Creating an Elevation View of Wall Framing in Home Designer

Reference Number: KB-01188
Last Modified: April 30, 2026
This article also applies to the following legacy products:
Pro

QUESTION

I need to create elevation views that show just wall framing. How can I do this?   
Elevation of wall framing consisting of wall studs, bottom and top plates, and headers.


ANSWER

In Home Designer 2026 and newer, as well as in Home Designer Pro 2025 and prior, you can create a framing elevation view by building your framing, creating an elevation camera, and controlling the layers that are displayed.


To build wall framing

  1. Navigate to Build> Framing> Build Framing from the menu.
  2. In the Build Framing dialog check the box for Walls underneath of Automatically Rebuild Framing or Build Framing Once, then click OK.

    In Home Designer Pro 2024 and prior, on the     Wall panel of the Build Framing dialog that opens, check Automatically Build Wall Framing or Build Wall Framing, then click OK.

    In the Build Framing dialog check the box for Walls.
  3. Navigate to 3D> Create Orthographic View> Back Clipped Cross Section  and create a back clipped cross section view of the wall you'd like to see.

    The Wall Elevation tool is not recommended for this purpose as the framing components won't be visible beyond the walls surface layer.


    Creating a cross section view of a wall


  4. Once the view has generated, navigate to Tools> Display Options , click the Select All button, then uncheck the Display box.

    In the Layer Display Options select all layers and uncheck the Display box.
  5. Staying in the Layer Display Options dialog, locate the "Framing, Headers" and "Framing, Wall" layers, check the Display box or place a check in the Disp column for each, then click OK.

    If you would like to see framing that is located on the foundation level (Floor 0), the "Foundation" layer must also be displayed.

    In the Layer Display Options select the framing layers you'd like to see and check the Display box.
  6. Click OK and notice that wall framing is displayed.

    Note: If framing components don't appear, it's possible that the wall's Main Layer is not specified as a framing material or does not have the "Framing" box checked under the Material Layer section. Please see the "Troubleshooting Framing Issues in Home Designer" resource in the Related Articles section below to learn more.


    Elevation view of framing
  7. Add Text  and Dimensions  to the view, if desired, then send the view to a layout using the Send to Layout  tool.

    Starting in Home Designer Pro 2023, manually-drawn dimensions can locate and snap to individual framing components in cross section views if set to do so within the Dimension Defaults. Please see the "Changing Your Dimension Settings" resource in the Related Articles section below to learn more.
  8. After the view has been sent to a layout, you may want to navigate back into the Layer Display Options dialog and turn on the display of layers that you'd like to see when creating new elevation views.

    In Chief Architect Premier, customizable layer sets are available. Rather than turning on and off layers one-by-one, layer sets allow you to quickly switch from one collection of layers to another.



To use an alternate method

  1. Create a Cross Section/Elevation of the wall you'd like to see wall framing of.


  2. Navigate to Tools> Display Options and place a check in the Display box or Disp column for both the "Framing, Wall" and "Framing, Headers" layers.


  3. Use the Delete Surfaces tool and proceed to click on the surfaces you want to hide or delete temporarily.

    It's important to be aware that if the view is refreshed, the surfaces that were once deleted will regenerate.


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