Wall/Floor height ?

salukitd · October 23, 2020

This is probably an easy answer. I've used VW Spotlight for just about ever, but I am working on a project using VW Architect.

I drew the 2nd floor walls and assigned them to the "2-Floor Layout" layer, then I created a 2nd. floor slab and assigned it to the "2-Slab" layer. The slab sits at z 0" but the walls are hovering just a touch over 6' above the slab. I have not changed any defaults and have been struggling to figure this one out on my own.

Any help would be appreciated!

Pat

Jeff Prince · October 23, 2020

There are a few reasons this could happen. If you post a file in 2020 format and I'll take a look at it.

salukitd · October 23, 2020

House Architect Drawing v2 v2020.vwxThanks Jeff!

Jeff Prince · October 23, 2020

I looked at your file and do not see the situation you have described. Below is a screenshot of what I see and a clip cube I took.

The 2nd floor slab is in the correct location and the wall is sitting on it at the same level. The wall's cladding is configured to drop down to the ledge level -12".

There is a gap between the 2nd floor features and the floor below, but that had more to do with the extrude around a path feature in the story below.

CiaMariaPia · October 23, 2020

Patrick -

In addition to Jeff's comments, I'd back up a step and ask if you are familiar with setting elevations for design layers AND how wall and slab styles or configured to utilize that information. I suspect that's where some of the mystery you are seeing is coming from and how you'll fix it.

You didn't mention it but did you create the wall style being used and establish the design layers and their criteria or are using the some things you found in VW? Are you familiar with Design Layers, Levels and Stories? If not, I suggest you look at those items and how VW Architect makes use of them. In no particular order, look at each of the following areas and I think you start to get an idea of how to control these components:

"Layers" - You already have the idea about use of design layers to organize building elements.

"Levels" - Looking at the "Organization" pallette (Tools|Organization) and note the "Level Type" for each of your Design Layers and the default "elevation" assigned to that layer.

Click on the "Level Types" button and note the various levels that have probably already been configured. Click "OK" to go back to the Organization Pallette.

Click on any of the "Stories" in the diagram and you'll see the "Levels" that have been assigned to that Layer and the height of that Level relative to that story. Click "OK to leave the Organization Pallette.

Then go to your model and look at the actual elevations assigned to your two slabs (2nd Floor and the slab located on the F-Foundation Layout design layer). You'll see the Foundation slab is located 48" above the Foundation Design Layer. You'll also see that you don't have a 1st Floor slab ..... or maybe you intended the Foundation slab to be the first floor slab and then assigned it to the wrong Design Layer.

Next, look at the wall style parameters for your 2nd floor perimeter wall. That wall has 4 components and each component has a "Top" and "Bottom" parameter that guides where that component will start and end vertically. You'll note that those 4 materials have different "top" and "bottom" elevations and those elevations usually relate to either one of the levels or the story or the design layer.

If you make yourself a small chart or each wall and floor slab and it's actual (true) elevation, I think you'll see why your walls and slabs don't appear to be meeting the way you want them to. This will also tell you where you need to start making adjustments to wall or slab styles or level elevations.

There's no right or wrong here other than you have to exercise control over these variables to make the building components do what you want them to do.

One suggestion that worked for me: Simplify your walls and slabs to be a single component then play with design layer assignments, levels, slab thicknesses and wall heights until everything is meeting the way you want it to. Then you can add wall components one at a time adjusting the settings for each component to get each new component to show up in the right place relative to the wall/slab itself and the top/bottom limits.

salukitd · October 23, 2020

Thanks for the help Jeff! Is there anything I can do to shrink that gap?!

Thanks again,

Pat

salukitd · October 23, 2020

2 minutes ago, CiaMariaPia said:

Patrick -

In addition to Jeff's comments, I'd back up a step and ask if you are familiar with setting elevations for design layers AND how wall and slab styles or configured to utilize that information. I suspect that's where some of the mystery you are seeing is coming from and how you'll fix it.

thanks much!! Great suggestions...I'll take a run at it!

Pat

Jeff Prince · October 23, 2020

@salukitd Hey Pat,

Without knowing what your intentions are, it's hard to make a proper recommendation as there is a lot going on with your stories, levels, wall styles, and that extrude along a path(EAP).

I would fix that EAP so that it is exactly 9' tall... It is currently short of that by a fraction of an inch.

Then you could drop the level of the story "2-story" to 9' instead of 10' and they would meet.

This is not really the optimal situation, but it would close the gap.

Better would be to use the stories correctly to achieve your ultimate goal.

@CiaMariaPia gave you a lot to digest that will help. If you are unfamiliar with stories, they can be a bear to utilize. Sometime it is easier just to draw on design layers with levels instead, depending on your ultimate goal.

Edited October 24, 2020 by jeff prince

CiaMariaPia · October 24, 2020

You can also try a couple of experiments. Put your model into some type of 3D view ( left isometric for example) and create a clip cub so you can see the model in 3D with the walls and floors in section. Then:

Change the lower level slab from F-Foundation Layout to 1-Slab and measure the height from the first floor to the second.....only about 6'. But the Design Layer elevations indicate it should be 10'. Click on the slab and in the OIP, change "Z Off" from4'-0" to 0" and measure again....10'.

Click on the upper floor wall (on design layer 2-Floor Layout). Notice that it's a "wall" and that the style of the wall is "Ext Bearing-2x4-Vinyl Siding". If you right click on the wall, you'll see that you can "edit wall style" and this will bring up an entire pallette of criteria/features that make up the wall including the individual components with the "top" and "bottom" elevation criteria.

Click on the foundation wall (on design layer F-Footing). Notice that it's an extrusion, not a wall. You can right click on it and edit the extrusion but you don't have nearly the control over the wall composition and dimensions that you do with the upper floor wall.

I haven't given you any solutions to your original question but I think you can see that part of the problem is that VW Architect can do a lot of stuff but that stuff needs to be pro-actively controlled by you or else you get unexpected and hard-to-explain results.

Patrick -

In addition to Jeff's comments, I'd back up a step and ask if you are familiar with setting elevations for design layers AND how wall and slab styles or configured to utilize that information. I suspect that's where some of the mystery you are seeing is coming from and how you'll fix it.

Are you familiar with Design Layers, Levels and Stories? If not, I suggest you look at those items and how VW Architect makes use of them. In no particular order, look at each of the following areas and I think you start to get an idea of how to control these components: