Constructing the Bathroom

Setting Running Object Snaps

You will set only two Osnaps to run continually for now, until you get used to how they work.

1. Right-click the Osnap button on the status bar, and choose Settings from the shortcut menu to open the Drafting Settings dialog box. By default, the Object Snap tab is on top.

   

   Each of the 13 Osnap options (11 options for LT) has a check box and a symbol next to it. The symbol appears in the drawing when a particular Osnap is selected and the cursor is near a point where that Osnap can be used. You can check any number of Osnaps to be running at a time.

   LT users’ Object Snap tab will not have all the Object Snap modes, the Object Snap Tracking On check box, and the Osnap tracking explanation at the bottom, because LT doesn’t have these features. We’re not using any of these features right now, anyway.

   Note

   The symbols or icons that appear on an object when an Osnap is active and when you move the cursor near the object are called AutoSnaps. They’re quite helpful, and you can choose a different color for them if you want. If you’re using a dark background in the drawing area, use a bright color , such as yellow. For a white background, try blue.

2. In the lower-left corner of the Drafting Settings dialog box, click Options to open the Options dialog box; the Drafting tab should be on top. Then on the left side in the AutoSnap Settings area, open the AutoSnap Marker Color drop-down list and select a color. While you’re in this area, make sure the Marker, Magnet, and Display AutoSnap Tool Tip check boxes are selected. Also make sure that the Display AutoSnap Aperture Box is unchecked. Then click OK.

   

   LT users won’t have all the settings on the right side of the Drafting tab.

3. Back in the Object Snap tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box, click the check boxes next to Endpoint and Midpoint . Then above the list and to the left, be sure there’s a check mark in the box next to Object Snap On. Click OK to close the dialog box. These Osnaps will now be active any time you are prompted to select a point on the drawing.

Now you are ready to begin drawing the three fixtures for the bathroom. The shower determines the placement of the other two, so let’s start there.

Drawing a Shower Unit

You will start the shower unit with a square and then trim away one corner. As you start this exercise, check the status bar. The Polar, Osnap, and Model buttons should be in the on position. The rest of the buttons should be off.

1. Type z p to Zoom to Extents. Then use the zoom window to view the bathroom close-up. Start the Rectangle command. For the first point, move the cursor to the upper-left inside corner of the room. Notice the square that appears at the corner. This is the AutoSnap symbol for the Endpoint Osnap. As soon as it appears on the endpoint you want to snap to, click the left mouse button. The first corner of the square is placed. For the second point, type @40,-40 .

   Tip

   If you don’t get the square you want after entering the relative coordinates for the second corner, check this setting. Choose Tools Ø Options to open the Options dialog box. Click the User Preferences tab. In the upper-right corner of the Priority For Coordinate Data Entry area, be sure that the button next to Keyboard Entry Except Scripts is active. Then click OK. Try the square again.

2. Start the Line command, and move the cursor near the midpoint of the bottom line of the square. Notice that a triangle, the Midpoint AutoSnap symbol, appears when you get near the midpoint of the line. When you see the triangle on the midpoint you want, click.

3. Move the cursor near the midpoint of the right side of the rectangle until you see the triangle appear at the midpoint location (see Figure 5.27). Click again. Press to end the Line command.

   
   Figure 5.27: Using Midpoint Osnap to complete a line across the corner of the shower

4. Use this line as a cutting edge, and trim away the lower-right corner of the shower rectangle. The trimming will require only one pick because you are trimming a polyline. Press to stop the Trim command. This completes the shower.

Next, draw the sink to the right of the shower.

The Bathroom Sink

You will offset a line and draw an ellipse for this fixture, while practicing the Temporary Tracking Point Osnap option in the process. The Endpoint and Midpoint Osnaps are still running.

1. Zoom in to the sink area with a zoom window. Offset the top inside wall line down 16". Then use the shower wall as a cutting edge and trim back the line.

