Beam/Slab Join

[Craig_L]

From my understanding, the beam system used for concrete beams is based on the footing family. ie the developers just took this family and modified it slightly, but put quite simply it doesn't always behave nicely.

I have created a new family that seems to work well, although it does occasionally misbehave, it works alot more reliably than the OOTB family.

Structural Framing Family (with the following settings)

Always vertical
Symbolic rep: from family
Structural material type: (pick your poison, but mine is set as precast)
Display in hidden views: Edges hidden by other members
show family precut in plan

I also leave the start and end extrusions in the parameters, because this allows me to manipulate the ends of the beam when it doesnt play nicely. Usually if I drag the grip back, so its not past the centre of the adjoining beam, then join geometry, it works just fine. Also looks nice in section and joins (assuming materials are the same) with floor slabs well. Another neat ability is that this family can 'cut geometry' so you can cut it at the face of shore walls for example rather than having that ugly soffit line at the wall faces. The OOTB family, being based on the footing family, can not be 'cut geometry'

Adrian, one of your melbourne counterparts will have a copy of this family as I sent it to them to try out, sorry but I dont have the family available with me to link it here.

[jabamax]

Thanks,
If it is the one I have here I have had a look at it and it does not show the slab & beam joined when cut in section when set to coarse. It is ok when it is medium though. Is there a checkbox in the family that needs to be checked?

[Craig_L]

There is a visibility setting if you select the sweep and then click visibility, however I think this just turns it off completely in that detail level.

Not sure that you have the same family, the one I have works in all detail levels, as long as its joined to the slab (and is the same material obviously.)

Here we go, tracked down the family from an old job.

[jabamax]

I am not sure what I did there, but yours seemed to work. It was the same family as what I was looking at though.

Thanks

[benmay]

Not really sure why it wasn't joining, but don't worry too much because I have seen it before! I used to see it all the time when I had multiple materials in my template because people would modify each beams material to match a concrete strength they though it required and even create new materials for a concrete strength if it wasnt there which would differ from the slab material and then wonder why none of the beams were joining to anything.

Now I have deleted all the materials and there is just one called "Cast-Insitu Concrete" "Precast Concrete" etc.

It is worth creating your own new beam families for concrete, the OOTB ones are over-complicated for what you require with the start/end stretch grips etc which arent required for concrete

[Craig_L]

Definately agree Ben, I guess the thing is, unless you are scheduling the concrete strengths directly, or are really going to utilise this info somehow, in structural analysis packages or some such, I would just set it for best visibility so essentially making all the items the same material so they join nicely. The problem with this is creating bad habits, I guess, but until some other way of having these items still join nicely in a graphical representation, whilst being different materials exists, then I think just make them the same as your beam/slab materials and make your documentation process easy... Personally I dont use the concrete type/strength in any kind of schedule so everything could be made out of grout for all I care, as long as it looks right in my views and on my sheets

[juand206787]

Adrian,
We are running Revit2010 and had a similar problem.
After reading the other blogs, we joined the beam and slab and made them both - "Concrete - Cast In Situ" and voila. It works!
Refer to the pics attached.

Thanks for the response Ben.
Unjoining then wrecks how it is shown in plan. Everything is drawn on a level with no ramps in the area.
I have shown an image of how it looks in section and in plan.
Are you using OOTB beams, or have you done major revisions? The only changes we have done is a colour change and removal of hatching.

[mark.210614]

I found the unjoin and rejoin worked. Selected both profile and Slab and then Unjoin. Then Selected Join and selected each in turn. This worked for me and I was having the same issue in Revit Architecture 2012 .

[tedg]

I have tried everything suggested in the thread and I still can't get the results I want.

I have a concrete roof, walls, columns and beams. On the roof plan for some reason the beams wont "join" with the walls and columns no matter what I do. I tried using the rectangular beam family posted in this thread as well as the OOTB beam family.

I made sure they all have the same material properties ("cast-in-place concrete" "normal weight 5ksi") etc.

I made sure they all have the same graphic properties (line weight, line pattern for hidden lines etc)

Maybe what I want isn't possible?

Any advice?
Revit Structure 2012.

Thanks

[lzaras]

Ted,
My guess is that, in your plan view, the beam going horizontally across your picture (I don't see a Beam tag to tell you exactly which one) is probably a different depth from your B2.