Openings¶
Step 5 puts windows, doors and other openings into the building. At the top you pick the floor (or the roof tab), below it the type, and you place them by clicking a wall or roof face. All dimensions are set on the right in the parameter panel; they act live on the currently selected opening.
Floor tabs and roof tab¶
At the top are tabs for each floor (Ground floor, Floor 1, Floor 2 …) plus a Roof tab. The type palette depends on the tab:
| Tab | available types |
|---|---|
| Floor (Ground/Upper) | Window · Corner glazing · Door / Gate · Garage door · Cutout |
| Roof | Roof window · Shed dormer · Gable dormer · Hip dormer |
Roof tab locked
With the roof shape "No roof" the roof tab isn't available. On a flat roof only roof windows are offered there — dormers need a sloped face.
Settings are remembered
When you place a new opening, PrintHaus carries over the dimensions and glazing bars of the last opening you edited, per type (window / door / gate) — even across a change of floor.
Openings in an extension wall¶
If your building has extensions, select the ground floor and opening type. The wall you click determines whether the opening belongs to the main building or an extension. No separate body selection is needed.
When placing an opening on a suitable extension wall, the app identifies the extension and wall; this information is also shown when editing.
- Place individually: Choose the type and dimensions, then click the desired extension wall.
- Distribute several windows evenly: Switch to multiple, set the count, click “Choose wall”, then click the extension wall.
- Height: sill + height have to stay below the top edge of the wall at that point — an extension has no floor slab to hang from. That is not the eaves height everywhere: on the gable side the wall runs up towards the ridge and allows more, on the eaves side the underside of the roof pushes it slightly lower. If the height you set doesn't fit, it is reduced automatically.
- Distance to the corners: at least 0.15 m stays clear to each end of the wall, plus the space for the corner wall band.
Window in the dividing wall
A window may sit in the shared wall to the neighbor — but only above the neighbor's roof. The app points this out: "Dividing wall: here the sill height is measured from the top edge of the neighbouring roof and starts at 0.10 m." Below that the wall would in effect be an interior wall.
The sill is therefore measured from the neighbouring roof, not from the floor: if the neighbouring roof stands 4.71 m high at that point, a window with a sill of 0.15 actually sits at 4.86 m. That happens by itself — you don't have to add anything.
When the export rejects an opening¶
Two refusals concern extension openings only. Both name the extension, the wall number and the figures from your model, so you can see how far off it is:
"Extension 1, wall 2: the window sits above the neighbouring roof (top edge 4.71 m) and protrudes 0.91 m beyond the top of the wall (7.00 m). At most 1.59 m sill is possible here (set: 2.50 m)."
: The window does sit correctly above the neighbouring roof, but together with sill and height it is too tall for the wall. The message names the largest value that still works here.
"Extension 1, wall 2: the opening meets no wall there. In the dividing wall no window is possible below the neighbouring building (there it is in effect an interior wall) — place it higher, or add a door/passage on the main building."
: At that point the neighbour stands in front; the wall belongs to it there. Put the window above its roof, or turn it into a door or a passage — those belong to the main building anyway and are created there.
Window¶
You only place these in an exterior wall. Dimensions and sill on a 5 cm grid.
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Width | 0.5–10.0 m |
| Height | 0.5–8.0 m |
| Sill height | from 0 m (5 cm grid) |
| Bars vertical | 0–15 |
| Bars horizontal | 0–15 |
- Window sill (toggle): an optional ledge at the bottom of the window — exterior walls only.
- Height to roof (toggle): under a sloped roof the lintel follows the roof pitch (20 cm below it); the height is then set by the roof and the height field remains visible but is disabled.
Lintel clearance
The top edge of every opening must sit at least 20 cm below the eaves height or below the underside of the floor slab. If a floor is too low for that, PrintHaus reports it and limits the height automatically.
Distance between two openings — horizontal and vertical
Two openings in the same wall keep 0.15 m apart. This is now computed on both axes: they only block each other if they come closer both along the wall and in height. A high gable window may therefore sit directly above a door, as long as 0.15 m remain between door lintel and window sill. Corner and inner-corner glazing is exempt from this calculation — for them the plain distance along the wall still applies.
