Explore the detailed process of drafting a building section, showcasing a vaulted ceiling. This article provides an in-depth, step-by-step walkthrough of how to accurately represent a section cut through a living room with specific attention to the roof, ceiling height, and doors.
Key Insights
- The article presents a thorough tutorial on how to accurately depict a section cut through a building, specifically focusing on a living room with a vaulted ceiling. The process includes measuring the distance from a back wall, copying base points, and using the clipboard to project information onto other sections.
- In addition to creating a basic outline of the section, the article discusses the importance of accurately representing the roof and ceiling height. By drawing lines and using the 'fillet' function, the roof cut and height of the ceiling are visually displayed.
- The tutorial also emphasizes the significance of detailing doors in a section cut. The process involves drawing and copying lines to show the door's location and header height, extending the wall up to the door, and breaking lines at specific points to represent the door jambs.
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Let's begin by showing the vaulted ceiling in the other building section. You can see we have the exterior wall, and then we have the ceiling being vaulted up and through here. When I pan back and go over, the living room will be in this area right here.
You can see that the section for the living room is cut in this area. So what I need to do is to figure out how far back from the back wall our section line is, which is this entity right here. So I'm going to say what's the distance from the end of the symbol perpendicular to the back wall, and you can see it's 1510.5. So I'm going to zoom dynamic, z space bar, d space bar, and go over to this section, and I'm going to offset by 15 foot 10.5 this wall, come back in, and you can see that this line right here is in fact showing where my section is being cut.
So I'm going to bring this line and these ceiling rafter lines, put them on the clipboard, and use them to help me project the information into the other section. So I'm going to go edit, copy with base point. The base point will be the end of that section line at the floor, and I will get these three entities.
Control S to save, z space bar, d space bar for zoom dynamic. I will go over to the other section, do a Control V, and place it nearest to the floor. So again, here's the section line, here's where the roof is where we're cutting, and this is how high the roof is going up.
So what I'm going to do is this. I'm going to draw a line from the intersection straight over, a line from the intersection straight over, and what I'm seeing right here is this is where the ceiling rafters will be in the living room itself. I'm going to fill it over here, fill it here, fill it here, and fill it here.
So what I'm doing at this point is I'm able to show where the rafters will be cutting through. Now, the thing is, though, that the roof extends beyond, because this line right here is where the roof is going to be once it peaks out in the room. So I'm going to draw a line from the end of there over, and I'm going to pick on it, select, go over to here, pick on this, go to there, escape.
I'm going to draw a line from here straight up, and a line from here straight up. Now I'm going to fillet these entities, and fillet these entities. Now, these will be lines that are in the distance, so they will be on the medium layer, match properties, here's the source, here is the destination.
So I'm now putting those lines on a lighter line weight, but I also want them to be a hidden two line type, because hidden two is saying that this is a line beyond. So I'm going to select these entities, and I will make them a different line type. So I want them to be a hidden two line type.
These are the only line types that are in the drawing. So I'm going to go to other, and I'm going to load the hidden two line type. So I will slide down, and I will choose hidden two, and I'll go okay.
Now I will go and select these entities again, and I will now make them, force them to be a hidden two line type, escape, control S to save. So what we're seeing so far is this is where the ceiling is, where it is cut, and this is the line that shows the ridge of the roof beyond. We no longer need our guidelines, so I'm going to erase out these guidelines.
But we do need to show some framing that's going on in through here. So I'm going to fillet this entity and over to here. I'm going to do some cleanup.
I'm going to also offset by the six inches. This line go to the left, trim that. That's cutting out there.
Fillet here, fillet here, fillet here. I'm going to trim. This is a cutting edge, and this is a cutting edge.
Trim this out. I'm going to do some more trimming because, again, I'm showing how the section is being cut through the living room, control S to save. So, again, what we're showing in this volume space is this is where the roof is being cut at that point, and this is the height of the ceiling beyond.
