Aligning partitions

prichards · Posts: 5

I’m a new user of DesignBuilder and working on some EPCs at the moment which are for parts of a building, rather than the whole building. If I import a dxf file and draw a block around the perimeter of the part needing an EPC this will include the external walls and the internal party walls which may just be 150mm light partitions. If I’m using a wall thickness of say, 300mm, for the external walls this is too wide for the partitions so I’m not sure where I should be drawing/snapping in relation to the partition wall. Do I need to use construction lines 300mm away from the inside edge of the partition so that I can align the inside edge of the block with the inside edge of the partition party wall.

thanks

Andrew Bairstow · Site Admin Posts: 343 Location: Birmingham, UK

To draw internal partitions you need to turn the DXF snap off in order to (easily) draw down the centre. You shouldn't need to draw construction lines but these might help in some circumstances. The snap points can be both helpful and unhelpful and so it pays to only have those types you need, switched on. Note the snap options will appear in the left hand pane as soon as you start drawing anything. You may need to zoom in and out to draw to the accuracy you want. If you know the length of a partition then you can just type it in (then press enter twice) once you have clicked on the starting point and dragged in the direction the partition follows.
Note there is a page: 'DXF Snap' accessible through the help menu.
Regards
Andrew

prichards · Posts: 5

Thanks for your reply Andrew the problem isn't so much the snapping but more to do with the width of the block wall if I've set it at 300mm for a cavity wall and drawn around the perimeter which includes partition walls as party walls. These would be thinner so the block wall thickness of 300mm would be too thick for the partition and would extend further into the room. Should I be drawing around these partitions so that the inside face of the block wall aligns with the inside face of the partition.

thanks

Andrew Bairstow · Site Admin Posts: 343 Location: Birmingham, UK

Yes, that should do it. The thickness of the block isn't generally important as only internal dimensions are used. The thickness of internal partitions is also not important as measurements are made to the centre of the walls. However, where two building blocks adjoin then the floor area of each will not change despite the shared party wall then being reclassed as a partition wall: it is as if there is a party wall of thickness equal to the sum of the two block thicknesses. For some geometries between blocks it is best to use a thinner block thickness to get accurate floor area (see attached example). Note block thickness can be changed by using the spanner when working at block level.
Regards
Andrew

Andrew Bairstow · Site Admin Posts: 343 Location: Birmingham, UK

Attached now

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