Controlling Floor and Ceiling Heights

QUESTION

What is the best way to set floor and ceiling heights in my split level, or multilevel plan?

ANSWER

There are a few basic concepts to bear in mind when setting floor and ceiling heights in a plan, especially when creating a split level type design. 

• You can set the ceiling height for an entire floor in the Floor Defaults dialog, then make any necessary changes on a room-by-room basis. 
  
  
• Floor and ceiling heights can be altered at any time; but it's best to wait until you have created all the floors in your plan before changing individual rooms. 
  
  
• You should finalize all floor and ceiling heights before customizing the roof. 

To specify a default ceiling height

1. Select Edit> Default Settings  from the menu, and in the Default Settings dialog, expand the Floors and Rooms category, expand Floor Levels, select your desired floor level, then click Edit. 
   
   
   
2. In the 1st Floor Defaults dialog, select the structure panel, and specify the desired value for the Ceiling for the rooms on the first floor.
   
   
   
   
   • Specify the height of the tallest ceilings on this floor, but ignore the ceiling heights of any rooms that will extend into the floor above, such as a vaulted entry area.
     
     
   • For example, if your living room, dining room, and kitchen will have 9' ceilings, and a powder room and hallway will be only 8' high while the entry 18' high, specify the default Ceiling as 9'.
     
     
   • Click OK to apply these changes and close the dialog, then click Done to close the Default Settings dialog.
     
   
   

Now that you have set up your defaults, you are ready to begin drawing our basic plan.

To draw the basic plan

1. Click the Select Objects  button, then click in a room select it. 
   
   
   
2. Click the Open Object  edit button to open the Room Specification dialog, and on the Structure panel, notice that the default ceiling height that you specified is used. Click Cancel to close the dialog.
   
   
   
3. Select 3D> Create Perspective View> Doll House View  to see the current floor in 3D. 
   
   in legacy versions, navigate to 3D> Create Camera View> Doll House View  instead. 
   
   
   
   

To raise a single room's ceiling height

While it is not recommended that you change a room's ceiling height when additional floors have yet to be created, we will do so in this example to illustrate how this change will affect the model. For this part of the tutorial, start a New Plan and create a basic rectangular structure.

1. Select Build> Wall> Straight Interior Wall , and click and drag two walls to create three separate rooms. 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Click the Select Objects  button, click in one of the rooms to select it, and click the Open Object  edit button. 
   
   You can also hold down Ctrl/Command to select multiple rooms to modify simultaneously.
   
   
   
3. On the Structure panel of the Room Specification dialog that opens, increase the Ceiling value. 
   
   For the purposes of this example, raise it to 11' (132").
   
   
   
4. Select 3D> Create Perspective View> Doll House View  to see the results. 
   
   In legacy versions, navigate to 3D> Create Camera View> Doll House View  instead. 
   
   
   
   

To lower a single room's ceiling height

Again, you are changing ceiling heights only to illustrate the effect on the model.

1. While still in the Doll House View, click the Select Objects  button, click in a different room to select it, and click the Open Object  edit button.  
   
   
   
2. On the Structure panel of the Room Specification dialog that displays, decrease the Ceiling value and click OK. 
   
   For the purposes of our example, we will set it to 7' (84").
   
   
   
3. In a Doll House View , you can see how this change affects the walls.
   
   
   
   

To create a new floor

1. Close the 3D view to return to floor plan view and select Build> Floor> Build New Floor  from the menu.
   
   
   
2. In the New Floor dialog, select Derive 2nd floor plan from the 1st Floor plan and click OK. 
   
   
   
3. In the dialog that appears next, set your desired Ceiling value for Floor 2, then click OK. 
   
   A new floor is created with exterior walls directly above those on the first floor. 
   
   
   
4. If you go Down One Floor  and create a Doll House View , you will notice that the program has restored the default ceiling height to the rooms on this floor. 
   
   

To create a stepped floor platform

When all of your floors are in place with the correct default heights, you can make changes to individual rooms. In this example, we will raise the floor of a room on Floor 2 and increase the ceiling height of the room below as a result.

1. While on Floor 2, select Tools> Floor/Reference Display> Reference Display  to turn on the Reference Display, which allows us to see the position of objects on the floor below by displaying them in red.
   
   
   
2. Navigate to Build> Wall> Room Divider , then create a room divider wall on top of one of the interior walls that is located on Floor 1. 
   
   
   
   
   
3. Select  the room that you want to raise the floor of, then click on the Open Object  edit button.
   
   
   
4. On the Structure panel of the Room Specification dialog that displays, increase the value of the Floor, then click OK. 
   
   
   
5. Select the room divider wall created in Step 2, then click the Align with Wall Below  edit button located on the Edit toolbar to align the walls between the floor levels. 
   
   
   
6. Select 3D> Create Perspective View> Full Camera , then click and drag to create a camera view. 
   
   In legacy versions, navigate to 3D> Create Camera View> Camera  instead. 
   
   
   
   
   
7. If you return to floor plan view and go Down One Floor  to Floor 1, you can open the Room Specification dialog for the room directly below the one with the raised floor and see that its Ceiling has been adjusted upward.