Distributing several windows¶
Two switches sit above the drawing area. They can be combined.
single · multiple — horizontal. You give the count, PrintHaus works out the spacing: the windows spread evenly across the façade, including towards the corners. Place them with “Choose façade” and one click on the wall.
single · stacked — vertical. Here you set count and clear spacing yourself. The lowest window sits on the sill; every further one is window height plus spacing above it.
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Count stacked | 2 up to as many as fit in the storey |
| Clear spacing | from 0.15 m |
Both switches together give a grid: several side by side, each of them repeated upwards.
Only what fits is offered
A row stays within its storey and never runs through the ceiling. PrintHaus works out beforehand how many windows fit between sill and floor slab — 20 cm stay clear at the top, as with every opening — and does not offer more in the first place. Example: 5.00 m wall height, window 1.85 m high, sill 1.00 m gives exactly one window; a second would need 5.05 m.
Rows are available for windows and wall openings, in walls of the main building as well as in extension walls.
Arch shapes¶
Windows and doors aren't fixed to a rectangular top. Besides Normal, three arch shapes are available:
| Shape | Top |
|---|---|
| Round arch | semicircle over the full width |
| Segmental arch | shallow circular segment |
| Gothic | pointed arch from two circular arcs |
The shape applies per opening; the glazing bars and frame dimensions take the dimensions of the straight version. Cutouts carry the same arch shapes too.
Corner glazing (corner and inner-corner windows)¶
A continuous window that wraps a building corner. At a convex outer corner you get a corner window; on L, T and U plans you can set an inner-corner window at a concave inner corner. Click "Place corner glazing" and then the corner in the plan.
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Length A | 0.5–10.0 m (from the inner corner) |
| Length B | 0.5–10.0 m (from the inner corner) |
| Height | 0.5–10.0 m |
| Sill | 5 cm grid |
| Bars vertical — Side A / Side B | 0–15 each |
| Bars horizontal | 0–15 |
One glazing per corner
Every corner carries at most one corner or inner-corner glazing. A second one on the same corner is rejected.
Door / Gate¶
You place a door on an exterior or interior wall — which wall you click decides whether it becomes an exterior or interior door. Under Style you choose single-leaf or double-leaf (from 1.20 m width). Dimensions on a 5 cm grid.
| Door | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior door, single-leaf | 0.70–3.0 m | 1.3–6.0 m |
| Exterior door, double-leaf | 1.2–10.0 m | 1.3–8.0 m |
| Interior door, single-leaf | 0.5–2.5 m | 1.3–5.0 m |
| Interior door, double-leaf | 1.2–5.0 m | 1.3–5.0 m |
- Raised threshold (toggle, exterior door only): sets the door at plinth or loading-dock height. Threshold height 0–3 m on a 5 cm grid.
Garage door¶
A gate of its own, only on exterior walls and only on the ground floor. Dimensions on a 5 cm grid, no sub-types.
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Width | 2.0–6.0 m |
| Height | 1.5–5.0 m |
Cutout¶
A plain opening with no frame or filling, on exterior and interior walls. Dimensions on a 5 cm grid.
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Width | 0.5–15.0 m |
| Height | 0.5–10.0 m |
Roof window¶
In the Roof tab: click "place" and drop it freely on a sloped roof face — the window automatically takes pitch and direction from the roof face. Dimensions on a 5 cm grid.
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Width | 0.8–10.0 m |
| Height | 1.0–10.0 m |
| Bars vertical | 0–15 |
| Bars horizontal | 0–15 |
Minimum distance
A roof window keeps 15 cm clearance from wall edges, roof edges and other roof windows.
Dormers (shed / gable / hip)¶
Three dormer types in the Roof tab — shed dormer, gable dormer, hip dormer. Placed by clicking a sloped roof face (the click point is the middle of the dormer's front edge).
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Window width | 0.5–10.0 m |
| Window height | 0.5–8.0 m |
| Bars vertical / horizontal | 0–15 each |
- Dormer-roof pitch: adjustable only for the shed dormer, in 0.5° steps, at most half as steep as the main roof. For the gable and hip dormer the dormer automatically takes the roof pitch.