Creating Exposed Rafter Tails

QUESTION

I would like to create and display exposed rafter tails in designs. How can I do this?

ANSWER

Rafter tails are rafter ends that overhang the bearing walls and are located under the eaves. They can be the full rafter depth or trimmed to the depth of the soffits and sometimes feature decorative profiles. Rafter tails can also be fully exposed, or partially enclosed by soffits.

• To create fully exposed rafter tails
  
• To create partially exposed rafter tails

This article assumes you have already specified your Roof Framing Defaults, but you have not yet created roof planes. If your plan already has a roof built and Auto Rebuild Roofs is disabled, group select all of the roof planes that will have exposed rafters and complete the steps described below in the Roof Plane Specification instead of the Build Roof dialog.

To create fully exposed rafter tails

1. In your desired plan, select Build> Roof> Build Roof  and in the Build Roof dialog that displays:
   
   
   • On the Roof panel, check the Build Roof Planes box.
     
     
   • On the Structure panel:
     
     
     • Check Build Roof Framing.
     • Remove the check from Soffits.
       
     • Remove the check from Eave Sub Fascia.
     • Remove the check from Gable Fascia or Eave Fascia. Unchecking one will also uncheck the other.
       
       
       
     
     
   • If a decorative rafter end is desired, select the Rafter Tails panel and click the Add New button to browse the library for a suitable rafter tail profile.
     
     
     
     
   • Access the Gutters panel, or any other panels located in this dialog to make additional roof modifications, if desired. 
     
     
   • Once all desired settings are specified, click OK to close the dialog and generate the roof. 
     
     

     Note: You may be presented with one or more Question dialogs asking if you would like to turn on the display of the roof framing layers in the current view; click Yes if you want to see the rafters displayed in the active plan view, or click No if you don't want to see the rafters in the active plan view.

     
     
   
   
2. Select 3D> Create Perspective View> Perspective Full Overview  to create a 3D view of the structure.
   
   
   
3. Framing layers are not displayed in this type of camera view by default. To turn on roof framing, select Tools> Layer Settings> Display Options and in the Layer Display Options dialog that opens:
   
   

   The Active Layer Display Options side window can also be used to toggle the display of layers on or off. For more information, please watch Video # 5302: Active Layer Display Options Side Window.
   

   
   
   
   
   • Verify that the correct Layer Set is selected.
     
     In this example, the Camera View Layer Set is selected, which is the default for the Perspective Full Overview tool.
     
     
   • Locate the "Framing, Roof Rafters" and "Framing, Roof Blocking" layers and place a check in their Disp column.
     
     
   • Click OK to confirm the change and close the dialog.
     
   
   
   
4. (Optional) If you want your rafters and rafter tails to be painted a certain color, such as white, perform the following steps:
   
   
   • Remain in the 3D camera view created in Step 2, then navigate to 3D> Material Painter> Material Painter . 
     
     
   • In the Select Material dialog that opens, locate and select your desired color, then click OK. 
     
     In this example, the "Color - White" material was selected. It's important to select a color and not a textured material during this process if you want to maintain an accurate framing texture for your roof framing. 
     
     
   • Navigate to 3D> Material Painter and ensure that Blend Colors with Materials  is enabled. If it's not, select it to enable it. This setting blends the white color chosen above with the framing texture. 
     
     
   • If you would like all roof framing in the plan to be painted the selected color, navigate to 3D> Material Painter> Material Painter Plan Mode . There are other modes that can also be selected for more granular control.
     
     

     To learn more about the different Material Painter modes, please see the appropriate resource in the Related Articles section below.

     
     
   • Now, with the Material Painter  selected, click on one of the framing members in the 3D view to blend the selected color with the framing texture. Depending on the mode that was selected above, one or more of your framing members will update. 

To create partially exposed rafter tails

1. In your desired plan select Build> Roof> Build Roof  and in the Build Roof dialog that displays:
   
   
   • On the Roof panel, check the Build Roof Planes box.
     
     
   • On the Structure panel:
     
     
     • Check Build Roof Framing.
       
     • Remove the check from Trim Framing to Soffits.
       
     • Check Soffits.
       
     • Check and specify the Fascia and Sub Fascia Depths, if desired.
       
       In this example, the Gable Sub Fascia Depth is set to 1 1/2", the Eave Sub Fascia Depth and the Eave Fascia Depth are both set to 3 1/2", though these will likely vary for your roof, depending on what you want to show.
       
       
       
       
     
     

     The Soffit height, along with its elevation, is determined by the depth of the Gable Sub Fascia.

   • 
     
   • If a decorative rafter end is going to be used, select the Rafter Tails panel and click Add New to browse the library for a suitable rafter tail profile.
     
     
     
     
   • Access the Gutters panel, or any other panels located in this dialog to make additional roof modifications, if desired. 
     
     
   • Once all desired settings are specified, click OK to close the dialog and generate the roof. 
     
     

     Note: You may be presented with one or more Question dialogs asking if you would like to turn on the display of the roof framing layers in the current view; click Yes if you want to see the rafters displayed in the active plan view, or click No if you don't want to see the rafters in the active plan view.

     
     
   
   
2. Select 3D> Create Perspective View> Perspective Full Overview  to create a 3D view of the structure.
   
   
   
3. Framing layers are not displayed in this type of camera view by default. To turn on roof framing, select Tools> Layer Settings> Display Options and in the Layer Display Options dialog that opens:
   
   

   The Active Layer Display Options side window can also be used to toggle the display of layers on and off. For more information, please watch Video # 5302: Active Layer Display Options Side Window.

   
   
   
   
   • Verify that the correct Layer Set is selected.
     
     In this example, the Camera View Layer Set is selected, which is the default for the Perspective Full Overview tool.
     
     
   • Locate the "Framing, Roof Rafters" and "Framing, Roof Blocking" layers and place a check in their Disp column.
     
     
   • Click OK to confirm the change and close the dialog.
   
   
   
4. (Optional) If you want your rafters and rafter tails to be painted a certain color, such as white, perform the following steps:
   
   
   • Remain in the 3D camera view created in Step 2, then navigate to 3D> Material Painter> Material Painter . 
     
     
   • In the Select Material dialog that opens, locate and select your desired color, then click OK. 
     
     In this example, the "Color - White" material was selected. It's important to select a color and not a textured material during this process if you want to maintain an accurate framing texture for your roof framing. 
     
     
   • Navigate to 3D> Material Painter and ensure that Blend Colors with Materials  is enabled. If it's not, select it to enable it. This setting will allow us to blend the selected color with the framing texture. 
     
     
   • If you would like all roof framing in the plan to be painted the selected color, navigate to 3D> Material Painter> Material Painter Plan Mode . There are other modes that can also be selected for more granular control.
     
     

     To learn more about the different Material Painter modes, please see the appropriate resource in the Related Articles section below.

     
     
   • Now, with the Material Painter  selected, click on one of the framing members in the 3D view to blend the selected color with the framing texture. Depending on the mode that was selected above, one or more of your framing members will update.