Revit Modeling: Walls Floors Roofs

Walls

Walls are typically created in plan views. When you draw the line(s) for a wall, there are several options for the Location Line (in the Options Bar):

Wall/Core centerline
Core/Finish Face: Interior
Core/Finish Face: Interior

When using Generic walls without any structure layers, the Core and Face options have the same end-result. Otherwise there is a difference between 'core' layers and 'finish' layers.

The examples below illustrate the difference. It consists of a simple floor on the edge of which a wall is drawn.

This image shows where we draw the wall line in all examples below.

Wall centerline

Core Face: interior

Core Face: exterior

Wall Properties

Initial Constraints

wall properties

The initial constraints of a wall are the constraints you set in the properties menu.

Base constraint is where the base of the wall is constraint to, this is the level on which you placed the wall. Top constraint is where the top of the wall is constraint to. If you set this on unconnected you specify the wall's unconnected height. Alternatively you can specify a level as top constraint, the wall will then run up to this level.

Additionally you can specify an offset for both the base and top constraints. This is a vertical distance that is added or subtracted from the specified constraints. These offsets are ignored for attached (see below) or unconnected parts of a wall.

Attaching Top/Base

With the attach top/base function you can attach walls to other elements like roofs, floors, ceilings or another element in the same vertical plane. The effect is, that if you change the height of those elements or the shape the wall will follow automatically.

Steps:

select one or more walls you want to attach to other elements
click
in the options bar selec top er base
select the elements to which the wall will attact

Detach Top/Base

Steps

select the wall you want to detach
click
select the individual elements from which to detach the wall. You also can select the detach all on the option bar to detach all attached elements.

Offset

Enter a distance to specify how far the wall’s location line will be offset from the cursor position or from a selected line or face.

Using the Mass (Faces) to create Walls

In this section we'll use the faces of the Mass to create walls. Note that while a normal wall can never be slanted, now we can created slanted wall by using the Mass.

The result after creating walls by Face

On the Massing&Site tab, in the Model by Face panel, click (Wall by Face)
In the Properties Palette you can change the type of wall that will be created by selecting the desired Wall Family from the pull-down.
Select the slanted face of the Mass. A wall on this face is created.
You may select additional faces to created walls for.
Click Modify or press Esc to finish.

Note that the wall you've created will not change automatically when you change the shape of your Mass after you've created the Walls by Face. You need to select the Wall(s) and click

(Update to Face) in the Ribbon.

Floors

Floor Properties

Relation with levels

floor proporties

Floors have a certain relation with the level you have drawn it on. Normally this relation is that the level is the top of the floor. But with the offset in the type properties of this floor you can give the floor a positive or a negative offset.

Edit boundary

You can edit the boundaries of the floor very easily.

steps

Select the floor you want to edit.
Click on the edit boundary button in de ribbon.
When you are in an elevation view, a popup will come, select the corresponding view and click open.
Edit the sketch/boundaries of the floor so it is as you like.
Click on finish if you have made all your changes.
If there are any walls on the level below this floor a popup will come and ask if you want that this walls are attached to the floor.

Cut-outs with Edit boundary

floor proporties

With the edit boundary function as is explained here above you can also make cut-outs. These cutouts are very easy to achieve. steps

Select the floor you want to make a cut-out.
Click on the edit boundary button in de ribbon.
When you are in an elevation view, a popup will come, select the corresponding view and click open.
Draw the cut-out as you like.
Click on finish if you have made all your changes.
If there are any walls on the level below this floor a popup will come and ask if you want that this walls are attached to the floor.

Adding slopes

define slope

You can give the floor or a part of a floor a slope by using a slope arrow or with boundary options. I will explain both of them here.

steps slope arrow

Select the floor you want to give a slope.
Click on the edit boundary button in the ribbon.
When you are in an elevation view, a popup will come, select the corresponding view and click open.
click in the ribbon on the slope arrow icon.
Draw a slope arrow in the direction you want to have a slope in the floor.
You can give this slope arrow a height offset at tail and a height offset at base, so you can define the slope of the floor. You also can define a slope in degrees.
Click on finish if you have made all your changes.
If there are any walls on the level below this floor a popup will come and ask if you want that this walls are attached to the floor.

steps boundary option

edit boundary

Select the floor you want to give a slope.
Click on the edit boundary button in the ribbon.
When you are in an elevation view, a popup will come, select the corresponding view and click open.
Click on the boundary which is the underside of the slope.
Check the box in the properties by defines constraints, then check also the box by defines slope. Enter by the dimensions the desired slope. A slope icon will appear by the boundary.
Click on finish if you have made all your changes.
If there are any walls on the level below this floor a popup will come and ask if you want that this walls are attached to the floor.

floor properties

Using the Mass to Create Mass Floors

Creating Mass Floors

Select the Mass
In the Modify Mass tab, click Mass Floors

In de pop-up window, specify at which Levels the floors should be created (for example begane grond, eerste verdieping and zolder)

Floor by Face

In the Architecture tab, press the small triangle underneath Floor and click the Floor by Face button

Make sure Select Multiple is highlighted and click on the faces you want to convert to floors

Click Create Floor

Roofs

Roof Properties

There are three main ways to create a roof:

Drawing a roof by Footprint (in plan view)
Drawing a roof by Extrusion (in elevation view)
Creating a Roof from faces of an in-place mass

To modify an existing roof, select it and click either the (Edit Footprint) or (Edit Profile) buttons in the Modify| | Roofs tab.

When you create a roof by Footprint or by Profile, you specify a Base or Reference Level to which the position of the roof is related. You can position the actual roof above or below this level (but still referenced to that level), by specifying an Level Offset value.

Roof by Footprint

Creating a roof by footprint is typically done in plan view. You draw the outlines of the footprint of the roof. These roofs can be flat or sloped.

Sloped roofs can be created in two ways:

Edges define a slope angle (slope is perpendicular to each edge; all edges themselves are horizontal)
Using a single slope arrow (slopes can go in any direction; edges can be sloped)

Left: none of the edges are slope-defining, right: all edges are slope defining

When you draw the footprint of your roof, you can specify whether each edge defines a slope using the checkbox in the Option Bar:

When you select existing lines of the footprint, you can change whether they define a sloped side of the roof using the same checkbox in the Option Bar. The slope is always perpendicular to the edge.

The angle of the slope is set in the Properties Palette:

Alle edges are slope defining, the edge at the front has an offset from base

In the properties Palette for an edge that is slope-defining you can also specify an offset from the base of the roof. An example of this is at the right.

Example of a roof by Footprint using a Slope Arrow

When you use a slope arrow, the slope for the roof can go in any direction. You can use multiple Slope Arrows for a single roof. Each Slope Arrow has its own properties:

You control the Slope Arrow by setting the level and offset from level for both the head and the tail of the slope arrow, when Specify in the properties is set to Height at Tail. When you set Specify to Slope, you can specify the slope in degrees.

Roof by Extrusion

Example of a Roof by Extrusion

A Roof by Extrusion is created by drawing the cross-section of the roof. This profile is extruded perpendicular to the plane the cross-section was drawn in. The roof cannot be sloped in the direction of the extrusion.

Using the Mass to Create a Roof