Adding a Belly Band

The information in this article applies to:

QUESTION

I want to create a simple belly band, mid-section trim, or circumferential siding trim around a structure that I am designing. How do I do that?

ANSWER

Creating a belly band is easy using the Soffit tool or various Shape objects from the library.

To create a belly band

1. First, launch Home Designer, then Open the plan in which you want to create the belly band.
   
   
   
2. Navigate to Build> Cabinet> Soffit from the menu.
   
   A soffit serves as a 3-dimensional box shape that can be placed in any location and its parameters can be adjusted to your desired size.
   
   
   Note: Additional shapes can also be used for this process. Various different shape objects can be located by opening the Library Browser and navigating to Home Designer Core Catalogs> Shapes. 
   
   
3. Place a soffit on the exterior side of a wall that you'd like to see a belly band or trim piece on.
   
   
   
   
   
4. With the soffit placed, use the Select Objects  tool to select it and then click Open Object .
   
   
   
5. In the Soffit Specification dialog that displays:
   
   
   
   
   • On the General panel, make your desired size adjustments such as the Width, Height, and Depth, as well as where the soffit will be placed in relation to the floor by changing the Floor to Top/Bottom values.
     
     
   • Click on the Materials panel and specify the material of the soffit.
     
     
   • Once all changes have been made, click OK to close the dialog.
     
   
   
   Note: You can also make the above changes in the Soffit Defaults dialog. 
   
   
6. Take a Camera  view to see the results so far.
   
   
   
7. Navigate back to a floor plan view and proceed to create additional soffits around the structure to finish the belly band.
   
   To save time, we recommend utilizing the Copy/Paste   edit tool and/or modifying the Soffit defaults.