Page 701 - Chief Architect Reference Manual

Foundations and the Terrain

the lower end of the slope so that a door can
be positioned above the terrain at that end.
Floor platform
To create a walkout basement, build a stem
wall foundation and modify these settings in
the Terrain Specification dialog:
• Uncheck Flatten Pad.
• Uncheck Auto Calculate Elevation.

Stem Wall Top You will also need to create sloped terrain
and adjust the Building Pad Elevation and/
Terrain or terrain data so that the terrain is at the
appropriate height relative to the structure at
both the high and low ends of the slope.
By default, the program will also create a
flattened pad under the building footprint.
Stepped Foundations
Not all foundations have these requirements,
of course, so you can customize your Stepped foundations are usually built on
foundation and terrain to suit your needs. sloping terrain. A stepped foundation will be
produced automatically if more than one
Daylight Basements floor height is present on Floor 1 when the
foundation is built.
Daylight basements, also referred to as look-
out basements, have walls that are tall In floor plan view, steps in stem wall and
enough for basement windows to be monolithic slab foundations are represented
positioned above the terrain. They are often using S markers. See “Displaying
found in split level or split entry structures. Foundations” on page 693.
As with a walkout basement, you will need
To create a daylight basement condition,
build a stem wall foundation and modify to build a stem wall foundation and modify
these settings in the Terrain Specification these settings in the Terrain Specification
dialog: dialog:
• Uncheck Flatten Pad.
• Uncheck Auto Calculate Elevation.
• Uncheck Auto Calculate Elevation.
• Increase the Building Pad Elevation,
which is the distance between the default You will also need to create sloped terrain
floor height of Floor 1 and the terrain. and adjust the Building Pad Elevation and/
or terrain data so that the terrain is at the
Walkout Basements appropriate height relative to the structure at
both the high and low ends of the slope.
Walkout basements are a type of daylight
basement typically located on sloped terrain. You can also create a stepped foundation by
They feature walls that are above ground at editing foundation rooms and walls. See
“Stem Wall Height” on page 696.

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