The Angry Draftsman and a Door Plan View Never Seen Before on the Internet!

 Maybe it is because I have just spent 77 hours on a framing job (3 different houses, one set of drawings) that ended up with about 62 panels drawn.

One thing as an architectural draftsman I would do when drawing interior doors would be to just slam them in the corner of a room, with no precision about 100mm away from the framing, not bothering to show the door frame details at all.  Which works out ok as the precut man will put things in to make it work in reality.

The problem was: now I was that man!  The drawings I received, were done by someone, who like me, lived in a little drafting la la land.....so we have cupboard doors that are much narrower. Doors that will not fit in the available corridor space......so how to get a bed into the bedroom?

Which is fine, who cares?  Except when you need to put a hot water cylinder in.....or get a bed in a bedroom...

The thing which I never really took on board is that to have a door, you need a lintel.  This needs 2 studs, one to go from top to bottom, and one to support the lintel, that is if this wall needs to butt into another one.  So the soonest the gap can start is 45 + 45 away from the other wall, ie 90mm.  Then you have the door frame to consider and a gap at the other end.

Easy, I thought, just go on the net and look up door manufacturers.  The number of different door frame options out there is eye watering.  No nice plan views as shown here though. Hence the anger.

If you can see anything obvious wrong, please comment.

In my early architectural drawings I always made all doors the same size, 760mm.  After about 5 drawings the architect noticed this and informed me that bathrooms and toilets were supposed to be 710mm.  

My comment when asked to do some pre-cut drawings was: "How hard could it be?"

Turns out, hard work.  Little things like where do you put the first stud?  No books to guide me I settled eventually on 610mm, on the grounds that you need to allow for the gib on the adjoining wall. Fingers crossed this is ok!

Regarding angry draftsmen, I have noticed that Architects and Architectural Draftsmen are quite often grumpy people.  Maybe it is dealing with clients and council that brings this on.  Or is it that drawing houses is rife with things that are plainly a silly way to do things, for instance, every one has a different set of drawn details. Still, maybe it keeps us all in a job?

Down Autocad memory Lane

Around 1991,  I remember spending $2400 on an AT, IBM clone, it had a 80286 processor and probably 1k of ram....My daughter and and I used to play Captain Comic on it.

It had a 14" Colour monitor, not flat screen but cathode ray tube.

About 1993, I decided to go contract drafting and bought a copy of Autocad 12 for NZ$6500.  I got a man to upgrade it to an 80386, still with not much ram.  

I could draw things ok, but a bunch of 2D pipes in a factory, and it would give up.

One of my first jobs was for an engineering consultancy specializing in rendering.

No, not as in producing pretty pictures, but dealing with slaughtered animal wastes.

Everything was all 2D, as the computers then did not have the power to do 3D.

Release 14 which came out in 1997 had some handy 3D capability, just as computers became more powerful, and I became more convinced and proficient with 3D.

What followed was a succession of contracts here and there, which were all good learning experiences, until I ended up at a large factory where I more or less stayed until I retired.

With a few breaks to work on other things.

Autocad 2007 I remember as the really ground breaking release, for the extra 3D pieces which it had in it.

Housing Crisis?

Housing seems to cost a lot.   At least it does in New Zealand, where I live.

I thought it might be fun to design a cheap way of building, using commonly available products.

This represents the minimum size possible. Hey, it keeps the rain out!

You can check out the video  I made, link is below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xa3qyEqtHrg

This system just needs some young person with access to a shed, along with some basic tools. More sophisticated manufacturing systems could be added if you were successful.
This one is 3.6m x 7.2m long, and includes a bathroom/laundry. The materials cost is around NZ$15,000, so even if the labour costs were another $15,000, it would still be a cheap house. The hardest part would be the dealing with all the rule makers....in NZ you cannot build a building unless you are a Licensed Building Professional. The other hard part is this is not architecturally designed-yes it does look like a shack. But it would do the job. Speed of build would be very quick, as the walls just lock together. Nothing in here is patented, and better designs for locking mechanisms could be done. The prices are straight from retail outfits in New Zealand, so further reductions in prices would be certain. In NZ today, and average 3 bedroom house(no land) would be around $300,0000. They are obviously a lot bigger!
The strange part is the land would be the biggest cost.
In the following costings, I do not include electrical,plumbing or the special fixing system.

