Pro tip: I used to draw every single line for a foundation plan, now I use a custom block for the whole thing

For years, my process for a basic residential foundation was to draw the outline, then manually offset for the footing, then draw the stem wall, then hatch the slab. It took me maybe 20 minutes each time, easy. Then about six months ago, I was working on a set of eight similar townhouses in Charlotte and just got sick of the repetition. I spent a whole afternoon building a single dynamic block that has all the layers and line types set up. Now, I just insert that block, stretch it to the right dimensions, and it's done in under two minutes. The key was setting up visibility states for different foundation types (crawl space, slab-on-grade). It felt like a silly thing to spend time on, but it's saved me so many hours already. Has anyone else built a block for something basic that ended up being a huge time saver?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavin_hill2728d ago

I used to think making blocks for simple things was a waste of time. After seeing how much faster your foundation plan is, I'm totally wrong. I need to build one for my standard wall sections now.

lauras8320d ago

Welcome to the dark side, we have extra coffee from all the time we saved. Honestly took me getting burned on a tight deadline to finally make those blocks... never looked back. Watching someone else have that same lightbulb moment is weirdly satisfying. Now go make that wall section block before you forget and start drawing lines again.

skyler19028d ago

Under two minutes" sounds good, but I still just draw the lines. My brain works better when I do the steps manually, even if it's slower.