There have been a lot of upgrades the last few months and as many of you know when you upgrade you lose your custom materials and also your presets.

The problem with the way it is currently setup is that this data is being stored in sub-folders within the plugin folder.  When you uninstall the plugin the Extension Manager will blow away the entire plugin folder and also all of the custom data within your sub-folders.

Currently to maintain your custom library copy the sub-folder "library_mats" in its entirety to some other location on your computer.  Once you've installed the updated version then copy your library_mats folder back into the plugin folder overwriting the default library_mats sub-folder installed by the Extension Manager.  This will restore all of your saved custom materials and associated JPEG and PNG images.

This same method can also be employed for your wall presets, by copying the "preset" sub-folder and restoring it after an upgrade.

Please feel free to contact me directly via email or phone if you have further questions on this matter.

Now that I'm about halfway down this rabbit hole (stair module), I should probably go a bit further.  Most stairs need a hand rail:



Additional advanced option:  Handrails (Yes or No)

Then the handrail options shall be:

1.) Profile: Circle, Square, Custom1, Custom2 etc...  (or any user defined profiles from sub-folder)
2.) Position:  Left, Right, Both
3.) Height:  36" (default), vertical distance from tread line to top of handrail.
4.) Size:  1.5" (default), only applicable to circle and square profiles.
5.) Clearance: 1.5" (default), distance from inside edge of handrail to wall (gypsum).
6.) End Treatment:  Cut/Vertical/Return (return shown above)
7.) Handrail Material:  Default materials and custom materials from library

I think these seven parameters are enough to define a basic handrail(s) for a straight run of stairs as shown.  The option to have a vertical end treatment will allow the user to insert newel posts, however I am not really giving the option to customize where exactly the handrail will terminate so there may be some manual editing required.

With regards to manual edits, similar to the wall assemblies, the user can include custom groups or components within the stair assembly group and have them retained simply by including the text "custom" or "CUSTOM" somewhere in the instance name.  If the stair assembly is then edited or regenerated by the plugin these custom entities will not be blown away but will maintain their position and properties within the main group.  So theoretically one could insert any number of items such as balusters, newel posts, additional molding etc...

Version 0.9.9o - 11.26.2018
- Completed the Stairs tab within the global settings.
- Added the ability to draw a "Clearance Envelope" with an additional global parameter for specifying the minimum headroom.
- Added a Building Code layer and an Engineering layer to the Layers tab of the global settings.





The clearance envelope (if enabled) is placed on the "code" layer.  For future reference all code related items and warnings will be placed on this layer.  The engineering layer will be used for engineering callouts, warnings and other related items.

The envelope is placed exactly and if the nosing is rounded then the envelope is translated a specific amount so that the tread line is tangent to the nosing.  If anyone is interested the horizontal translation is given by this expression:

x_trans = r/tan(theta) - r/sin(theta) + r

where:

r = radius of the bullnose or 1/2 tread thickness.
theta = angle of stringer from the horizontal

Hopefully the clearance envelope is useful to designers who want to check that their framed openings for their staircases are code compliant.

On a related note I am wondering what the best text book on stair construction is that is out there.  I am not looking for traditional designs or methods per say but would like to have a practical text that covers modern methods and materials.  I would like the stair module to handle 80-90% of most stair designs that are utilized in your typical mid-range homes. 


The elaborate mansions with their spiraling and flaring staircases are probably beyond the scope of the stair module at this time.  If that type of staircase is required I would strongly suggest more specialized stair plugins such as Garry Kernan's Stair Maker. 

Version 0.9.9n - 11.25.2018
- Added the following options to the stair module: side spacers, skirt boards, finished floor offsets.





When selecting the points to define the stairs you will want to pick sub-floor to sub-floor now that the finished floor offsets are enabled.  Stairs created in version 0.9.9m are not backward compatible with this latest version as I have made too many updates and improvements to the code.

Keep sending in your ideas on how to make this module better.

I will be moving back to work on the gable wall module and giving this one a rest for a while unless there is an unresolved bug or critical fix that needs attention.  I have a separate "todo" list just for this module.

Looks like I've got the finished floor offsets for top and bottom working correctly and also the side spacers:



Note the overhang of the tread and risers, the gap is either just the gypsum gap or gypsum gap + skirt thickness.

The way it is setup now, you will want to specify the top and bottom points on the sub-floor.

Here is a situation where the finished floor is 2" off of the bottom sub-floor (slab):



Note that the riser heights are correct and that the bottom riser has an additional 2" added to its height.  The question I have is what to do with the riser board itself on this bottom tread?

I've shown it in the configuration where the finished floor can be applied underneath the riser board however is it more common just to extend the riser board to the bottom of the stringer so that it rests on the sub-floor or slab?

