Making a Basement

In which we make a basement based on the walls of the Main Floor (continued from f. Creating an upper storey from the existing)

Copy the exterior walls.

On the Main Floor Layer, Shift-select the four walls in question (taking care not to select anything else), and Copy to the Clipboard (⌘ ; Windows: Ctrl+C)

Paste the copies in the Basement layer.

Switch to the Basement layer (easiest way is to click next to its name in the Navigation palette's Layer list, and Paste them in Place.

Replace… Wall Style

With the Obj Info confirming only these four walls are selected, choose Replace… from the Style popdown, and choose Ex-CIP-Conc 12"-Furred from the list of ready-made exterior wall styles.
NOTE: CIP ("Cast in Place") concrete is usually chosen for basement walls; the 12" depth is necessary to support both the wood frame and the brick veneer. The furring (a layer of rigid insulation) is optional, to improve the thermal performance of the wall at basement level.

Mark how the new wall will be placed in relation to the existing.

For the outside face of new wall to be flush with the outside face of the brick veneer of the walls above, choose Left Line of the old [1] to align with Left Line of the new [2] – and OK.

De-symbolize one of the window symbols.

The W-01 window type that is still inserted in these walls is clearly wrong for this location. To replace it with something more appropriate, instead of creating it from scratch, we shall start with one of the existing ones, as we did in the upper storey, To do so, we must first "de-symbolize" it. Select one of the horizontally-oriented ones for this purpose, and, Modify > Convert > Convert to Plug-in Object.

Change window to suit.

In the General section of the Window Settings dialog [1], change Top Shape to Square [2], remove the Transom [3], change the Sash Operation from Double Hung to Casement [4], change the Overall Width to 24, the Overall Height to 12, and Elevation in Wall to 7'4. Change the window part used for the Elevation Reference from the default Header of Window to Sill of Window [6].

Change Muntins, Sill

In the Parts section of the dialog, remove or reduce the Sill, and change Muntins to 2 Vertical bars, and 0 Horizontal ones.
In the Data part, change its label from W-01 to W-03. Then OK.

Mark it as Clerestory type

Back on the drawing, while it's still selected, note that it should be displayed as a Clerestory window [1] – i.e., one that is set higher than the notional plan line, so it is displayed with a dashed line and no fill. If you like, also click precisely on the blue handle of the label and Shift-drag it carefully out of the wall, so the label sits outside the wall.
NOTE: The Clerestory marking could also be done in the View section of the window's Settings dialog – but this way you see the difference immediately.

Create Symbol…

Select the revised window and Modify > Create Symbol… out of it.

Name the symbol

Name it by the same shorthand convention that we used earlier: say, W-03-2312S86-C (i.e., labelled "W-03", 24" wide, 12" high, sill placed 86" above finished floor, casement type). OK to confirm.

Shift-select all windows.

Shift-select all the remaining instances of W-01 within the basement walls, then click Replace… in the Obj Info dialog.
NOTE: For now, don't worry about the door in the front wall – we'll deal with it later.

Choose W-03 as replacement symbol

Choose your new W-03 symbol as the one to replace all the selected window instances, and OK.

Switch to a Front View

Switch to a Front view to see if the new windows do indeed clear the grade line (dashed blue line).