In this Revit tutorial we look at some of Revit’s built-in features when it comes to creating more advanced wall types. We’re going to find two similar wall types, stack them together, modify their layer constraints, and then add various profiles to create one complex, yet useful, wall type which will save you a lot of time when drafting and detailing various wall conditions.
I’m going to get a head start by customizing some system starters found on BIMsmith Forge. This wall system is close to what I want so I’m going to load it into Forge and make some minor adjustments. Once I have what, I want I’ll name the wall type in order to recognize it when it’s loaded into Revit, then I’ll select build. While it’s being built, I’ll clone the wall type to create something similar, replacing the CMU layer with brick.
Now that I have two similar wall types, I’ll download them, extract each zip file, and load them into Revit. Selecting both compressed folders, I’ll right-click and drag into a new folder to extract the data from each simultaneously. Next, I’ll load the .RVT file associated with each wall type in two different ways. With the brick wall type, double-clicking the .RVT file will open it in Revit, but I can then copy and paste the wall type from one project to the other. With the CMU wall type, I’ll transfer the wall type from the downloaded .RVT file into my project using the transfer project standards tool found within the manage tab in Revit. Both ways achieved the same thing.
Alternatively, you can utilize BIMsmith’s plug-in to expedite this entire process. You can download the BIMsmith Revit Plugin here.
Select Build on Forge to accomplish the same thing without ever leaving Revit. Now let’s search in the project browser and view the wall types we just created. Now, let’s stack them together.
Navigating to the stacked wall families in the project browser, I’ll simply edit the family that already exists because it happens to have the correct name already assigned. Inserting a new layer will allow me to stack one wall on top of the other. One wall will assume the variable height parameter. This parameter reports the difference between the total wall height instance parameter and the height value of the remaining layer. Now, I’ll create a new wall, navigate down to the stacked wall category, and place the wall in my project. Changing the walls location line parameter to core face interior allows me to draw the wall based on the location of the stud in the wall assembly.
Now let’s head to a section view to see how things are looking so far and I’ll change the detail level defined to reveal the walls layers. Next, I’m going to edit some layer constraints of the CMU walls so that I can have flexibility adjusting the extents of various layers. Editing the structure of the wall type with the preview window displayed in section view allows me to modify the walls layers. Zooming in, I can select a lower boundary of any layer to unlock it. This will allow me to adjust the layers extents independently of the wall types built-in instance parameters. Returning to our section view, we can now visualize what our edits allow us to do. As this is an instance parametric adjustment rather than a type, I will use the match type properties command to apply this adjustment to adjacent walls. In a similar way, we could modify the wall type structure by adding sweeps.
In this example, let’s add a sill to the CMU wall type and adjust its parameters. Play around with each parameter to better understand its functionality. Similarly, let’s add a parapet cap to the brick wall type. I’m using out-of-the-box profiles in this video to create these sweeps, but you can use any custom profile as long as it’s already loaded into your project. The parapet profile family is close to what I want, but I’ll create a new type just to show an example of how to make these types of adjustments. Navigate to the profiles in the project browser so we can duplicate an existing type where we can then edit that. I’ll carve off an inch from the depth of the parapet profile and assign it to the structure of my brick wall type. Another thing to note make sure the wall type preview is displaying a section view in order to access the additional editing features. Navigating to sweeps, I can now select the new profile type I just created. Additional sweeps can be added to achieve various designs, but I’ll leave that up to you to explore. And there you go! A brief overview on how to create complex wall types to save you time when you design. Thanks for watching.
