid problem.

My problem is my roof does not sit on top of the walls of my building.

I created a fresh document and set up the standard layers etc. Since reference planes for the ground level of the property on the site is at 20m, I set the model setup starting at 19.9m for mod-foundation. So my layers for mod-foundation/floor-1/floor-2/roof are at 19.9/20.0/22.7 and 25.4m. This was probably a mistake on my part but without any other guideance, that is what I did.

I have imported a site survey in autocad format and built a DTM from it. For some reason I put the DTM on mod-foundation. Again, for whatever reason, this seemed like the best thing at the time and was probable a mistake.

I am now trying to add some of the site buildings. The massing tool did not allow me to have something as basic as gabled ends whilst insisting on intricies such as overhang so I have ended up using the standard wall function and putting a roof on top.

I have set mod-site-arch to have Z at 20m to match mod-floor-1. I used the wall tool to creates the walls of one of the outhouses. I set the wall Z to its ground level, 21.49m as it is 1.49m above the reference plane. I am using the mod-site-arch layer instead of mod-floor-1 etc as the online help implies that this is where it should go but doesn't explain why it greated mod-floor-1 etc for me in the first place.

When I add a roof on top of the walls and view in 3d, the roof is under the walls, at the wall height but offset from 0m rather than 21.49m.

If I set the wall Z value to 0.0, the roof sits correctly ontop of the walls but the walls to not match the DTM.

Is there any easy way of bringing everything into line without starting again.

Also, in the online help, it mentions the Model > Architectural > Floor function. The online help does not mention that this is product specific but I do not have that option in Landmark.

Finally... if anyone can point me to some documentation explaining the layer and class names conventions that would be relevant to a UK landscape gardener and what should actually go on these, it would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Ian

[ 06-08-2005, 08:18 AM: Message edited by: IanH ]

[Delmer]

Ian,

I think you've not gotten any responses because you're asking for so much at once. I'll tackle a few and perhaps others will jump in.

- I would typically put my main level subfloor at 0 and reference others including the site off that, but your setup should be fine, perhaps even better with multiple buildings of equal importance.

- Putting the DTM on its own layer is a good idea and not so difficult even after the fact.

- Putting an outbuilding on its own layer should work fine, though if it is a simple enough structure and only at a slightly different elevation than another more complex building you could put it on the same layer as the main building and in one of the elevation views simply move it up the desired distance once you have it built.

- The roof should reference off the Z value of the layer it is on via the bearing height. If you are using a roof face the axis Z is off the layer floor, not the whole drawing.

- If you have a building w/ roof and other items how you like it but the whole thing needs to move you can do that from one of the elevations. Hit the different keypad numbers for shortcuts to different views. In a 3D elevation the X,Y coordinates stay on the plane of the screen, meaning moving in the Y direction will raise your model items in the Z direction.

- I don't have landmark but it seems possible that if you have a roof menu item you would likely have a floor as well. They're next to each other in my Arch version.

- Layer and class names for a UK gardener I will keep my nose out of. Posting in the Landmark section might get you an answer quicker.

[IanH]

Thanks, I will try and take that all in! I spent the day building all my walls to a generic base so it will be nice to get the roofs on even if it is just for show.

-Ian

[poesy]

I seem to have some similar problems with the roof not sitting correctly, but I think I need to start with understanding the basics.

My current project is one where a 4 levels of half-storeys split level building is sitting on a sloping cliff. I have tried various methods to draw the interiors of this project (by drawing and rendering the individual rooms/floors) but when it comes to generating a 3D of the entire building, I am stuck at how to set up the site.

Question 1.

How do I draw the site that isn't flat? Is it a class or layer on its own? I tried to understand using the Site Survey and DTM by reading up but am getting further paralysed.

Question 2.

All levels to the building are aligned half height step-up from each other, meaning which Level 4 is above Level 2 and Level 3 is above Level 1. Do I draw Level 1 and 2 on the same layer, while Level 3 and 4 on the next layer?

I am very new with the program and would love any help I can get with this complex building. The 3-day training program was great but I am unfortunately not savvy enough to hit the highway and draw the project I have at hand.

Please help! I am freaking out here..