Porch roof sticks up wrong way

[XelaMike]

Dear members
I have a slight problem in putting a roof on my porch. I did a roof for the house "Roof by perimeter" then drew a roof by picking points next to it. Next, by following a much older post by Allan (plus the help file) converted roof to gable. First I got a porch with a ridge down the middle. I fiddled around with whatever I could find, and then ended up with a single roof, but going from the low side against the house and sticking up on the outside. Rather than continue experimenting, I appeal to you for advice. The house is rectangular and will have straight forward porches on two or three sides.

I'm using TFP Pro version 16 with Windows 7 on a laptop with more than ample specs.

Regards
Mike

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum!

To get a flat (or one way shoping roof) you have to set three sides to Gable (vertical edges) and the fourth side to Hip wit hteh slope that you want. It will then slope UP from this edge and all the other edges are vertical.

From your description it sounds as though your roof is sloping the wrong way, which means you have the front edge set to gable instead of the back edge. 

To fix it do the following:
1.  Select the roof
2.  Click the front edge (away from the house) so that the arrow is green and make sure ALL the others are red.
3.  Now go to Properties and change this to a Hip roof (I think you will find you had it as Gable).
4.  Now select the back edge (against te house) so that it has a green arrow and ALL others are red.
5.  Go to Properties and change the roof type to Gable (You probably had this as Hip).
6.  If necessary go back to the front edge and change the slope to suit what you want (or change it a step 3).

Hopefully that will sort it out for you.

Allan

[XelaMike]

Thank you, that does the trick. Although I will have to give it some more thought, as I don't understand why.

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Mike,

I don't know if it will help but try thinking of it this way: Your roof slopes UP from the front edge at say 15 degrees, so that slope is a Hip roof and the LOWEST point of the roof is this front edge. What slope do the sides of the roof have from this same lowest point on their relative side? They have 90 degree slope, they are vertical - in other words they are gables. So if you want a roof that slopes just one way, you must have a Hip on the edge that slopes and set the other three to Gable. This is what you had done but you had the lowest point, (from which the roof slopes up), on  the back edge instead of the front.

Allan

[Robert W - "robban"]

Hi Allan and Mike!
Then I do porch roofs I use Surfaces, That give you more control.
Draw it in front of the building on the ground that is more easier,  and the move it on place then you have define the surface, be aware that roof the numbers you see in the drawer are your define value + thickens of roof and framing. Draw the long side first the short side the arrow shall point towards the house

To define Surface  click on the surface in this case the roof, right-click if you use windows select surface commands you in next popup select  Define Surface now you get Define window as in image below.
set the slop Value to 15 degrees  look the value, then you set other lower point or upper point.

The advantage to draw the porch with surface is that you can make your own framing and of members.

/Robert

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Robert and Mike,

Yes Surfaces are also another good way to achieve the same thing, although personally I find them more confusing that using the roof. No need to worry about heights, just set the slope on one side and change the other three to Gable - couldn't be easier. I have not adapted to Surfaces very well I am afraid - I find myself going around it circles with them and it takes me far longer than it should.  Getting too old I think!!

Allan

[Robert W - "robban"]

Hi Allan!
One thing abut surfaces, that is more easy to draw on the terrain, and after you set all parameters move it on place in your building. You can also have fun with surfaces by doing sculptures to have in the garden

/Robert

[XelaMike]

Thanks Robert, I may try surfaces for another porch later. Allan's instructions got my first two pointing the right way, but it took a bit of jiggery pokery to get them more or less at the correct height. I did it by adjusting the support height, on the first roof it worked fine, but on the second I got several messages telling me I was doing something wrong, but eventually (I think after changing the pitch) I was able to move it up and down. I was looking for elevate, but it doesn't seem to apply to roofs.

[Allan Chesney]

Hi Mike,

As you have found, elevate does not apply to the roof. The height of the roof is actually controlled by the Wall Height setting for that Location which you will find shows up in the Roof Properties as the Support Height.

Surfaces  can function as a roof or floor and will automatically insert on the terrain so have to be elevated to the correct support height if used as a roof. It can be a very useful and flexible tool but I personally find the Roof easier to use.

Allan