Pitch and SQFT callouts/labels are now working:

First look at the sheathing and labels for an asymmetric hip roof:

I've got the asymmetric options added to the edit menu and the common rafters and fascia are calculating correctly:



Note that all four pitches are different values, however the fascia lines up all the way around the roof as it should (in this case I have the overhangs auto calculating).

Next I will work on the hip rafters and jack rafters.  As we can see in this example, all symmetry is broken, each hip rafter will be unique (x4) as well as each set of jack rafters (x8).  Luckily we can program this sort of thing, drawing this type of roof manually would be a real headache.

Continuing on with regards to multi pitch hip roofs we need to be very clear about what point on the roof lines up when we talk about lining up the fascia. Do we mean the sub-fascia, rafter tail or the fascia?

Since I currently don't have the fascia and soffit added yet I can probably ignore these for now and state that the top of the fascia board must line up with other fascia boards on other roof planes.

I don't normally post on the boards regarding price changes in the plugins however I thought it might be worth noting that I have decreased the renewal price on the Truss plugin to $10.00.  The idea being that once you have paid your initial license fee ongoing renewals are mostly a token payment. 

The asymmetric roof addition beat me up pretty hard for about three days, but in the end I won out.  Now I need to look at the hip roof and how best to deal with multi pitches...

With the hip roof we are now talking about four different possible top plate heights with four different possible pitches, birdsmouth cuts, and rafter depths. 

If one is to assume that the fascia boards all line up (gutters), then the top plates heights are actually driven by the roof overhang and the pitch of each roof plane.  Only one roof plane (Plane A) will actually have its plate height set (the zero or base height of the roof), the other roof planes' top plate heights will be automatically calculated. 

I suppose there is always the possibility where the fascia don't line up but I think this is more the exception than the rule, correct me if I am wrong.

As I've given this some more thought it occurred to me that typically the designer will set the roof pitches from the outset.  Then, in order to get the fascia to line up, he/she can either adjust the overhang or the top plate height (assume that the birdsmouth cut is set to some value).  So depending on the situation the user may want the plugin to calculate either the overhang (same top plate height) or the top plate height (same overhang). I will need to give this some more thought. 

If the user keys in a numeric value for the overhang (roof planes B, C or D) then the edit menu can automatically set the delta height (top plate heights) for each respective roof plane to "AUTO".  Likewise if a value is keyed in for the delta height the HTML form can set the respective overhang(s) to "AUTO". 

Version 2.3.6 - 05.01.2019
- Enabled asymmetric gable rafter roofs (imperial and metric units).

Tutorial 14:  Asymmetric Gable Roofs



Sometimes you just never know until you dig into it.  This latest update required a virtual rewrite of the entire rafter roof module.  Asymmetric roofs literally change everything up.  I'm glad to get this one wrapped up and behind me.

First look at an asymmetric roof:



Note the addition of "Asymmetric Options" in the edit menu (4 parameters).

Also note that the rafter depth is different for each side of the roof as well as the birds mouth cut.

If the delta height is non-zero (can be either negative or positive) then I have the ceiling joists disabled for now.  I will need some more direction with regard to that possible configuration.

I now just need to focus on the advanced options and bring them up to speed for an asymmetric gable roof (ie. gutters, hip and ridge, rake boards, sheathing, cladding etc...)

I've also spent some considerable time cleaning up the rafter roof module and re-organizing the file structure where it seemed prudent.  The thing about these plugins is there is always more to do.

Version 1.0.7 - 04.28.2019
- Fixed the show_modal bug for macOS in the Materials tab of the global settings.

Version 2.3.5 - 04.28.2019
- Fixed the show_modal bug for macOS in the Materials tab of the global settings.

Okay, let's try this again.  I've uploaded a new version of 1.1.0 with all the show_modal calls replaced with non-modal calls.  My conclusion is that show_modal is a complete disaster when using macOS, realistically one can only use non-modal html menus.  I'm just hoping now that this does not somehow create issues for users in Windows.  I don't think it will based on my limited testing thus far.

If it does then I simply add some logic which switches to non-modal html menus if macOS is detected.   However, I would rather that the plugin behaves in a similar fashion for both operating systems.

Please re-download Version 1.1.0 and let me know what you get.

Version 1.1.0 - 04.26.2019
- Fixed the show_modal bug for macOS in the Materials and Headers tabs of the global settings.

With the asymmetric variant the secondary pitch and bearing height cause the location of roof peak to be off center.  In order to draw the roof one must first solve for the location of the roof peak (x direction).  The solution is given by:





I won't really know if the math is correct until I drop it into the ruby code and test it.

I will also need to check for null solutions, where certain combinations of pitches and delta h create impossible geometry.

I kind of miss the rigor of the math often required with the development of the truss plugin.  Asymmetric hip roofs are going to be even more math intensive.

I'm not exactly sure on what to do with the ridge board.  I can either bevel it or drop it to the same height as the lower side rafters.

This brings me back to some topics I was exploring last year at about this time regarding asymmetric rafter roofs.  I will set aside the hip roof for a minute and look at the simple gable roof in continuation of this discussion.

Each side of the roof may have a different pitch.  Additionally the top plate height may differ as well as the birdcut.  Things tend to get a little complicated when the symmetry is broken.

Basically one can boil it down to a symmetric or asymmetric gable roof.  The asymmetric variant will have the following additional parameters:

Roof Type:  Symmetric Gable, Asymmetric Gable
Pitch2 - Roof pitch of right side roof
Birdcut2 - Birdcut length of right side of roof
Delta Height - Difference in height between left and right bearing walls (left side is reference)

One could even go so far as to define a different rafter depth for the opposite side, as its length may be more or less than its opposite side:

Rafter Depth 2 - Rafter depth on right side of roof.

To celebrate the inclusion of this new extension into the Extension Warehouse and to further accelerate its uptake I will be running an Easter special. 

This special is a little different than those I have recently done in the past. 

In order to obtain a full license for the Electrical Extension at no cost all you need to do is renew one of your existing licenses for any other Medeek extension (Truss, Wall or Foundation).  Purchase of a new license for any of these three plugins is also a valid option as well.

Once you have purchased either a renewal or new license of the Truss, Wall or Foundation plugin(s) then please send me an email and I will issue you a license for the Medeek Electrical extension.  If you already own the electrical extension I will issue a renewal to your existing license, thereby extending it license expiration date an additional year.

If you renew more than one extension, only one renewal can be applied towards a free license or renewal of the Electrical extension.

This promotion is only valid for purchases and renewals from 04-24-2019 thru 05-01-2019, there will be no exceptions.