ATP176

Understanding Revit Architecture

(Beginning)
Segment 2

Date: April 14, 2007

Instructor: Eric Wing

Level: Beginning
Category: Autodesk Revit

Web: www.AUGI.com

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On to part two. Although part one basically only consisted of…walls, we have learned quite a bit in terms of how
Revit works, and how it differs from AutoCAD and ADT. The first and most important aspect is the fact that you
simply are placing components in 2D. Sure you can do that in ADT is a similar fashion, but are you ever sure
where you are snapping to in respect to a 3D plane? I’m not. And how about scale? Sure the new AutoCAD 2008
text scale feature rocks, but it just isn’t the same. Do I even mention Project Navigator? Ok, sore subject I know…

In this segment, we are going to be adding floors, roofs, ceilings, doors and windows. Then we are going to be
creating sheets. I can hardly wait.

Authors note: When you see articles that start with a rambling dissertation about absolutely nothing this is the
writer trying to burn down their word count. By mentioning that, it was worth 34 words.

Open up the file we have been using fro segment 1. If you do not have it….WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?
Just kidding. If you do not have it, you can pick it up in the ATP forum.

Open up the Entry Level floor plan. We need a floor slab.

On the Basics tab of the design toolbar, click floor.

Once we initiate the floor command, the design toolbar
will reconfigure itself to include sketch options specific
to the floor command. Remember that the options toolbar
also changes to aid you in the placement of the flooring system.
Click the Floor Properties button

In the properties dialog, select Edit / New…

Click Duplicate

Click rename
Call it 6” composite slab.

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 In the construction category, select the Edit… button in the Structure row.

In the properties dialog, select Edit / New… This drills in to the actual composition of this building
component.

At the bottom of the dialog, there is a preview button. Click it.

In the Layers area (Please don’t get confused with AutoCAD layers) select the <By Category> cell under
the material column. A small builder button will appear . Select it. (The figure on page 4 is simply a larger
view of the edit assembly dialog).

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 This will invoke the materials dialog. (We will cover materials in-depth next month).

Select: Concrete – Cast-in-Place Concrete

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 Click OK
Change the thickness to 6”
Click OK three times.
Select the Pick walls button

Cursor to the inside face of a wall.

Notice it will highlight. Once it does,
Select it. There will be a magenta line
On the inside face of the wall.

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 Select all of the inside faces of the wall. When doing this, you must be conscious of the fact that Revit
needs a completely enclosed space. There can be NO gaps or overlaps. Soon we will discuss the object
modification tools.

Once all of the edges are selected, pick Finish Sketch.

For this type of wall, the slab would normally protrude into the wall cavity. Any block or brick façade would
run full height (We will discuss providing relief angles with Revit Structure in the advanced class). Interior
framing would be placed from floor to floor. So for the question Revit asks about cutting the overlapping
geometry, say yes.

Hey! Wait a second. Are we actually talking about construction methods? This type of conversation NEVER
comes up in AutoCAD classes.

The slab is now in place.

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 Go to Level 1 in your project browser.
Start the floor command again.
Follow the procedure for the entry level, but only select the 4 wall edges as shown below.

On the Tools toolbar, find the trim command. It looks like the AutoCAD fillet. It essentially does the same
thing.

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 Select Finish Sketch
You have a first floor slab. Click the 3D icon to see your handiwork.
Select the slab on the second floor.
Go to Edit > Copy.
Go to Paste Aligned.
Select Level 1, Level 2, Level 3 and Level 4.

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Doors and Windows
In the first segment we mentioned families. Doors and windows are perfect examples of how when a family is
introduced to a host component such as a wall, the wall will automatically imbed the new family.

Doors

Switch to the Entry Level floor plan.

Start the wall command (hint, you can type wa as well).
Select: Basic Wall: Interior – 6 1/8” Partition (2-hr)

Draw the partitions as I have them illustrated below. I don’t care about dimensions.

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 Zoom in on the intersection illustrated below.
Select the Align button from the Tools toolbar.

Select the finish inside face of the exterior wall.

You will see the green alignment line.
Select the finish inside face of the interior partition.
The walls will be aligned.

To equally distribute the partitions, we will actually dimension them. Dimensions cannot be typed over,
however they can be use to physically move objects.
Start the dimension command. The icon is located on the Basics tab on the design toolbar.
On the options toolbar, set the preference to Wall centerlines, and pick Individual References.

Dimension all of the walls starting from the exterior walls. Notice that when you put your pointer on a wall, the
green alignment lines indicate that you can select the wall.
Pick a place to set the dimension, but do not press escape or enter. You will see an icon with a “no” line
through it. Click the EQ icon, and the walls will be moved into position.
On the Basics tab of the design toolbar, pick the Door icon

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 In the type selector, select Single-Flush: 36”x84”

Aim for the partition Shown below. Zoom in on it if you have to. Notice that when I’m placing the door,
temporary dimensions appear. Also when you move from one side or the other on a wall, the door flips.
Further, if you hit the space bar the door will flip its swing.

Place doors as illustrated below.

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 Start the door command again.
In the options toolbar, select Load…

Open the doors folder.

Find Double-Glass 2.rfa

Back in Revit, select the largest one from the type selector, and place it in the wall shown below.

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Windows
Windows are exactly the same as doors.
On the Basics tab of the design toolbar, select the Window command
Place any size window in the locations shown below. You decide how to center them in the rooms. (Hint: if
you type SM while placing the windows, they will be centered on a wall).
Mirror the partitions, doors and windows to the other side of the building. Remember that process from the
first lesson?

Select all of the interior partitions, doors and windows and copy them to the clipboard. Select Paste aligned,
and paste them to the First, Second and Third floors (the fourth floor will be configured differently later).
Go to a 3D view, and check out how the walls are visible through the fourth floor. We never accommodated
the height of the wall to be 6” shorter because of the floor. Simply select the floor and pick the edit button on
the options toolbar. Then finish the sketch. Revit will then ask you if you want to attach the walls to the bottom
of the slab. We do want to.

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This concludes Segment 2. We have so much left I can’t even begin to list it

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