An easy way to make Revit wall joins drive you insane

[Wes Macaulay]

Insert a column. Now take a wall at least than twice as wide as the column and drag it to the edge of the column -- the wall eats the column!

But wait - there's more...

Now take a curtain wall and end it against the column -- that works fine. But then drag the wall that's 2x the width of the column and everything goes to pot.

I STILL find Revit's wall joins way too reactive. I think others have also wished that there was some sort of toggle you could activate to allow/disallow joins at wall ends. Or a wall join tool: the rest of the time walls would just stop where you dragged them.

Thoughts or workarounds anyone? I tried an in-place void to cut the end off the thick wall to expose the column, but that's a bit brutal...

[aaronrumple]

Why are you putting a column in a wall?

[Dimitri Harvalias]

Aaron,
I think Wes is taking up the cause I brought up in this post
http://www.zoogdesign.com/forums/php...pic.php?t=3298

[rhys]

I assume we're talking Architectural columns here, seems fine with structural columns.
Also works with one wall but yes, if two walls meet the column then they join. I can't imagine exactly what you are trtying to achieve, but if the wall is twice as thick as the colum perhaps drawing as two walls would achieve what you want.

[Dimitri Harvalias]

Rhys,
Take a look at the images I posted in the other thread. The walls are in line, not meeting at a corner as you have shown. The exterior wall happens to be a masonry rain screen wall that also has a masonry finish on the interior, hence the excessive thickness.
I tried this with architectural columns, structural columns and, as is the case in the project, an in place family with a 'column' family category. If you make the changes in a specific sequence (insert/create column, align the brick to one column face, drag the curtain wall control ppint to the other column face) it seems to stick... until you make any changes to the walls. Then they snap back together.

[Wes Macaulay]

The wall-ending-at-a-column with a curtain wall on the other side is a common feature in "west coast style" architecture such as we have out here in the Pacific Northwest. This post and beam style is very common: roof loads are transferred to columns, and walls are infilled between the columns.

I've got a couple of clients in mind who are beginning to use Revit and so when Dimitri found this one out, I needed to come up with a solution before I get the question.

I'm not at all happy with Revit's behaviour as mentioned above -- this is another problem that comes from hyperactive wall joins.

Even though I'm griping I'm still smiling. At least I've got a workaround! And Revit still makes me happy. And ADT <choke! thud!>

[PaulB]

Just on the general subject of wall joins, we do quite a few tilt-up conc. panel walls. The panel joints are usually about 15mm and we have recessed vertical or horizontal "grooves" as decorative elements. The "grooves" when horizontal are easy enough to do by using a compound wall and adding in reveals. Verticals are a little harder but the main problem we have is in trying to get the 15mm joint between the panels. The panels when set to a 150mm thick conc. wall seem to want to join to each other all the time. Using "disjoin" does absolutely nothing.

I might be missing something but this wall joining, for me, is also just too automatic. Is the "disjoin" feature supposed to be used in this type of situation or not ?

[beegee]

Just on the general subject of wall joins, we do quite a few tilt-up conc. panel walls. The panel joints are usually about 15mm and we have recessed vertical or horizontal "grooves" as decorative elements. The "grooves" when horizontal are easy enough to do by using a compound wall and adding in reveals. Verticals are a little harder but the main problem we have is in trying to get the 15mm joint between the panels. The panels when set to a 150mm thick conc. wall seem to want to join to each other all the time. Using "disjoin" does absolutely nothing.

I might be missing something but this wall joining, for me, is also just too automatic. Is the "disjoin" feature supposed to be used in this type of situation or not ?

Just an idea on tilt up ( which I haven't explored ).
Could you use a curtain wall, with the system panels being the tilt-up and the "mullions" being invisible and 15 mm wide ?

Just an idea.

[shaunv68276]

Use structural columns! that way they interact as they should do. I find columns in modeling useless due to the fact they get eaten by the wall. I used a 200 x 200 Structural column in a 800 thk wall to test no prob.

[Steve_Stafford]

Structural columns are intended to model the structure of a building and architectural (Revit term) columns are intended to get "swallowed" by a wall and further they are meant to reflect a built up condition "around" a colum that otherwise wouldn't "fit" in a wall. Use the right "tool" for the task...