Jump to content

wall framer


gjefcoate

Recommended Posts

we're currently designing some timber kits for some very standard house types. Our problem arises when the 'rough opening size' for the doors and windows does not correspond in any way to the actual size produced by the wall framer. The openings in the timber panels tend to be larger than the rough opening sizes shown in the object info palette for the doors and windows. Any suggestions?

Link to comment

I'm afraid this made no difference. I tried a test using a 926x2060 door with 30mm jamb width and 5mm shim width. Trim and wall returns were zeroed and the stated rough opening size is 996x2100 - what i would expect. However, when I run the wall framer, this produces an opening of measuring 986x2090.

Link to comment
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

This is actually behaving as expected, although not as you wish. The "rough opening" is used to generate the size for the schedule record only. The actual rough opening produced by the door is the door opening plus the jamb thickness. Try adding the shim thickness to the jamb width and you should get your proper opening. Alternatively, you could specify trim whose width is the sum of your jamb thickness plus your shim thickness.

Link to comment

Thanks for your help. This is what I'd been doing but I'd like it to behave as it would in reality. If I'd specced a wall to have a 30mm frame and a 20mm shim, the opening should be 100mm overall larger than the door size. Additionally, why the trim should have a bearing on the opening width is a mystery?

THe wall framer seems to have a few bugs. We've been perservering with it for a number of weeks now and although it helps initially set up the drawing, every single frame has to be checked very closely for compliance with the plan and a high number altered to work properly. It would also be useful to be able to specify the maximum length for a single panel. We currently chop walls to create additional frames. I don't know if this is your experience or not but would be interested to hear your views.

Link to comment

I'm so glad this thread got started! How much feedback would you like, Robert?

We've been using the Wall Framer layout as a "guide" only, forcing the crew to rely on the floor plan dims and their own experience to set "real world" RO's. Or they can refer to the door or window shedules, where we list the ROs. That's how we've worked around the accurate-opening issue, but it won't solve the panel-builders' problems.

I'll sometimes spend an hour "fixing" studs (mostly, but also blocking) that randomly "flip" above the top plates or below the sole plate. It seems to especially struggle with sloped-top gable-end walls.

In addition, I've never run Wall Framer and not had it create at least a few doubled elements in 3D, and the second set will have the active class from when Wall Framer was run. I'll try to explain: There may be 5 cripple studs over a window opening, but Wall Framer will actually draw a doubled set of 5 each. Set Class Options to Gray Others, select the Framer-Stud class and change the line color on all studs. Set Class Options back to Show/Snap/Modify and the set of 5 cripple studs will not have changed color (it appears). Select one of them and discover it's not part of the Framer-Stud class. Delete it, and the "real" cripple stud now shows, with the changed line color. (If it didn't take as much time as it does, it would make me smile. It's like the Framer has a little personality all its own!) This doubling doesn't seem to occur in either of the 2D versions, and seems to like cripples the most but will pick full-length studs. Always a group between or above/below an opening.

The doubling is an issue because: We've always had to refine the framing layout at least a little (add extra trimmers under long openings, triple studs under beams above, etc.), so the Take Off becomes useless. We use a Worksheet to calculate the Take Off (using volume converted to bf, etc.) of standard-length studs with an additional total-sum length of Stud and Blocking material req'd. It at least gets us close to actual build quantity. An obvious enhancement for us would be to have the Take-Off dynamically linked to the 3D layer's various classes. That would be powerful.

I'd love to see a couple extra options in the set-up. 1) Frame from Left/Right, so I can set the origin of layout; 2)Single/Double Trim studs if opening over X-value (although this doesn't take too much time to fix on one of the views, it's a pain for all three. And we use all three versions [3D, plan, 2D elev]); and 3) MOST valuable would be the ability to select more than one wall class at a time to add/remove from the list. Finally, it would be nice to pick the active class (to which all the 2D elements are assigned, along with the random doubled 3D components) from within the Wall Framer dialog. I've forgotten to set it correctly, been well through the process of setting all the options and then had to decide whether to exit (losing all the settings, especially classes to be framed) or plan to go through everything after and set to the correct class.

All said, the Wall Framer is a marvelous tool. If there's enough interest in improving it, we'd be thrilled. Since I've never seen it posted about, I just presumed it was lightly used.

Hope this helps,

[ 02-23-2005, 03:56 PM: Message edited by: Travis ]

Link to comment

Glad to see there are other people using the wall framer. I'm still formulating my list for possible improvements. It is a great tool and I agree on the takeoffs. I normally copy the Vectorworks takeoff into Excel, print a copy and go through panel by panel making the necessary changes as I go on screen.

Link to comment
  • 4 weeks later...

Where can we send our suggestions on the wall framer as well as a better material takeoff. I think the framer should have a header database attached to it so you can put in code specs for your area and it will generate properly. There are several other programs I have used that have a framing database for spans and headers and create framing plans as well as full material lists with plywood cut lists etc... [Confused]

[ 03-23-2005, 02:17 PM: Message edited by: Gary C ]

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...