7 replies to this topic

[Stephan Page]

Hello all.  I'm still new and was looking for some opinions.  Do you find it necessary, with an attached garage, to change the exterior walls to "2x6/Siding Garage", or do you just stay with "2x6/Siding"?  And would you bother to change the walls between the main house and the garage to "Partition 5.5" Garage"?  I'm not sure what the benefits would or wouldn't be?

[Keith Almond]

Yes, I would always change them. The difference is the insulation and interior finish. Whether you do or don't use Softlist, they will (depending on how they are configured) show differently on plan.

 

The key to getting everything right in Softplan is DRAW IT AS YOU WOULD BUILD IT.

[Dennis Hilborn]

IIRC,l if you're not doing a bill of materials it probably won't matter much.  But if you are then the "2x6/Siding Garage" won't have insulation and the "Partition 5.5" Garage" will have insulation as it should.  That is the only difference I can remember.

I started out changing them but none of my customers wants a materials list so I just use which ever I see in the list first.

(and Keith just posted while I was typing this.  Hey Keith.)

[Doug Stephenson]

I created garage walls at heights for different main house floor systems, 2x10, 2x12, I-joist, floor trusses, ect...

[Mark Petri]

I use the same walls as the house. I have bearing wall definitions with and without insulation. I want the exterior walls to match up exactly to the house (most often) so it doesn't make sense to have 2 sets of every exterior wall when I already have too many wall definitions. Also, most garages are insulated and finished around here. If they decide not to do that it is rare, and rarely allowed as the supporting walls of the structure need to be fire rated per code. So, not much savings for the portions that are not supporting structure above, as we often have some living space or future living space over garages.

[Philip Frank]

My garage wall definition includes the PT sill plate. For the house (which is mostly on a crawlspace or full foundation), the sill plate is created with the floor sytem. Doing it this way keeps me from having to draw in a separate sill plate for the garage and chasing the 1-1/2" offset of the garage walls. In my case I run a softlist report on nearly every project so my model has to be accurate. 

[Mark Petri]

Good point Philip. If you are running SoftList reports, it is best to be as accurate and you can.

[Stephan Page]

Hey thanks a lot everyone!