Material Length in material takeoff

[kafka]

Hi All,
I know this is known issue, but can anyone explain me why there is a Material Area field available and not a Material Length one?

Moreover If I try to get a wall quantity takeoff I can't calculate totals for the wall length parameter....I know there is a workaround for this...but my question is again why we cant have a Material Length?

Sometimes suppliers give me for some materials a cost per unit length (meters) so that would make sense. Is there a way to have a Material Length parameter in the quantity takeoff?

[Alfredo Medina]

Maybe a Material:Length field is not available because materials don't have length. Elements such as walls have length, and are made of different materials, but Material:Length does not make sense. That's why the Length field is provided separately in both the regular schedule and the material takeoff schedule for wall objects, without any workaround needed.

[Alfredo Medina]

You can create a parameter that applies to walls, with something like "# of studs per linear meter of wall" (abbreviated, of course) for example. Maybe that is what you are looking for?

[kafka]

You can create a parameter that applies to walls, with something like "# of studs per linear meter of wall" (abbreviated, of course) for example. Maybe that is what you are looking for?

Hi Alfredo,

yes that is what I need but I'd like to be in the same schedule of material takeoff alongside material areas.

Look at the picture. I found a workaround about creating a calculated value and using as formula the value of Length parameter (=Lunghezza). In this manner Revit can calculate totals. That's odd...why I cannot have Length totals straightforward?

[twiceroadsfool]

Because not all Materials have a "Length." Youre saying you want the LENGTH of a wall that has GYP material in it. But that same GYP material may also be used in a ceiling, so what will it do for the Length field then?

[kafka]

Because not all Materials have a "Length." Youre saying you want the LENGTH of a wall that has GYP material in it. But that same GYP material may also be used in a ceiling, so what will it do for the Length field then?

that's the point...how can I set a material length to be scheduled? what materials have length in Revit?

What if I have a particular material as wall sweep that for pratical issued is sold per unit length? Can I schedule this material within a wall material takeoff (alongside other material areas?)

[twiceroadsfool]

Thats MY point. Then you dont want to schedule the MATERIAL, you want to schedule the OBJECT. Want the length of the Walls? make a wall schedule. Want the length of the wall sweep? Schedule wall sweeps.

[Alfredo Medina]

I am very new to this Augi forum. Let me ask this question. When I hit Reply, how do I reply to one of the messages in particular? or is my reply just to the whole thread?

Anyway, my comment to the thread is: Materials don't have length. A wall has length, but how can a material have length? If your providers are giving you the price of their products by linear meter, what you need to do is to calculate how many linear meters of those products you need by each linear meter of your wall. That is something different. That can be achieved with parameters, applied to walls.

In addition, can you please post a picture showing the properties of that parameter called Lunghezza (length) that you are using?

[Scott Womack]

I am very new to this Augi forum. Let me ask this question. When I hit Reply, how do I reply to one of the messages in particular? or is my reply just to the whole thread?

IF you hit quote, then it quotes the previous post you are trying to provide a more specific answer to. It will still appear to the entire thread. If you just hit reply, then it is a general addition to the thread (in effect).

Good Luck!

[Alfredo Medina]

IF you hit quote, then it quotes the previous post you are trying to provide a more specific answer to. It will still appear to the entire thread. If you just hit reply, then it is a general addition to the thread (in effect).

Good Luck!

Ah, ok, so this is a reply to your message, using the Quote button. Thanks!

[rkitect]

Hi All,
I know this is known issue, but can anyone explain me why there is a Material Area field available and not a Material Length one?

If you have a wall of just gyp, with an opening in it, what good does knowing the length of the gyp do you? Even if you get down to the detail of waste elimination by planning your 8x16 board layout, knowing the length does you no good. Knowing the Area is much more beneficial and can help provide better estimates. THIS is why there is no Material:Length parameter.


Moreover If I try to get a wall quantity takeoff I can't calculate totals for the wall length parameter....I know there is a workaround for this...but my question is again why we cant have a Material Length?

Wall quantity take off or Material quantity take off? You could technically create a calculated parameter that looks like this:

materialLength = materialArea/materialThickness
where materialThickness is either hardcoded or yet another parameter you have created, but again, this really doesn't do you any good if the material is riddled with openings and most manufacturers provide their materials in Sq.Ft. quantities.


Sometimes suppliers give me for some materials a cost per unit length (meters) so that would make sense. Is there a way to have a Material Length parameter in the quantity takeoff?
In cases like this you can again create a calculated parameter. This is often done for linear board feet of stud in a wall type. In the instance of studs, you would need to create a formula for how many linear board feet of studs are contained with in a linear foot which could look something like:

boardFeetofStud = ((StudThickness*StudWidth*[Wall.]Height)*([Wall.]Length/StudSpacing)) / 144

As you can see... this is more involved thatn simply including a Material:Length parameter.

hTh