The highlighted yellow areas are the new additions to the stair menus (draw/edit):

Some feedback on the other forum with regards to additional height requirements if a finished floor is installed has introduced some complications.  I have given this some extra thought and my observations are thus:

1.)  Where wall-to-wall carpet is being installed the way I have it laid out seems to be correct.

2.)  The first point you select to position the stairs is the "Finished Floor" height.  So if you need an extra 3/4" for a tile or wood flooring you would select a point that is 3/4" higher than the sub-floor.  However, if the skirt boards are supposed to be installed prior to the final flooring then this would not be quite correct since they (their horizontal cut) would need drop 3/4" so that they meet the top landings subfloor.

3.)  Similar sort of issue at the bottom of the stairs but slightly different.  In this case the stringers will rest on the sub-floor, the bottom tread needs an extra 3/4" of rise, and the skirt boards will probably rest on the sub-floor/slab as well. 

Question:  Will the skirt boards always rest on the sub-floor or should they rest on the finished floor?

Conclusion:  I need to add two extra parameters to the module to account for an additional thickness due to finished floors being installed.  Since the finished floor on each level may be a different height (or carpet) we need a separate parameter for top and bottom.  If I include a finished floor offset, the correct way to select the points for the stairs would be sub-floor to sub-floor.

- FF Offset Top  (default to zero or 3/4"?)
- FF Offset Bottom  (default to zero or 3/4"?)

P.S.

In addition to the three parameters for the skirt boards mentioned above:

* Terminal Height Top
* Terminal Length Top
* Terminal Height Bottom

I will also need to include an offset parameter for the skirt boards since we can't be sure that the designer will want to install the skirt board directly onto the sub-floor (it might rest on the finished floor).  Actually these parameters should be simple YES or NO parameters (with the offset equal to the finished floor offset from the parameters above) but there may exist a situation where the skirt board may be slightly lifted off of the finish floor so they each need to have a dimension associated with them.

- (Skirt) FF Offset Top  (default to zero)
- (Skirt) FF Offset Bottom  (default to zero)

The diagrams were not very legible so I created a few details to explain the skirt board end configurations:

I'm not sure if my scribbling is readable but the bottom diagrams try to explain possible configurations and parameters for the skirt board(s):



I think I can reduce the skirt board configuration down to three parameters:

- Terminal Height Top
- Terminal Length Top
- Terminal Height Bottom

After some excellent feedback this morning I am considering adding in additional options for side spacers, gypsum gap, and skirt boards.

Everything is fairly straight forward except for the skirt boards.  The question arises on how to best terminate the skirt, see image below:

Version 0.9.9m - 11.21.2018
- Added the stair module (straight run only) with the following advanced options: thrust block, landing tread, hanger board.

Hanger Board and Landing Tread:



Landing Tread:



There are quite a few options with the stair module so I will need to make another tutorial video explaining the usage of these parameters.  I have provided tool tips next to each option in the draw and edit menus to help explain what each is.

A few items with the draw tool:

1.)  First select the top of the stairs location and then select a point for the bottom of the stairs.  The preview wireframe should be fairly explanatory as to the location and geometry of the stairs that will be created.

2.)  Once the first point is selected you can lock to an orthogonal axis (0, 45, 90, 135 deg.) or direction by repeatedly clicking the "Ctrl" key.

3.)  Once the first point is selected you can also toggle the placement of the stairs by repeatedly clicking the down arrow.  The justification is:  Center, Left, or Right.

4.)  As with the other HTML draw menus, you update/change your parameters and then click the Update button to make them live.  You can leave the menu open while drawing your stairs.  Hitting the space bar will exit the tool, hitting the ESC key will reset the tool.

With the draw and edit menus you will notice that for the tread and riser material you also have the option of utilizing materials found in your custom library.  The stringer material is limited to certain specific material types (at least for now).

This is a completely new module so I expect there may be some minor issues and additional features that will be requested.

I still need to create the global settings tab for the stairs so that default parameters can be set for each option.  However, it is not critical to the function of the module.

Had to jump through a few hoops to get the materials/textures to all work out correctly but I'm pretty pleased with the way its coming together:



LVL stringers with timber (wood grain) risers and treads.

First look at the output of the Stair Module:



Note, that only straight runs of stairs will be available for now, however it is possible to create L and U shaped staircases just by combining straight runs as shown and framing in a landing.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/610cb4dd-67d7-48f9-aa1c-5c28cc412032/Stair-Test-1

I will probably need one more day to fine tune it completely and finish adding in the hanger board and landing tread advanced options.

Future advanced options will be landings, hand rails, skirt boards etc...

The stringer algorithm is really the core of the module and drives everything else.  The logic was not nearly as complex as I initially thought it might be, regardless it was a blast to work through it and turn the math into reality.