Item	Price each	Qty	Extd
Module1 1200x2400 Exterior	$304.45	7	$2,131.15
Module1 1110x2400 Exterior	$302.66	4	$1,210.64
Module3 1200x2400 Interior	$115.45	1	$115.45
Module5  1200x2400 Interior with door	$276.46	1	$276.46
Module6 998x2400 Interior	$111.42	1	$111.42
Module7 1200x2400 Exterior with 1175hx1010w window	$1,458.85	2	$2,917.70
Module8 1200x2400 Exterior with front door	$420.45	1	$420.45
Module9 1110x2400 Exterior with 1175hx400w window	$847.85	1	$847.85
Particle Board 20x1200x3600	$165.00	6	$990.00
Gib for Ceiling 13 x 1200 x 2400	$31.56	9	$284.04
Truss	$62.13	9	$559.13
Purlins	$276.40	1	$276.40
Ceiling Battens	$259.12	1	$259.12
Fascia	$339.23	1	$339.23
Guttering	$195.46	1	$195.46
Barge Flashing	$493.00	1	$493.00
Soffit	$222.00	1	$222.00
Ceiling Batts 3.6x7.2=26, 3 packs at 8.4sqm	$76.50	3	$229.50
Sub Floor Timber	$1,345.33	1	$1,345.33
Downpipe	$29.00	1	$29.00
Roofing Iron	$70.00	11	$770.00
Toilet Mondella	$289.00	1	$289.00
Handbasin Roccoco	$109.00	1	$109.00
Shower-lining	$270.00	1	$270.00
Shower-door	$305.00	1	$305.00
Shower-base	$200.00	1	$200.00
Shower-support for lining	$200.00	1	$200.00
Shower-tap	$100.00	1	$100.00
Shower-plumbing waste	$159.00	1	$159.00
Laundry Tub with tap	$400.00	1	$400.00
Mirror	$100.00	1	$100.00
Kitchen-Kaboodle-Bunnings	$1,753.00	1	$1,753.00
Stove/Oven	$779.00	1	$779.00
Kitchen sink	$100.00	1	$100.00
		Total	$15,196.33

This overall costing uses the modules costed below:

Item	Price-each	Price/m	Length	Qty	Extd
Module1 1200x2400 Exterior
Shadowclad 12x1200x2440	$162.00			1	$162.00
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			1	$24.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	3	$34.80
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.5325	4	$10.65
Nails					$10.00
Batts R3.6, 3 sq m at $17/ sq m					$51.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$304.45
Module2 1110x2400 Exterior
Shadowclad 12x1200x2440	$162.00			1	$162.00
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			1	$24.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	1.11	1	$5.55
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	1.11	1	$5.55
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	3	$34.80
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.5325	2	$5.33
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.4435	2	$4.44
Nails					$10.00
Batts R3.6, 3 sq m at $17/ sq m					$51.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$302.66
Module3 1200x2400 Interior
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			2	$48.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	3	$34.80
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.5325	4	$10.65
Nails					$10.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$115.45
Module5  1200x2400 Interior with door
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			2	$48.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	0.445	1	$2.23
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	0.09	1	$0.45
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	3	$34.80
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.5325	3	$7.99
Door	$100.00			1	$100.00
Door Handle	$50.00			1	$50.00
Nails					$10.00
Batts R3.6, 1 sq m at $17/ sq m					$17.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$276.46
Module6 998x2400 Interior
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			2	$48.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	0.998	1	$4.99
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	0.998	1	$4.99
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	3	$34.80
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.432	4	$8.64
Nails					$10.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$111.42
Module7 1200x2400 Exterior with 1175hx1010w window
Shadowclad 12x1200x2440	$162.00			1	$162.00
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			1	$24.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	2	$23.20
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.5325	4	$10.65
Glass-1275x1110x18		$200.00	1.4	4	$1,120.00
Gasket	$10.00			1	$10.00
Frame	$10.00			1	$10.00
Window clips	$5.00			12	$60.00
Nails					$10.00
Batts R3.6, 1 sq m at $17/ sq m					$17.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$1,458.85
Module8 1200x2400 Exterior with front door
Shadowclad 12x1200x2440	$162.00			1	$162.00
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			1	$24.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	3	$34.80
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.5325	4	$10.65
Door	$100.00			1	$100.00
Door Handle	$50.00			1	$50.00
Nails					$10.00
Batts R3.6, 1 sq m at $17/ sq m					$17.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$420.45
Module9 1110x2400 Exterior with 1175hx400w window
Shadowclad 12x1200x2440	$162.00			1	$162.00
Gib 10x1200x2400	$24.00			1	$24.00
Top 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	1.2	1	$6.00
Stud 90x45		$5.00	2.32	2	$23.20
Nog 90x45		$5.00	0.5325	4	$10.65
Glass-1275x500x18		$200.00	0.64	4	$512.00
Gasket	$10.00			1	$10.00
Frame	$10.00			1	$10.00
Window clips	$5.00			8	$40.00
Nails					$10.00
Batts R3.6, 2 sq m at $17/ sq m					$34.00
Clips
Paint
Total					$847.85
Truss
Top 90x45		$5.00	4.6	1	$23.00
Bottom 90x45		$5.00	3.6	1	$18.00
Vertical 90x45		$5.00	0.545	1	$2.73
Vertical 90x45		$5.00	0.28	1	$1.40
Nail Plates	$1.40			5	$7.00
Nails					$10.00
Total					$62.13
Purlins
70x45		$4.00	7.4	9	$266.40
Nails					$10.00
Total					$276.40
Ceiling Battens
70x45		$4.00	6.92	9	$249.12
Nails					$10.00
Total					$259.12
Fascia
180x18		$15.00	7.4	2	$222.00
135x18		$11.17	4.8	2	$107.23
Paint
Nails					$10.00
Total					$339.23
Gutter
Gutter-Marley Stormcloud 5 m length	$60.57			2	$121.14
Gutter-Marley Stormcloud Joiner	$3.25			1	$3.25
Gutter-Marley Stormcloud Outlet	$30.49			1	$30.49
Gutter-Marley Stormcloud ends	$4.85			2	$9.70
Gutter Clips	$2.61			8	$20.88
Nails					$10.00
Total					$195.46
Soffit
400x4.5		$15.00	7.4	2	$222.00
100x3.5		$11.17	4.8	2	$107.23
Paint
Nails					$10.00
Total					$339.23
Barge Flashing
Long side-top		$29.00	7.4	1	$214.60
Sides		$29.00	4.8	2	$278.40
Total					$493.00
Sub Floor Timber
140x45 Joists		$11.00	3.51	19	$733.59
90x45 Bearers		$5.00	7.2	6	$216.00
Wire Dogs	$0.43			34	$14.62
Joist Hangers	$4.36			30	$130.80
125x125 Piles - $24/1.2m so $20/m, ie  $10 for 0.5m	$10.00			21	$210.00
Concrete-pad is 0.0064 cu m		$300.00	0.0064	21	$40.32
Total					$1,345.33

