Recommended test
Generate the smallest useful test building and validate its three structural layers before adding detail.
- Open Build Generator and enter a modest width, length and wall height in the active display unit.
- Choose a simple floor, standard walls and a gable roof with a moderate angle.
- Generate the model, expand its floor, wall and roof groups, and inspect each from an isometric view.
- Measure the wall footprint and compare it with the entered dimensions.
Work from the outside in
The Build tool opens the visual designer with Building, Openings, Dormers and Floor planner modes. It also includes Porch / balcony. Set width, length and wall height in Building, then choose floor, wall and roof construction. Place openings and dormers, then use Floor planner for internal walls, doors, room dimensions and furniture. These modes share the same design. See the Visual Build Generator guide for gap measurements, truss selection, saved drafts and regeneration.
The Hip option in the roof bar adds four slopes with level eaves on rectangular or square buildings. See Generate and adjust a hip roof for a first example, roof layers, live controls and V1 limits. Hip roof V1 was released on 13 September 2026.
Add a porch, balcony or ground entrance
The Porch / balcony tab adds an open, covered platform or a roof with posts, plus an optional ground entrance. Start with covered porches and balconies or entrance slabs and timber terraces. Doors remain user-placed in Openings.
Add a second storey
The Storeys house buttons in Building’s right sidebar select one or two storeys. The house with a floor line enables Wall height 1 and Wall height 2. Use Upper-floor joists below the preview for the intermediate floor. Both storeys share the footprint and wall-framing settings, with separate opening hosts and optional siding settings. See the two-storey guide for the complete workflow.
Generate an organized model
Choose Generate building to review the design. The review explains any problems and links back to the controls that need attention. Choose Build now to generate; the animated building outline stays visible while the model is being created. Textures start enabled and can be switched off in the header.
Generated members carry grouping and metadata used by Object Groups, Build Timeline, cutlists and other workflows. Enable Timeline recording before generation if you want the construction sequence captured.
The generated sheathing textures use OSB for OSB roof panels, Asfaltplate for wall sheets and Chipboard Light for chipboard floors. With an A-frame roof, Loft Floor Deck also supplies the deck settings for Flush Wall gable dormer floors.
Save reusable settings
Generator presets store a configuration for later use. The current interface supports an account-backed preset library with local caching and a maximum of 30 presets. Use descriptive names that state the structural idea, such as “6 m gable — insulated,” rather than project-specific shorthand.
A building preset stores building settings only. Designer openings, dormers, porches, entrance terraces and floor layouts, named variants and revisions belong to the saved .strek project. A preset alone does not preserve them, direct model edits or Planner pages. Use Drafts & variants for alternatives within a project, and save the project file to keep them after closing the workspace. See project storage for the library and file boundaries.
Validate before refining
Inspect footprint, wall height, roof direction and member groups. Generated framing is a modelling and estimating aid; Autostrek does not replace engineering design or local-code checks.
Openings, dormers, partitions and internal doors placed in the visual designer remain part of its saved design and are recreated during regeneration. Furniture is saved with the floor layout but currently stays in the 2D plan. Direct 3D edits, including openings or dormers added with the standalone framers, are not imported into that design. Regeneration replaces the current model and those manual changes. Review the replacement notice and use Save project copy before choosing Build now if you need to keep the existing model. If generation fails, the previous model is restored.