Cabin Review

Now you should have completed the cabin.  Save the file to your H: drive and print the floor plan and elevation views of your cabin.  This first cabin assignment was to review and learn how to use the functions of Archicad.  Now it is time for you to venture out on your own to try and complete a set of drawings.   

Your assignment is to complete a less than 1500 square foot home, one story, and submit the printouts for evaluation.  To do this well you will need more information on how to design a home, and the necessary views that will be printed.  If you get stuck you may refer back to the Cabin papers to remember how to do something.  This project will reflect about 1/2 of your grade so take care to complete it correctly.  Follow the steps below to complete this assignment.

1. Complete the Space planning PowerPoint at the following link, Space Planning  Be sure to take notes as you will be given a quiz on the contents of the PowerPoint.
2. Begin with a sketch.  Plan out how you will organize your space.  Keep in mind the 1500 square foot limit does not include a garage.  Keep this sketch with you always when you are drawing.
3. Start with the Walls.  In Archicad when you built your cabin, you started with the walls.  Do the same this time.  Draw each component of your house similar to how you drew the cabin.  You will likely not want log walls, or some of the other features.  Feel free to explore and dabble with some of the options you have.  Some people get so specific they go to Home Depot.com and actually find the correct color of carpet they want and import it into the program.
4. Create the prints.  After you complete the house it is important for you to be able to put the information into a set of plans that can be read at a job site.  The following website PowerPoints will provide you with more information, some of these will be assigned as we go through the course.  Feel free to browse and explore as these contain a bunch of information. 
5. You should create the following plans for your home.
   • Floor Plan
   • Electrical Plan
   • Elevations (at least 2 but likely 4)
   • Site Plan
   • Roof Plan
   • Section views (any cabinets or other special features)
   • Foundation
   • Video Walkthrough
6. Once you are sure you have the files ready print them on the regular printer, then if your plans are sufficient we will print them on the plotter to scale.

Elevations

Go to Elevations and view the PowerPoint titled elevations.  Use the following questions to take notes you can refer to later. 

How many sides of the house should be shown with an elevation?

What may be needed if the building has an irregular shape?

What information is contained on the elevation?

What scale is the elevation typically drawn?

What types of dimensions are on an elevation?

How are features below grade shown?

Name 5 types of roofing materials.

What materials do not have to be exact but should be included on the elevation?

How tall should the chimney flu be?

What other information did you find helpful in this PowerPoint?

Floor Plan Presentation Assignment

The Cabin gave you a good introduction/review to ArchiCAD.  Now the focus will be learning the concepts of Architectural Drafting.  Due to the setup of this course you will get most of your information by reading and working through tutorials and presentations.  The trick to truly understand the material is to look up things that are unclear and ask questions.  You have an amazing amount of resources available to you to find out information.

The first thing we will cover is the Floor Plan.  Many of you have seen floor plans before but I am sure you did not understand all you could about them.  Go to Floor Plan PowerPoint

and download and go through the PowerPoint titled Floor Plan.  When you have finished go back through and complete the assignment below in a word document to ensure you understand the necessary concepts.  Save the file to you H: drive.  You will receive a quiz on the information covered and your notes will help you do well.  Be sure to include all the information listed below along with any info you think you may wish to remember.

Floor Plan Assignment:

1. Define Floor Plan.
2. What scale is a floor plan drawn to typically?
3. How wide is an exterior 2X4 wall?
4. An interior 2X6 wall?
5. At what height do you need a railing? 
6. How far apart should the balusters be?
7. What direction do interior doors usually swing?
8. What is a pocket door?
9. What is standard residential door height?
10. What is a bifold door?
11. What size is a double car garage door opening?
12. What is the typical slope of a garage floor slab?
13. How thick is a garage floor slab (typically)?
14. What are 5 types of windows how do they work?
15. How big is a 4 0 x 4 0 window?
16. What is the purpose of a window schedule?
17. What is the interior finish schedule?
18. What is a hose bib and a gas bib and how are they drawn?
19. How big is the room titling lettering?
20. What are the 4 rows of dimensions?

The Cabin

Once you have completed the foundation plan go to http://www.thecadacademy.com/instructorportal.asp and select the Cabin quick start tutorial.  Do your best to work through and build the cabin.  Be a little creative when you can and do your best.  Remember that if you get stuck you can often figure out what you need to do by backing up a step or two, asking someone around you , or just trying again.  Good luck and keep me posted of your progress.

 

Steve