ArticleImages/cad-file-sample.jpg' alt='Drop Ceiling Layout Program' title='Drop Ceiling Layout Program' />Creating a Suspended Ceiling. The information in this article applies to. I often design commercial office spaces that have suspended ceilings. How can I model this kind of ceiling in Chief Architect Like other kinds of lowered or dropped ceilings, you can create a suspended ceiling with ceiling tiles by setting up a custom Ceiling Finish Definition. A custom material can also be created to calculate the required number of suspension hangers and screws in the Materials List, and moldings can be created to represent the perimeter brackets and T Channels. To create a suspended ceiling hanger and screw material. Select 3. D Materials Plan Materials  from the menu, and in the Plan Materials dialog click the New button. On the General panel of the Define Material dialog Type a short, descriptive Material Name. In this example, Ceiling Hangers Screws is used. Shop Drop Cloths at acehardware. Free Store Pickup at your neighborhood Ace. Buy Online Pickup Today. See Details. Creating a supspended ceiling layout using a DWA in Caddie AEC Download the drawing at http Ceiling tile materials calculators to. Also on the General panel, under the Specifications heading. Click the Type drop down and select Tile from the list. Specify the Height and Length as one half the size of the ceiling tiles you plan to use. In this example, square 2. Height and Length. Specify a Thickness value equal to the length of the hangers that you want. In this example, 2. Specify a Joint Width 0. Click OK to close the dialog and create the new material. When the Define Material dialog closes, you will return to the Plan Materials dialog and your new custom material will be selected in the list on the left side of the dialog box. To add your new custom material to the library for future use in other plans with suspended ceilings,  click the Add to Library button on the right. Your custom material will be added to the User Catalog, which you can organize to best suit your needs. In version X3, it will be added to My Library. Click OK to close the Plan Materials dialog. To create a suspended ceiling finish definition. In this example, we will set up the defaults to use a custom suspended ceiling finish and an appropriately high ceiling height. You could instead create these conditions for only one floor or only one room if that is what your project calls for. Select Edit Default Settings  from the menu, and in the Default Settings dialog Click the  next to Rooms to expand this category,Click on Normal Rooms to select it,Then click the Edit button. On the Normal Room Defaults dialog, click the Edit button to the right of the Ceiling Finish. In X5 and prior this will be on the Structure panel. In the Ceiling Finish Definition dialog, which opens next Click in Layer 1s Thickness field to select that layer. If you have more than two layers, click Delete, and then select the new Layer 1. Increase the Thickness of Layer 1 so that it equals the desired length of the ceiling hangers. In this example, 2. The Ceiling Project Estimator from Armstrong Ceilings. Choose your ceiling options and get an estimate of cost and materials needed for your project. Web portal for buildingrelated information with a whole building focus provided by the National Institute of Building Sciences. Areas include Design Guidance. Click the Select Material button and on the Library Materials Panel, choose the custom Ceiling Hanger Screws material that you created and then click OK. If you want, you can add a Fill Style to be used by the Auto Detail tool in Cross Section views. In this example, Vertical Hatch with 2. Spacing is used. Click in Layer 2s Thickness field to select it, then Specify the thickness of the ceiling tiles. In this example, 12 is used. Shop Scotts Turf Builder Classic Drop Spreader 76565. Click the Select Material button and either search or browse in the Select Material dialog to select a ceiling tile material. In this example, Paris 1 Textile is used. Note If you dont want to draw your own Wall Brackets and T Channels you could use one of the Ceiling Tiles materials from the library here instead. Paris. 1 Textile is chosen here because its texture looks similar to a ceiling tile when we have manually drawn Wall Brackets and T Channels. Click OK to close the dialog and apply your changes. Click OK to close the Normal Room Defaults dialog, as well. In the Default Settings dialog, select Floor and click the Edit button. On the Structure panel of the Floor Defaults dialog for the current floor Increase the Ceiling Height value to accommodate the Ceiling Finish. Vba File Copy Progress Bar. In this example, 1. Click OK to close the dialog and apply your change, then click the Done button to close the Default Settings dialog, as well. To create perimeter bracket and T Channel profiles. Both the perimeter brackets and T Channels for a suspended ceiling can be represented using moldings. Select CAD CAD Detail Management from the menu, and in the CAD Detail Management dialog, click the New button. In the Create New CAD Detail dialog, type a short, descriptive name like Ceiling Bracket Profiles and click OK. A CAD Detail window will open. Select CAD Boxes Rectangular Polyline  from the menu, then click and drag to draw a small rectangle. Zoom in as necessary, and use Temporary Dimensions to resize the polyline precisely. In this example, a square with 12 sides is created. Note If you do not see Temporary Dimensions indicating the polylines size when you click on an edge, select View Temporary Dimensions to toggle them on. In Prior versions temporary dimensions can be found by going to CAD Dimensions Display Temporary Dimensions. With the polyline selected, click the Break Line edit button, then click on the top edge to add a corner edit handle at the location where you clicked. Use Temporary Dimensions or the polylines edit handles to create an L shape. Punjab University Engineering Programs 2013. The long vertical edge will form the back of the suspended ceilings wall bracket profile. When creating a molding profile, the back of the profile should always be drawn on the left side of the polyline. Use Temporary Dimensions to resize this L shape so that its vertical and horizontal sections are the desired width. In this example, they both measure 18. When the wall bracket profile meets your needs, select it and click the Add to Library  edit button. The profile will be added to the User Catalog in the library and will be named Molding. Right click on it and select Rename from the contextual menu, then type a short, descriptive name like Ceiling Wall Bracket. Repeat the above steps to produce a profile for the suspended ceilings T Channels. When the T channel has been added to the library you can close out of the CAD detail window. A simple profile will be sufficient for creating a Materials List, but you can make the channel profile as simple or as detailed as you wish. If you want an edge to be curved, select that edge and click the Change LineArc  edit button. After you select the Break Line  edit tool, click the Sticky Mode tool to create multiple edit handles in a row without having to select the Break Line tool each time. To add the wall bracket profile. Like the custom suspended Ceiling Finish Definition, you can specify the wall bracket molding profile using the defaults, or assign it to individual rooms in the Room Specification dialog. Select Edit Default Settings from the menu and in the Default Settings dialog, select Floor and click the Edit button. On the Structure panel of the Floor Defaults dialog for the current floor, make a note of the Finished Ceiling F value. In this example, Finished Ceiling F is 1. On the Moldings panel, click the Add New button. In the Select Library Object dialog, which opens next, select your custom Ceiling Wall Bracket profile from the User Catalog and click OK. Confirm that the moldings Height and Width are correct. Next, specify the Offset From Floor. This value should be equal to the Finished Ceiling F value noted above, minus the thickness of the bottom component of the bracket profile.