Now, something else that I can do, again, different people show different kinds of sections. I know that this roof is going to be probably balloon framed. Again, balloon framing is where I have framing systems that extend beyond one typical floor.
So chances are the contractor will be balloon framing this section up to the roof. So what I could do is I could now go erase, erase that out, erase that out, and extend up to the roof these walls, trim crossing, trim crossing, and, again, clean this out. So, again, I would be talking with my structural engineer to see how they really wanted all of this to be framed, but this is, again, one kind of presentation that we can do.
Before we begin adding a bit more detail, I'd like to bring one more thing to your attention. These lines here are showing the roof members through which the section is cutting. This line that I'm just going across is showing the underside of the roof at the peak of the vault, but when I'm looking at a section, I will end up seeing the peaked framing going on in the distance.
So I'm going to do a copy. This line from the end of here, I'm maintaining the same distance and match properties. Here's the source.
Here's the destination. So, again, this information right here is showing the framing at the peak of the roof. This upper line is showing the top of the peak itself within the vaulted space.
What we want to start doing now are showing any doors and windows that are in the distance in the section. So I'm going to pan back, and you can see that here is my section line. My section line is right here, and from this section, I will see the fact that I'm cutting through a door here.
I will see this door in the distance. I will see this door at the end of the hallway in the distance. I will see this door to the closet in the distance.
So I'm going to begin by drawing a line from the end of here straight down, and I'm going to copy that line, cp for copy, from the end to the apparent sides of these doors that are in the distance. Now, I'm going to extend down. Okay, so let's see what's going on.
These walls here are going to be these walls here. We see that they line up perfectly. Now, door header heights are typically 6'8", so I'm going to offset by 6'8", the floor, and go up.
Okay, so this will be the header height for the door. This will be on a lighter line weight, so I'm going to make that to be on the medium layer. This door that's right here, I need to cut, so I want to end up showing the fact that I'm cutting for a door.
My wall is from the header on up, but I will be cutting through the door, but I will see the jam of the door in the distance. So I'm going to go modify, break at point, choose this line, break it at that intersection. Modify, break at point, choose this line, break it at that intersection.
MA for match properties, here's the source, there's the destination. When we end up doing our cleanup, we will notice that we are cutting through a door, and we're seeing from a line weight standpoint what it's going to be like. And we will come back after we've cleaned up and changed that to the heavy layer there.
Now we have the door that we're seeing to the bedroom. EX for extend, down to here, these lines. I'm going to go trim crossing and get rid of those.
MA for match properties, here's the source, there's the destination. I have the master bedroom and the closet doors in the distance. So EX for extend, choose these lines, trim crossing and crossing.
I'm going to choose this while I'm at it. I pick on what I want to have go away. And so now I'm showing the master bedroom door, the closet door.
I'm showing where the hall wall jogs. I need to do some cleanup in through here. So trim crossing, I'm going to clean it up like this.
Now I'm seeing my door from the Jack and Jill into the adjacent bedroom, the master bedroom door, the closet door. MA for match properties, here's the source, here's the destination. Match properties, here's the source, there's the destination.
Because over this door, again, all of this will eventually be post-shade, showing that we're cutting the section. This is showing the sides of the door jams beyond. Now, this line right here is in the distance.
It is showing how the hall jogs. So I'm going to go MA for match properties. Here's the source, there's the destination.
Control-S to save. But what I also have going on here is I have the wall beyond that's turning at the living room. So modify, break at point, choose this, break it there.
MA for match properties, here's the source, there's the destination. Control-S to save. I'm going to back off.
I have some lines that I want to erase. And what I'm going to be working on next are these doors and windows that are in the distance in the living room, including spending some time in the fireplace detailing itself. If you would please get up to this point, and then we will continue on adding more detail into this drawing.
What I'm going to do very quickly, though, is Control-S to save. I'm going to go into my 302 drawing, reload the XRef, and so I can start to see work in progress. So I'll just back off, pan, Control-S to save.
And again, please get caught up, and we will continue on from here.