Rectangle Listing Autolisp

Code as below-see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lus7WLJ2wJQ&feature=youtu.be

It numbers rectangles and then lists their coordintes in a comma delimited file, ie .csv

;Program written by Bill Le Couteur
;Auckland NZ
;Rev 0 date 29/11/17
;This program selects rectangles and labels them with coordinates,length, width and area
;
;

(defun  c:LR()
;(setvar "CMDECHO" 0)
(setq oldsnapmode (getvar "osmode"))
(setvar "osmode" 0)
(command "ucs" "w")
(setq the_count "500"); just a dummy so the while loop keeps going unless user escapes!
(setq count 0)
(setq SerialNo 1)
(setq SerialNos (itoa SerialNo))
(setq the_drg_path (getvar "DWGPREFIX"))
(setq the_file_name (getstring "/nEnter the file name, no prefixes or suffixes: "))
(setq the_text_height (getreal "/nEnter the text height needed: "))


(setq full_file_name (strcat the_drg_path the_file_name ".csv"))

;this makes sure the file is empty if first used!
 (if (not(equal beenthere T))
  (close (open full_file_name  "w"))
 )


;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;WHILE LOOP TO GO PICK RECTANGLES ONE BY ONE;;;;;;;;;;;;

(while (not(equal the_count "1000"))
(progn

(prompt "/npick the rectangle")
(setq edata(entget(car(entsel))))                             ;getting the pline's data
(setq ename (cdr(assoc -1 edata)))
(setq the_item (cdr (assoc 0 edata))) ;IF THE USER PICKS A CIRCLE, IT IS A SIGN TO STOP NOW, IE CLOSE THE FILE
;(if (eq "CIRCLE" the_item)
; (progn
; (print "now closing")
; (close fp)
; (exit)
; )progn
;);end if

(print edata)
;you can see the points in the edata list- they are the dotted pairs that start with 10.

