Are you looking to adapt a pre-designed garage from the catalog to match your existing house? In this step-by-step tutorial, you will learn how to insert, separate, and fully modify a garage group in cadvilla. We show you how to easily extend walls, adjust doors and windows, and change a pitched roof into a flat roof. Finally, you will see how to transfer the textures from your main house to the new garage for a perfect visual match.

Important note in advance: The function for inserting and separating groups is only available from cadvilla version 9 onwards.

1. Define the position of the garage with guidelines

[01:12] Set guidelines

• Deactivate the grid and the line width to be able to catch and orient yourself better.

• In order to position the garage exactly later, we first set guidelines.
• Navigate to 2D & Layout > 2D Guidelines > Guideline and select Numeric parallel guideline (or use the shortcut P).
• Click on the reference line (an existing vertical line) and enter the approximate position of the guideline. In the dialog window that appears, enter the desired distance (e.g., 3.50 m) and press Enter. Repeat this for a horizontal line (e.g., 2.00 m).
• Press Escape to end the function.

2. Insert and place the garage from the catalog

[02:07] Select garage

• Open the Catalog on the right side.
• Navigate to Groups > Exterior > Garages > Misc.
• Select, for example, Garage and Carport 4 with a double-click to open the preview. Confirm with OK.

[03:04] Place the garage in the project

• Click again on the garage in the catalog and drag it into the 2D view.
• Place the garage roughly near the guidelines, make a mouse click and press Escape afterwards.

[03:34] Move the garage exactly

• Select the garage in the 2D view.
• Select Move with reference point in the upper menu (or use the shortcut R).
• Click on the lower right corner of the garage in the 2D view as a reference point and place it exactly on the intersection of your guidelines. Press Escape.

3. Separate group and adjust walls

[04:35] Separate group

• Select the garage with a left-click.
• Right-click to open the context menu and select Separate group. The garage now consists of individual, editable elements.

[04:52] Delete wall and extend adjacent walls

• Select the left wall of the garage (which borders the house) and press the Delete key to remove it.
• To connect the remaining garage walls to the house, press the shortcut V for the extend / shorten wall function.
• Click on the end of the lower garage wall and then on the house wall. Repeat this for the upper garage wall. Press Escape.

Tip: [05:32] To adjust the room labeling, double-click on the “Room 3” text in the 2D view and change the name in the properties field to “Garage”.

4. Modify garage door, doors, and windows

[06:07] Adjust and center the garage door

• Select the garage door in the 2D view, right-click, and select Properties.
• In the Door properties window, change the Width (e.g., to 2.70 m), press the Tab key, and confirm with OK.
• To center the door, select it again and choose Move.
• Right-click, select Constructional support > Centre point (or shortcut M). Click the two wall points between which the garage door should be placed centrally.

[07:51] Move door and change properties

• Set a new guideline (e.g., 1.00 m distance to the inner wall) using the shortcut P.
• Select the door, press R (Move with reference point), choose a corner of the door, and place it on the guideline.
• Double-click on the door to adjust the Height (e.g., to 2.10 m).
• By right-clicking on the door, you can also select Change opening hinge.

[09:18] Change window dimensions

• Select the window, right-click, and select Properties.
• Adjust Width (e.g., 2.50 m), Height (e.g., 0.60 m), and Sill height (e.g., 1.50 m), pressing Tab after each, and confirm with OK.

5. Change roof shape and transfer textures

[10:10] Convert pitched roof to flat roof

• Select the roof in the 2D view, right-click, and select Properties.
• In the dialog window that opens, click the 3D button to open the preview.
• In the 3D preview, select Roof side 2 and change the Pitch to 3.00 %.
• Select Roof side 4, set the Profile to Gable, and the Overhang to 0.00 m. Confirm with OK.

[11:20] Remove unneeded elements

• In the 3D view, delete the protruding wooden claddings by selecting them and pressing the Delete key.

[11:32] Correct wall heights of the garage to the floor height of the house

• In the 2D view, select the first garage wall adjacent to the house, right-click, and select Properties.
• Check the Automatic box under Height and confirm with OK.
• Repeat this for the second adjacent garage wall. (Alternatively, double-click the wall to open properties).

[12:45] Transfer textures from the house to the garage

• Navigate to 3D Functions and select Transfer material.
• Click on the yellow wall of the main house (source) in the 3D view.
• Hold down the Shift key and click on the walls of the garage (target) to apply the texture.
• Repeat this process to transfer the roof texture of the house to the garage roof.