2. Click the Ellipse button on the Draw toolbar. Type c to select the Center option.

3. Click the Temporary Tracking Point Osnap button, and then move the cursor near the midpoint of the newly offset line. When the AutoSnap symbol appears at the midpoint of this line, click. This establishes a tracking point (a small cross).

   LT users will need to follow steps 3 and 4 in the following “Steps 3 and 4 for LT Users” sidebar instead of these.

4. Move the crosshair cursor directly above the tracking point. When the dotted tracking path and the Track Point tool tip appear, type 8 to locate the center of the counter. The Command window will prompt you for the location of the ends of two perpendicular axes. You will start with the left/right axis and enter the distance using Direct Entry and Polar Tracking, as you did for the steps earlier in this chapter.

5. Hold the crosshair cursor directly to the right of the center point. Type 7 . Hold the crosshair cursor directly above the center and type 5 . The ellipse is constructed , and the sink fixture is complete (see Figure 5.28). Leave the view on your screen as it is for a moment.

   
   Figure 5.28: The completed sink fixture

Here are instructions for LT users:

3. Click the Tracking button at the top of the Object Snap toolbar, and then move the cursor near the midpoint of the newly offset line. When the AutoSnap symbol appears at the midpoint of this line, click. This establishes a tracking point.

4. Move the crosshair cursor directly above the tracking point and type 8 to locate the center of the counter. Press again to end Tracking and continue with the Ellipse command. The Command window will prompt you for the location of the ends of two perpendicular axes. You will start with the left/right axis and enter the distance using Direct Entry and Polar Tracking, as you did for the steps earlier in this chapter.

Drawing the toilet is the final task in this chapter. You will use the Ellipse command again, along with the Rectangle command. You will also be introduced to a couple of new display options.

Positioning a Toilet

The toilet consists of a rectangle and an ellipse centered between the shower and the wall. The tank is offset 1" from the back wall and is 9" 20". The ellipse representing the seat measures 18" in one direction and 12" in the other.

1. On the Standard toolbar, click the Pan Realtime button. The cursor changes to a small hand when you return it to the drawing area. Position it in the lower-left corner of the drawing area with the view still zoomed in on the sink.

2. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the hand up and to the right. When the toilet area comes into view, release the mouse button. The drawing slides along with the movement of the cursor. If necessary, do this again until you have the toilet area centered in the drawing area.

3. Right-click the mouse, and choose Zoom from the shortcut menu that opens. Back on the drawing, the cursor changes to a magnifying glass with a plus and minus sign.

4. Position the Zoom Realtime cursor near the top of the drawing and hold down the left mouse button. Drag the cursor down, and watch the view being zoomed out in real time. Move the cursor up, still holding the mouse button down. Position the cursor in such a way that you have a good view of the toilet area, and then release the mouse button. Right-click again, and choose Exit from the shortcut menu to end the Zoom Realtime command.

   With Zoom Realtime, moving the cursor to the left or right has no effect on the view. The magnification is controlled solely by the up-and-down motion.

These zooming options are convenient tools for adjusting the view of your drawing. Let’s move on to the toilet. You need to find a way to position the toilet accurately, centering it between the wall and shower. The midpoint of the left wall line won’t be useful because the wall line runs behind the shower. You will have to construct a guideline.

1. With the Rectangle command, draw the toilet tank a few inches to the right of the wall, not touching any lines. (See Figure 5.26, shown earlier, for the dimensions.) Then offset the left wall line 1" to the right to make a guideline. Use the shower as a cutting edge, and trim this guideline down to the shower (see Figure 5.29a).

2. Start the Move command, select the tank, and then press .

3. For the base point, move the cursor to the middle of the left side of the tank. When you see the triangle at the midpoint, click the left mouse button.

4. For the second point, move the cursor onto the guideline. When it gets closer to the midpoint than the endpoint, the triangle will appear at the midpoint. At this point, click the left mouse button. The rectangle is accurately positioned 1" from the left wall and centered between the shower and lower wall (see Figure 5.29b).