(foreach thing edata
  (progn
        (if(eq (car thing) 10 ); -ie only interested in the points
             (progn;if progn
(print thing)
                (if (eq count 0)(setq the_point0 thing))
(if (eq count 1)(setq the_point1 thing))
(if (eq count 2)(setq the_point2 thing))
(if (eq count 3)(setq the_point3 thing))


(setq count (+ count 1))

         );end progn
    );end if
  );end foreach progn
);end foreach

(setq xvalue1 (nth 1 the_point0))
(setq xvalue1s (rtos xvalue1 2 4))
(setq yvalue1 (nth 2 the_point0))
(setq yvalue1s (rtos yvalue1 2 4))
(setq coordsA (strcat xvalue1s "," yvalue1s))

(setq xvalue2 (nth 1 the_point1))
(setq xvalue2s (rtos xvalue2 2 4))
(setq yvalue2 (nth 2 the_point1))
(setq yvalue2s (rtos yvalue2 2 4))
(setq coordsB (strcat xvalue2s "," yvalue2s))

(setq xvalue3 (nth 1 the_point2))
(setq xvalue3s (rtos xvalue3 2 4))
(setq yvalue3 (nth 2 the_point2))
(setq yvalue3s (rtos yvalue3 2 4))
(setq coordsC (strcat xvalue3s "," yvalue3s))

(setq xvalue4 (nth 1 the_point3))
(setq xvalue4s (rtos xvalue4 2 4))
(setq yvalue4 (nth 2 the_point3))
(setq yvalue4s (rtos yvalue4 2 4))
(setq coordsD (strcat xvalue4s "," yvalue4s))


(setq header_line "Sn,Ax,Ay,Bx,By,Cx,Cy,Dx,Dy,Length,Area")
(setq the_length (- xvalue2 xvalue1))


;;;;;;;;;FOR A NORMAL RECTANGLE;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(if (> the_length 0)
(progn
(setq the_lengths (rtos the_length 2 4))
(setq the_width (- yvalue3 yvalue1))
(setq insert_pointx (+ xvalue1 (/ the_length 2)))
(setq insert_pointy (+ yvalue1 (/ the_width 2)))
(setq insert_point (list insert_pointx insert_pointy))
);end if progn
);end if
;;;;;;;;END OF FOR A NORMAL RECTANGLE;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;


;;;;;;;;;FOR A REVERSE RECTANGLE;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(if (< the_length 0)
(progn
(print "hello")
(setq the_length (* the_length -1))
(setq the_lengths (rtos the_length 2 4))
(setq the_width (- yvalue3 yvalue1))
(setq insert_pointx (- xvalue1 (/ the_length 2)))
(setq insert_pointy (+ yvalue1 (/ the_width 2)))
(setq insert_point (list insert_pointx insert_pointy))
);end if progn
);end if
;;;;;;;;END OF FOR A REVERSE RECTANGLE;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;


(if (< the_width 0)(setq the_width (* the_width -1)))
(setq the_area (* the_length the_width))
(setq the_areas (rtos the_area))

(setq the_line (strcat SerialNos "," CoordsA ","   CoordsB ","  CoordsC ","  CoordsD "," the_lengths "," the_areas))


(setq the_text_height 300)


(setq fp (open full_file_name "a"))
(if (not(equal beenthere2 T)) (write-line header_line  fp))
(write-line the_line  fp)
(command "text" "j" "m" insert_point the_text_height 0 SerialNos)

(setq SerialNo (+ SerialNo 1))
(setq SerialNos (itoa SerialNo))

(setq beenthere2 T)

(setq count 0)

);END OF WHILE PROGN
);END OF WHILE

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;END OF WHILE LOOP TO GO PICK RECTANGLES ONE BY ONE;;;;;;;;;;;;





(close fp)
 (setq beenthere T)


(command "ucs" "w")
 ;(setvar "CMDECHO" 1)
(setvar "osmode" oldsnapmode)
(princ)
)
 

Finally retired?

Maybe.  I have been doing domestic stuff , and in between times entering competitions on Freelancer.

My designs are OK, but there is always some genius out there who usually trumps me at the last minute - and especially when the job needs an artistic sense, it seems I am not in the game.

For things like phone holders and so on I am using a combination of Autocad and Showcase to do my entries, so I cannot blame the tools.

This is the phone holder:

The Mall Kiosk:


:


A kitchen bin:

As the saying goes: "Don't give up your day job!"

The Old Draftsman

Once Upon a Time, a young engineer went for a walk in the forest.
He came upon an old man, sitting on a tree stump, staring into space.

"Hello," he said, "What are you doing here?"
"Ah," said the old man, "I used to be a draftsman, but then I went mad, so they sent me here."
"Oh? Why did you go mad?" said the young engineer.
"It does not matter now, " the old draftsman replied, "but it was something about drawings that had to be changed,
 and then they wanted me to draw a diagram of the Hazardous Areas in the plant, anyway, I see you are an engineer."

