Floor & Ceiling Heights

Default floor and ceiling heights are defined in the Floor Defaults dialog for each floor, including the foundation. Use the Floor Defaults dialog to change these values on a floor-by-floor basis.

Use the Room Specification dialog to set floor heights on a room-by-room basis. You can use these settings to create split levels, sunken living rooms, bi-levels, and dropped garages, for example.

In 3D views you can adjust the default floor and ceiling height for the entire floor, the floor and ceiling height for an individual room, or the floor and ceiling height for an individual wall. See "In 3D Views".

The Room Specification dialog controls ceiling heights by room. Different rooms on the same floor can have unique ceiling heights, cathedral ceilings, coffered ceilings, or no ceiling at all. See "Room Specification Dialog".

All floor and ceiling heights are measured relative to zero, which is the default floor height for Floor 1. Unlike other default floor and ceiling heights, the default floor height for Floor 1 cannot be changed, but the floor heights of rooms on Floor 1 can be edited individually.

In order to raise or lower a room's floor or ceiling height, you must give it a room definition. To create room definition without enclosing an area with solid walls, use Railings

Visible or invisible, railings work well to create room definition because they put a railing where the two rooms meet and fill in the vertical space between with a short wall. An invisible wall does not fill in the vertical space between the two levels.

Ceiling and floor heights are interrelated. Changing the floor or ceiling height in one room can affect floor and ceiling heights above and below.

If a room's floor is lowered, its ceiling height is increased while the ceiling below that room drops.

If the floor is raised, the ceiling height decreases while the ceiling below that room is raised.

If a ceiling is lowered or raised, the floor above is lowered or raised as well.

If the rooms above a particular room have more than one floor height, the room's ceiling is stepped.

In a situation like this, a Lowered Ceiling can be used to cover any "steps" made by different floor heights on the floor above. See "General Tab".

Split Levels

A split level can be created by raising or lowering the floor and ceiling heights of various areas of the plan.

In the following example, the lowest floor height is 0, the next is 24, and the next is 48 inches. The ceiling height in each room is set at 96 inches. An overview and cross section/elevation view are shown.