Creating a Covered Patio

QUESTION

I would like to create a covered patio area held up by columns instead of walls or railings. How can I create a roof over this type of area in Home Designer?

ANSWER

Creating a covered patio, or other outside structure which has a roof held up by columns instead of walls, is easy to create using the Room Divider tool and columns placed from the library.

To create a room without walls 

1. In order to specify a roof over an area, we need to create a completely enclosed room area. Select Build> Wall> Room Divider  and click and drag out walls to completely enclose the area.  
   
   
   
   
2. Once we have created a room, use the Select Objects  tool to select it, and click on the Open Object  edit tool.
   
   
   
3. In the Room Specification dialog:
   
   
   • On the General panel, change the Room Type to Slab. 
     
     
   • On the Structure panel, ensure that the Roof Over This Room box is checked. 
     
     If you only want a roof, and do not wish to see the ceiling displayed in your patio, uncheck the Flat Ceiling Over This Room box. 
     
     

     If you would like to adjust the slab's material, you will need to go down to the foundation level, open the Slab Room Specification, go to the Materials panel, and adjust the Floor Structure material. Alternatively you could use the Material Painter while in a 3D camera view to change the slab's material. 

     
     
   • Once you have finished making changes in this dialog, click the OK button to apply and close the dialog.
   
   

To place columns

1. Select View> Library Browser  to display the Library Browser window if it's not already open. 
   
   
   
2. Browse to Core Catalogs> Architectural> Millwork, then expand the Columns folder.
   
   
   
   
   • Depending on the type of column that you want, you may also want to look at the Shapes category. 
     
     
   • Browse until you locate the type of column that you want to use, select it, then click in floor plan view to place the column.
     
   
   
   
3. Using the Select Objects  tool, click the column that you placed, then click on the Open Object  edit tool. 
   
   
   
4. In the Millwork Specification dialog, adjust the Width, Height, Depth, and Floor to Bottom values for the column on the General panel, adjust the Materials to your liking, then click OK. 
   
   
   
5. You can adjust position of the column after it has been placed using the square Move edit handle.
   
   

   If you have difficulty placing the column precisely where you want, hold down the Ctrl/Command key while moving the object to allow for unrestricted movement. 

   
   
6. Once you have editing the first column to your liking, you can create identical copies by selecting the column and clicking the Copy  edit tool. 
   
   

   Click on the Sticky edit tool to be able to Paste multiple copies of the column without having to select Copy/Paste each time. 

   
   
7. Click in plan to Paste  copies of the column until you have the appropriate number of copies.
   
   
   
8. Select  and Move  the remaining columns into place. 
   
   
   
   
   
9. Take a Camera  view to see the results.