Discover how to develop the roof component of an elevation using layers, blocks, and line weight in AutoCAD. This comprehensive guide will take you through the process of adding attic vents, inserting blocks, mirroring vents, and adjusting line weights corresponding to the depth of the structure.
Key Insights
- The process begins by enabling the model file roof vent layer, which allows the user to visualize and count the necessary vents for the rooftop.
- Inserting a block for a roof vent side elevation is achievable through the 'insert' menu, allowing users to specify the insertion point on the screen and move the vent as required.
- Line weight is adjusted according to the distance of the lines on the roof, with forward lines appearing heavier and lines in the distance being migrated to a medium layer. This use of line weight contributes to the perception of depth in the design.
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Let's spend a few minutes developing the roof component of the elevation. The first thing I see missing is the attic vents. So I'm going to go to layers.
I'm going to slide down and I will turn on the model file Roof Vent layer. We can see the vents. You can see that we have 1,2, 3,4, 5, which are side elevations that we will be seeing in the roof itself.
I'm going to begin by making the Medium layer my current layer. And I'm going to go to Insert, Block Insert, go to Browse. And I'm going to slide down and choose my Roof Vent side elevation.
I'm going to go to Open, specify insertion point on screen. And I'm going to drag it in and place it at the end of the peak. Now I know I'm going to have to move it, but I've gotten it into the drawing.
I'm going to draw a line from the quadrant up here, straight down. And I will then move the vent from the end to the intersection point. And I can now erase my guideline.
And I will now mirror the vent at the peak of the roof. I'm now going to copy the vent from the end to the end. And copy this vent from the end of the peak to the other end.
And then copy it one more time over there. CTRL+S to save. Now, when we've drawn the bulk of the information on the roof, we've been using the Heavy layer.
But I'm going to relate line weight to color on the screen. So I'm going to choose these lines on the roof that are in the distance. And I will migrate them to the Medium layer.
This roof here is forward, and so it's going to be punching out at us. This segment of the eave needs to recede. So I'm going to go Break at Point.
I will go to Modify. And I have my two breaks: Break at Point, and Break.
So I'm going to choose Break at Point. I will select this line and break it at that point. I'm going to go back.
I'm actually going to pin this open, because we're going to be using this a bit. And you have to remember that I cannot just hit ENTER to repeat the Break at Point command, because it’s a macro command. And we went over that in AutoCAD 2. But I'm just pinning this open.
Break at Point. This segment. Break it here.
Break at Point. This segment. Break it here.
Break at Point. This segment. And break it here.
I can now select this geometry right there, and I can migrate it to the Medium layer. Because, again, that part of the building is further back than these components that are closer to us. Break at Point.
This segment. Break it there. Break at Point.
This segment. Break it there. Select this geometry.
And I will migrate them to the Medium layer. Now, you'll notice that there’s no specific layer selected here. That's because three selected pieces of geometry are on the Heavy layer.
This line here is on the Medium. So I'm just going to go and migrate them all to the Medium layer. CTRL+S to save.
So I have the forward part of the garage. The roof here. The forward pop out for the bedroom.
And I will CTRL+S to save.