5. Erase the guideline.

6. Start the Ellipse command. The Command window displays a default prompt of Specify axis endpoint of ellipse or [Arc/Center]: . Using the Specify Axis endpoint option, you can define the first axis from one end of the ellipse to the other. This will help you here.

7. Move the cursor near the midpoint of the right side of the tank and, when the triangle shows up there, click. This starts the ellipse.

8. Hold the crosshair cursor out to the right of the rectangle and type 1'6 . The first axis is positioned. Now as you move the crosshair cursor, you will see that a line starts at the center of the ellipse, and the cursor’s movement controls the size of the other axis (see Figure 5.29c). To designate the second axis, you need to enter the distance from the center of the axis to the end of it, or half the overall length of the axis.

   
   Figure 5.29: The toilet tank with an offset guideline (a), the tank correctly positioned (b), and the cursor controlling the size of the second axis for the toilet seat (c)

9. Hold the crosshair cursor directly above the center point and type 6 . The ellipse is complete, and the toilet is finished.

10. In the status bar, right-click the Osnap button, and then choose Settings from the shortcut menu to open the Settings dialog box. The Object Snap tab will be in front. Click the Clear All button to turn off all running Osnaps. Click OK to close the dialog box.

11. Before you save this drawing, use the Pan Realtime and Zoom Realtime commands to zoom out and pan your drawing until the whole floor plan fills the drawing area, except for a thin border around the outside of the plan (see Figure 5.30). Save this drawing as Cabin05b .

    
    Figure 5.30: The completed floor plan zoomed and panned to fill the screen

The bathroom is complete, and you now have a fairly complete floor plan for the cabin . In completing the drawing tasks for this chapter, you have been exposed to several new commands and techniques to add to those introduced in Chapter 4. Combined, you now have a set of tools that will take you a long way toward being able to lay out a drawing of any size.

Chapters 1 through 5 fill out the basic level of skills in AutoCAD that allow you to draw on the computer approximately as you would with pencil and vellum, though you may already see some of the advantages CAD offers over traditional board drafting. Beginning with the next chapter, you will be introduced to concepts of AutoCAD that do not have a counterpart in board drafting. These features will take you to a new level of knowledge and skill, and you will start to get an idea of what sets computer drafting apart.

Using Realtime Pan and Realtime Zoom

The Realtime Pan and Zoom buttons are next to each other on the Standard toolbar. You can start Realtime Pan by typing p . You can start Realtime Zoom by typing z . You can also start Realtime Pan or Zoom by right-clicking at the Command: prompt and then choosing Pan or Zoom from the shortcut menu. If you try this, you will find that it is easier than clicking the Realtime Pan or Zoom buttons.

Once one of these Realtime commands is running, you can switch to the other one by clicking the other Realtime button or by right-clicking and choosing the other one from the shortcut menu. The shortcut menu also has other options that help make Realtime Pan and Zoom quite useful commands.

Exit   Ends the Realtime Zoom or Pan commands.

Pan   Switches to Realtime Pan from Realtime Zoom.

Zoom   Switches to Realtime Zoom from Realtime Pan.

3D Orbit   A special viewing tool for 3D that is covered in the Appendix.

Zoom Window   Allows you to make a zoom window without first ending Realtime Pan or Zoom. You pick a point, hold down the left mouse button, and then drag open a window in your drawing. When you release the button, you are zoomed into the window you made, and Realtime Pan or Zoom resumes.

Zoom Original   Restores the view of your drawing that you had when you began Realtime Pan or Zoom.

Zoom Extents   Zooms to the drawing Extents.

To end Realtime Pan or Zoom, press the Esc key, press , or right-click and choose Exit from the shortcut menu.

When Realtime Pan or Zoom is running, AutoCAD is in a special mode that makes the status bar and the Grid (if it is on) invisible and therefore unusable.