Adding Moldings to Roof Planes in Home Designer

QUESTION

In my area, we frequently add colonial molding to the edges of roof planes. How can I add molding to my roof planes in Home Designer?

ANSWER

Roof planes don't allow for moldings to be generated along a particular edge. Instead, an object such as a soffit will need to be used. In this article, we will discuss how to remove gutters, add soffits, and apply a molding profile to soffits.

To remove gutters*

Applies to Home Designer 2026 and newer, as well as Home Designer Pro 2025 and prior. 

Although gutters can't be removed in Home Designer Architectural and Home Designer Suite, they can be hidden; open a camera view, navigate to Tools> Display Options while the camera view is active, then turn off the display of the "Roofs, Gutters" layer. 

1. In your plan, navigate to Build> Roof> Build Roof  from the menu.  
   
   
   
2. In the Build Roof dialog that displays:
   
   
   
   
   • On the Options panel, uncheck the Gutter box.
     
     

     Note: The display of gutters can also be controlled on a per roof plane basis. Instead of opening the Build Roof dialog, open one or more individual roof planes up to specification, access the Options panel, and uncheck the Gutter box.

     
     
   • On the Roof panel, check either the Build Roof Planes or Auto Rebuild Roofs box.
   
   
   
3. Click OK to confirm the change and close the dialog.
   

To add moldings to roof planes

1. Select Build> Cabinet> Soffit  , then click in your plan to place it.
   
   
   
2. Using the Select Objects  tool, select the newly placed soffit, then click on the Open Object  edit tool.
   
   
   
3. In the Soffit Specification dialog that displays:
   
   
   
   
   • On the General panel, set the appropriate Width, Height, Depth, and Floor to Top/Bottom.
     
     
   • On the Moldings panel, click the Add New button to display the Select Library Object dialog, navigate to the appropriate molding you would like to use, select it, then click OK to return to the Soffit Specification dialog.
     
     
     
     
   • Modify the molding's Width and Height, if desired.
     
     
   • On the Materials panel, specify an appropriate material for the molding and/or soffit.
     
     
   • Click OK to confirm the changes and close the dialog.
   
   
   
4. Using the Select Objects  tool, select the soffit and use its edit handles to move, rotate, or resize it, as needed. 
   
   
   
5. You can now Copy  this soffit to other roof planes, as needed.