Help Database

A Dutch hip roof, sometimes called a Dutch gable roof, is a combination of hip and gable roof styles in which a gable is located at the end of the ridge, at the top of a hip roof plane.  Creating a Dutch hip roof is easy to do by following the steps below.  

To create a Dutch hip roof

By default, the program will generate a hip roof over each wall in your plan.

1. Open a Chief Architect plan in which you would like to create a half-hip roof.  In this example,  a simple 20' x 30' building with 109 1/8" ceiling height is used. 
   
   
   
2. Select Build> Roof> Build Roof  to open the Build Roof dialog box.  Check the box beside Build Roof Planes, then click OK to close the dialog box and automatically generate a hip roof. 
    
    
   
3. Click on one of the side edges of a roof plane that in which you would like to build a Dutch hip to select it along that edge.
   
   
   
4. Click the Break Line  edit button, then click once along the edge that you selected to place a corner handle or 'joint' at that location.  Do not worry about exact placement at this time.
    
5. Click on the edit handle that displays at the peak of the roof plane and drag it down to produce a triangular-shaped opening in the roof.
   
   
   
   • You may want to click on the new edge to select it and click the Make Parallel  edit button, then click on the wall that the roof plane is resting on to insure the roof plane you just edited is parallel to that wall.
     
     
     
6. Select Tools> Reference Floors> Up One Floor  to up to the Attic level.
   
   
   
7. Select Tools> Reference Floors> Reference Display  from the menu or press the F9 key on your keyboard to display the 1st floor walls and roof planes as red lines.
   
   
   • In Chief Architect X1 and newer, if your roof planes do not display as part of the Reference Display, select Tools> Display Options  to display the Layer Display Options dialog. 
     
     Then, use the Available Layer Set drop-down menu to select the Reference Display Set, scroll down to the Roof Planes layer, and put a checkmark in the Disp column.  
      
      
      
     In Chief Architect version 10 and prior, if your roof planes do not display as part of the Reference Display, select Tools> Display Options  from the menu. Then, in the Layer Display Options dialog, browse to the Roof Planes layer and click in the Ref column. 
     
     
   • Click OK to close the dialog box and include roof planes in the Reference Display.
     
     
     
8. Select Build> Wall> Exterior Wall  from the menu, then click and drag along the edge of the roof plane edge that you created in steps 3 and 4.  This will be the gable wall.
   
   
   • The exterior surface of the wall should be just inside, or above, the top edge of the hip roof.
     
     
   • If it is too low or too high, click on the wall to select it and use the Move  edit handle to move into the correct location.
     
   • Alternatively, you may wish to move the roof plane edge to make room for the gable wall.
     
     
     
9. Select Tools> Reference Floors> Down One Floor  to return to Floor 1.  Notice the gable wall in the attic displays as red lines.
   
   
   
10. Click on one of the roof planes on either side of the Dutch hip to select it, click the Break Line  edit button, then click once along that edge to place a break at that location, as in step 4, above.
    
    
    • Click and drag the edit handle at the ridge to create a new edge that is parallel to the gable wall. 
       
    • Click the Make Parallel  edit button and click on the wall that the Dutch hip is bearing on to make it parallel to that wall.
      
      
    • Adjust the position of the roof edge to create an overhang.
      
      
      

 

11. Repeat steps 11 and 12 with the roof plane on the other side of the Dutch hip.
    
    
    
12. Select 3D> Create Perspective View> Full Overview  from the menu.
    
    In Chief Architect X1 and prior, use 3D> Create Render View> Render Full Overview.