Learn the step-by-step process of creating window and door openings in a building design. This article provides a detailed guide on how to accurately offset dimensions, trim crossings, and ensure that all intersections are correctly aligned.
Key Insights
- The process starts with creating the opening for the front door and continues in a clockwise direction around the building, ensuring all openings align correctly.
- Each opening's dimensions are carefully offset to create the correct size. For instance, a window opening might be offset by 2 feet 1 inch and 6 feet, followed by a trim crossing to create the opening.
- Once all openings for doors and windows are complete, it's essential to save the file and clean up all intersections. This step ensures the design is neat and all elements are accurately represented.
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Well, let's start working on our window and door openings. I'm just going to start at the front door and work my way around in a clockwise direction. We have the opening for the front door done.
I now want to work on the window opening here. So I'm going to offset by 2 feet 1 inch and by 6 feet. Trim crossing.
Now you can see that in the handout there's a line segment that goes here. When we draw this line segment, we will be drawing that line segment on our glazing layer. We have the opening there.
I'm going to offset by 2 feet 10 inches and by 5 feet. Trim crossing. Select there.
Save the file. I'm going to go into this bedroom. I'm going to offset by 2 feet 11 inches and by 5 feet.
Trim crossing. Again, when I was doing trim, I was typing TR, Spacebar. I did my crossing and then Spacebar to finish selecting.
And then I trimmed my geometry. I'm going to put a little window here in the bathroom. So I'm going to offset by 3 feet 3 inches and by 24 inches.
Trim crossing and clean it up. Save the file. I'm going to offset by 2 feet 7 inches and by 6 feet.
Move (using a crossing selection). Trim crossing. Save the file.
I'm going to start working in the living room area. I'm going to offset. I'm going to probably start at this wall and go to the left.
So I can see the centerline dimension of the window is 2 feet 7½ inches. So I'm going to offset by 2 feet 7½ inches, this line.
I can see that the window is 4 feet wide. So I'm going to offset by 24 inches. I can now erase out my centerline dimension and move these lines straight up.
Trim crossing. I'm going to zoom in. I'm going to offset by 11 inches.
By 2 feet 6 inches. By 11 inches. And by 4 feet. And save the file.
Now it's cleanup time. I'm just going to say Trim crossing and clean up these intersections. So again, saving the file.
I'm going to now start working on the fireplace area. I'm going to offset by 3 feet 10½ inches from the outside wall.
And then by 3 feet 4 inches. And by 1 foot 10 inches. I'm going to offset by 1 foot 10 inches from the outside face and Fillet.
And then Trim crossing just so I can start cleaning some things up and save the file.
Now, I can see that it's 10 inches from the outside face to the back of the fireplace. So I'm going to offset by 10 inches.
And come in on both sides. I can see that the front of the fireplace is 6 inches. So offset by 6 inches.
And so these lines here represent the front part of the fireplace. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to extend the wall segments here to those 6-inch lines. I know that the fireplace wants to be 8 inches from the back wall.
So I'm going to offset by 8 inches to here. And then I'm going to Fillet these lines. I want to get the angled line in.
I'm going to select this line, select the grip, move it to there. Select this line, select the grip. Activate the grip.
If you look at the command prompt, you can see that it's saying stretch. And I pick that line over there. I now want to do some more cleanup.
So I'm going to Trim. I'm just going to make everything hot for right now. Clean up this line.
Clean in here. And here. Up here.
There. Control+S. Save the file. Now I want to start working on the windows and the doors on either side of the fireplace.
I'm going to offset by 9½ inches and by 2 feet. Trim crossing.
Clean that up. Save the file. I'm going to offset by 3 inches for my door jamb width.
And then 2 feet 6 inches for the door. Move (using a crossing selection). Move the selection to the right.
Trim crossing. Select. Select.
Select. Control+S to save. I'm going to offset by 9½ inches.
And by 24 inches. Trim crossing. Clean this intersection up.
Zoom out. Now you might be wondering how I knew it was 9½ inches. I checked the dimension string and saw that the window distance was 2 feet 9½ inches from the corner to the end there. So I knew that was going to be the distance there.
Offset by 8 feet 4 inches. By 5 feet. Trim crossing.
Control+S to save the file. I'm now going to offset by 3 feet 10 inches. And by 3 feet 6 inches.
Trim crossing. Cross through. Save the file.
I'm going to work on my back door. Offset by 3 inches. By 2 feet 8 inches.
Move these lines up. Trim crossing. Cross.
Select. Select. Zoom out.
Save the file. Going to work on my garage doors. Offset by 2 feet 4 inches on either side.
My openings are 8 feet. Trim crossing. Select across them.
Cross. Cross. Zoom Extents.
Save the file. Look around one more time. Make sure that we've gotten all of our door and window openings.
Make sure that we've cleaned up all of our intersections. And we've made terrific progress. And I think the next thing we probably would like to do is to insert our window blocks.
So I'm saving the file. See you in a few minutes.