Roof Planes

Creating and Cutting Roof Planes Overview

Video Transcript:

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!

Insert Roof Planes

Step 1 - Create Roof Planes

Begin insertion by clicking the + Create button, right-clicking in empty space, or using the Ctrl + Q keyboard shortcut and selecting Roof Plane.

Tip

You can use the Ctrl + Q + R keyboard shortcut to begin inserting a Roof Plane.

Step 2 - Place and Insert Roof Planes

When the Roof Plane Creation subpanel opens, Picking mode is enabled by default. Hover over the wall or Work Line you wish to place a plane on and click the outside line to insert a roof plane.

Cut Roof Planes

Once all the desired planes have been inserted, they must be cut to determine geometry.

Step 1 - Select a Roof Plane to Cut

Select a roof plane and right-click Cut plane .

Step 2 - Pick Roof Planes

Pick other planes to cut against. Click Finish Cutting to save your changes and exit cutting mode.

Tip

• Hold Shift to cut against any line vertically, such as for a gable end.

• Press Ctrl + Z to undo the previous plane or vertical cut selection.

Note

For planes with more than 2 cuts, it is important that the cut selections are made in a sequential, clockwise or counterclockwise manner. You can always re-cut a plane from the properties subpanel.

Step 3 - Finish Cutting

Select Finish Cutting after defining the last cut selection.

Delete Roof Planes

To delete a single plane right-click the plane in the scene and choose Delete Plane . If you would like to delete multiple planes at a time, hold down the Ctrl key and click each plane in the right sidebar. Once you have selected your planes, click the Delete icon to remove them.

Modify Roof Plane Properties

Step 1 - Open the Roof Plane Properties Subpanel

Select the roof plane and open the Right Sidebar or right-click the roof plane and select Edit Properties.

The properties below can be modified during insertion as well as after in the Roof Plane Properties subpanel.

Step 2 - Modify Roof Plane properties as needed

Definition

Click Pick to select a different Base Line to define the Roof Plane or use the Flipped checkbox to change the orientation of the plane.

Slope

Use Slope to modify the slope of the selected plane.

Overhang

Use the Overhang input to change the overhang dimensions.

Heel Method

Use Heel Method to switch between Butt Cut and Heel Height. Changing this setting will also change the corresponding input to modify the dimensions.

Top Chord Width

Defines the top chord board size (ex. 3 1/2", 5 1/2", 7 1/4", etc.). This value is used to calculate the heel height when using the Butt Cut method.

Sub-fascia Thickness

Defines the distance to hold back the overhang. If Overhang is defined as 1' and Sub-fascia Thickness is defined as 1 1/2", then the actual overhang will be 1'-10 1/2"

Cantilever

Defines an offset distance to place the plane's origin. This can be a positive or negative value. The Overhang is applied to the end of the cantilever. The Heel Height is applied at the end of the Cantilever.

Decking Thickness

Defines the thickness of the roof sheathing (ex. 7/16"). This is use to determine the length of valley trusses when the bottom cut is defined by an underlying roof plane.

Adjust Fascia Height

Use Adjust Fascia Height to match the current plane's fascia to another plane's. This is used when you are matching a plane with a larger slope value to a plane with a lower slope (ex. match an 8/12 to a 6/12). This will adjust the larger slopes heel height so the fascia aligns with that of the lower slope.