"How did you pick that?"
"Well, it's easy. You have in your hand a bunch of drawings that are printed out with grey lines instead of black."
"Oh that....Well I just get into Autocad and hit the Print button and that's what I get."

A glimmer of hope entered the old draftsman's eye and he said:
"You know, you don't have to do that. It is very simple not to, can I explain how to do it?"
"Noooooo!" wailed the young engineer, "I'm an engineer, I don't have to know that stuff!"

"Please!" entreated the old draftsman, falling to his knees and tugging on the young engineer's sleeve,"you can do it!
 After all, you must be reasonably clever just to do those Engineer's Exams?"

"Well...I suppose so." he answered.

"OK," said the old draftsman "it goes like this: Once upon a time in a land far away and long ago,two elves were designing Autocad."
One turned to the other and said: "How are we going to get thick and thin lines to come out?"
To which the other replied "I know, let's make it one colour for thin lines and another for thick lines."
Then the other said: "How can we make the computer remember which colours are related to which fat or thin lines?"
"That's easy," replied the other, "we can store the values in a separate file,let's call the file extension .ctb,
which stands for colour table....hmm dunno what the b stands for but we have to have 3 letters so there you go."

The old draftsman, sighed, and said:
"Well that's all there is to it: Just hit the print button and in the top right hand corner of the dialog box
there is a selection of ctb files to choose from. I'd suggest you choose the one your draftsman seems to use-
you can spot it right away usually,because it is right at the bottom of the list, called something like 'Freds.ctb'."

The young engineer lived happily ever after.

Hardware and Software for CAD

I must be nuts! Writing on 3 CAD blogs?
Autocad 
Revit
Sketchup

Software: 
Not such an easy question to answer, mine at the moment is swinging towards using Autocad 3D solids to model houses.   This after a brief foray into the land of Sketchup.  Revit I find wonderful and maddening in equal measure, and will probably end up going down that rabbit hole.

Common to all of these is you have to have a suitable computer to run any of them.

Hardware:
My computer is getting on a bit now (like me) and just lately has started freeze up crashes that are only fixed by disconnecting the power.

So my options are:

1. Replace the hard drive in my existing Z230 with a new SSD for around NZ$150. My wife would certainly see that one as a no-brainer. The Z230 has had it's original K2000 graphics card replaced with a P2000 Quadro, which gives life to the old girl. Using Enscape on it is a delight. but paying for Enscape, not quite so much fun.

2.Buy a new computer. Immediately there is  a choice: Workstation or PC?  A man who started work with me, suggested the following PC:
 

Item                                                                                                                                      CPU - Intel i7-8700k                                                                                                         $659.00 Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Silver AS5-3.5G Thermal Compound 3.5          $20.00   Cooler Master Hyper H411R CPU Cooler with 92mm White LED PWM Fan$44.00 Motherboard - Gigabyte Z390 I AORUS PRO WIFI ITX                                       $401.00 "Hard drive - Samsung 970 Evo M.2 (2280),NVMe SSD R/W(Max) 3,400MB/s/2,300MB/s"                                                                                                 $228.00 Memory - G.SKILL Trident Z Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3200Mhz CL16                $616.00 Power Supply Unit - Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W 80Plus Gold Full  Modular Power Supply                                                                                                 $162.00 Case - Cooler Master Elite 130 Ultra Compact Mini-ITX USB3.0                     $79.35 "Monitor - Philips BDM4350UC/75 43"" 4K"                                                          $885.00 Mouse - LG Wired                                                                                                           $109.00 Mouse mat                                                                                                                         $26.00 Keyboard - Mechanical (cherry brown) (PB Tech G413 Mechanical Backlit gaming-carbon)                                                                          $148.00 CD/DVD Writer  (PB Tech LG gs40N)                                                                        $54.00 Windows 10 home                                                                                                          $182.00                                                                                                                                                 $3,613.35
Apologies for the above blank space- it seems importing stuff from Excel is tricky!

2. The other option is a high spec HP Workstation, which has a supposedly better graphics card in the P4000, namely a HP Z6 G4 3FF57PA

Processor model: Intel Xeon Silver 4116RAM size: 32 GB Graphics processor: Quadro P4000 Type of chassis: MiditowerFlash/SSD

One of these is around NZ$7000, so unless you had huge amounts of highly paid work in front of you, is probably a bit on the high side. 

A friend has pointed me in the direction of some articles, which can be found on the Cadalyst site:

http://www.cadalyst.com/hardware/workstations.

Just to make things even more painful, I am still running with Autocad 2016, which may or may not run 4K nicely, should I go completely mad and get a 43" 4K monitor.  It may run, but with a bit of tweaking.