external glazing

margherita · Posts: 3

Hello. I have just started to use DB.
I found some problems with external glazing editing. The building I am studying has different kinds of windows belonging to the same zone. Some of them have 2 vertical dividers, some of them 3, others have no dividers. I drew manually individual windows on the surface. If I select one window and, going to the "Openings" tab, I specify "3 vertical dividers", all the windows of the zone will have the same features. Is it possible assign different features to each window?
Is it possible differentiate fixed and not fixed glazing? I think it might be an important factor for thermal calculation.

I find the same problem with Partitions. Once I draw a partition giving a thickness, all the next partitions have the same features.

Thanks
Margherita

AOG · Posts: 79

Hi, Margherita, welcome to DesignBuilder!

Current versions of DesignBuilder only allow editing openings at surface level, so all openings into a surface will share the same parameters. There are some tricks you can try, e.g. dividing a surface by mean of hanging partitions:

http://www.designbuilder.co.uk/helpv1/Content/Hanging_Partitions.htm

Also, only is possible to define a partition thickness, but please note that this thickness only affects model visualization. In calculations, the thickness is defined by construction components.

Regards,

Arturo

margherita · Posts: 3

Thank you very much, your answer was very useful. In these days I am trying to develop my model and my first knowledge of the software.
In regards to the external glazing modelling, I drew on surfaces, for every zone, all the windows with right dimensions of the projects, but sometimes it happens that some windows change dimensions.

Then I can't find solution to other little problems:
- I have an irregular roof, with two pitches of different slope. So I didn't model it as a roof, but as an extruded zone. Now I need to extend the pitches to create a projection. Is it possible?
- Is it possible modelling stairs?
- Is it possible to cut a part of the floor of one zone? I need to create a part of a zone two floors high.

Thank you very much

Regars
Margherita

AOG · Posts: 79

Hi Margherita

margherita · Posts: 3

Hi Arturo,
your answers were very useful again, thanks a lot.
To be honest I don't know the specific moment when happened that windows changed. It happened twice, but I realized it suddenly, without understand exactely the action. I think I was adding some internal doors.
I have drawn again the changed windows and now the situation is ok. In only one zone there is a "default" window that is impossible to delete. It appears grey instead of yellow.

Today I was trying to create my own walls, with specific layers and materials. Only in the north elevation the wall of the ground floor has a base with different cladding materials (until 1.40 m starting from the ground level). Upwards some layers change, but the wall is the same. Is it possible that a wall change materials/layers from a specific level?

Thank you
Regards
Margherita

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