Joining a Barrel Roof to a Flat Roof Plane


Reference Number: KB-00684
Last Modified: August 23, 2023

The information in this article applies to:

Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect Interiors



QUESTION

I would like to join a barrel roof to a flat gable roof. How is this accomplished?

Cruved roof planes meeting flat roof planes


ANSWER

An almost endless variety of roof combinations is possible using the manual and automatic roof tools in Chief Architect.


To create curved and flat roof planes

  1. Draw the walls of a structure with a bump-out in a clockwise fashion, as shown below.

    Floor plan of a structure with a bumpout


  2. Select the walls that are marked in green within the image below, then click the Open Object edit button.

    Walls can be group selected by first selecting one, holding down the Shift key, then selecting each additional wall.


    Walls that will be Full Gable Walls are highlighted in green


  3. On the Roof panel of the Wall Specification dialog that displays, select the Full Gable Wall option, then click OK.

    Roof panel of the Wall Specification dialog


  4. Select Build> Roof> Build Roof  from the menu.


  5. On the Roof panel of the Build Roof dialog that displays, check the Build Roof Planes box, ensure that the Auto Rebuild Roofs box is unchecked, then click OK to generate an automatic double gable roof.

    Roof planes displayed in a floor plan view


  6. Group select the two roof planes that are directly above the bump-out, then click the Open Object edit button.


  7. On the General panel of the Roof Plane Specification dialog that displays:

    General panel of the Roof Plane Specification dialog


    • Check the Curved Roof box, which will enable the options directly below it. A Warning message may display explaining that a change to the roof forced the plate height to change even though it was locked. Click OK.

    • Specify the Angle at Ridge to be 0.

    • Press the Tab key on your keyboard to apply this change without closing the dialog and notice that both the Angle at Eave and Radius values adjust to the change. Additionally, the same Warning message mentioned above may display. Click OK.

    • Click OK to close the dialog.


  8. Select 3D> Create Perspective View> Perspective Full Overview   to create a 3D view, and notice the gap between the flat and curved roof planes

    Camera view of curved roof planes and flat roof planes disconnected


To join the roof planes

  1. Return to floor plan view and click on one of the curved roof planes near the edge adjacent to the flat roof plane to select it and display its edit handles.

    Roof plane selected on the inner edge in a floor plan view


  2. With the curved roof plane selected, click the Join Roof Planes  edit button, then click on the edge of the flat roof plane that you wish to join to. The roof edges will move, joining at the most appropriate location.

    Using the Join Roof Planes tool to connect a curved roof plane to a flat roof plane


  3. Repeat this process with the other curved roof plane, then select 3D> Create Perspective View> Perspective Full Overview  to confirm that your roof planes now join properly.

    Camera view of curved and flat roof planes connected

Note: The above procedure can be used to join curved roof planes to any style roof with flat roof planes, not just gable roofs.