Page cover

5.2 Creating Roof Planes

Estimated Completion Time: 13 minutes

Description

This module demonstrates how to create and cut roof planes for a basic layout.

Objectives

  • Describe the different roof plane properties.

  • Demonstrate how to create new planes and cut them to create a gable roof.

  • Explain how to use the "Flipped" plane option.

Additional Resources

Learning Activity

Watch video and follow along within the Paragon Design App.

chevron-rightVideo Transcript:hashtag

 Welcome! In this video, we'll be creating and cutting roof planes for a basic layout in the Paragon Design App.

While this video does not include ceiling planes, the process is similar.

For this demo we will be referring to Training Plan 1, which is a 30 foot by 20 foot rectangular structure with a four twelve roof slope and gables on both ends. A copy of the completed Training Plan 1 project is accessible from Choose Create Project menu and then under Open Sample

To begin we will open an existing project that contains the Bearing Envelopes to add our roof planes to.

To add a roof plane, click Create from the Actions Toolbar. Next, select Roof Plane. This opens the Roof Plane Creation dialog in the right sidebar where you can define plane properties.

Set the Slope to four twelve. And the Overhang to two feet, and we’ll let the software calculate the heel height using the Butt Cut Heel method. Set a standard quarter inch for the butt cut and two by four top chord, so make sure the Top Chord Width is set to 0 feet, 3 inches, and 8 sixteenths.

Once everything is set, you're ready to add the first roof plane. Next, hover your mouse over the front wall and you are presented with a preview for plane placement. Be sure the outer edge of the bearing is highlighted. Click to place the roof plane. The roof plane will appear on the outer edge after you have clicked.

Because we are adding another plane, select Insert and Repeat.

Next, define the plane on the rear wall. Here we will click to place the plane on the inside edge. The plane is located on the inside and the arrows are pointing outwards. Here we incorrectly selected the interior edge of the bearing. To resolve this, go over to the right sidebar and click to uncheck Flipped. This will correct the placement of the plane.

Click Insert to exit the roof plane tool.

Now we're ready to cut the roof planes.

After inserting the rear plane, the plane is still selected. Expand the right sidebar, if necessary, the Roof Plane properties are displayed. This means the plane is selected. At the bottom of the Properties subpanel click on Cut Plane.

 When cutting planes, you are able to cut against work lines, bearing envelope edges and other planes.  As a general rule, it is best to cut roof planes in a clockwise direction, though this is not required. Regardless of direction, it’s critical that you specify the plane boundaries in the proper sequence.

Because we are defining a gable end, we’ll cut against the gable end wall. Let's select the edges to cut with. Press Shift and hover over the right side bearing edge which will display a preview. Click the outer bearing edge. Next, hover over the opposing roof plane until it turns green, then Click to select.

Next, press Shift, and click to select the other gable wall, and finally, click Finish Cutting to apply the cut.

Next, we will cut the front plane. Click to select the roof plane, then right click to select, Cut Plane from the options.

Shift select the outer edge of the gable wall to the left. Click the opposing plane when it turns green. And for the last edge, press shift once again and click the other gable wall. Then click Finish Cutting and to place the plane.

If you make a mistake during the cutting process, you are able to Undo the previous cut selection using Ctrl Z, the keyboard shortcut for undo. Or simply select the roof plane that you want to modify and select Re-Cut Plane from the right side toolbar or by right clicking.

Let’s use the 3D camera to verify that we cut the planes correctly. Click the 3D CAMERA icon from the options toolbar. And by pressing, and holding down the right mouse button, move the mouse to spin the model around. This will show the bearing walls with the roof planes.

It looks like the planes we've added have been cut correctly.

However, if a plane was not cut correctly, return to the 2D view by clicking back on the 3D CAMERA icon, select the Roof plane you want to edit and follow the same process as listed above.

And that does it for an introduction to adding and cutting Roof Planes. Thanks for watching, and see you in the next one!

Last updated