Mesh Object for Floors and Roofs

[ajayholland]

For large floor slabs that are constructed with multiple slopes and variations in thickness, I would like to be able to specify the elevation and thickness at various points, and have the program interpolate the rest. Ditto for roofs.

I also want to be able to place a beam in plan, and then specify the elevations (relative to a level) at each end.

-AJH

[PeterJ]

Are you making a single slab at present or are you manufacturing it from elements? If it is the former then you could share with me how you are doing it, please.

[ajayholland]

Pete:

I have a model of a shopping center where the floor is sloped at 0.5%. A steel framed roof-top parking deck above has many slope variations. I have experimented with in-place blends, which is very time consuming. I have not found a solution that I consider adequate.

-AJH

[gregcashen]

Maybe Revit should add another method for creating roofs and floors called "By Ref Plane" which basically would allow you to set a grid of ref planes/work planes that you could "snap" the topography of the roof/floor to. This would (hopefully) allow you to keep things flexible and parametric while offering the capability to model these odd roof and floor shapes. I have a composite deck (concrete pan deck) that needs to maintain a constant slope, but the slope is to intermediate drains in the slab, so if I were to model it, it would have to be a bunch of in place families using the blend tool. Pain in @$$.

[Steve_Stafford]

Since Revit attempts to tackle objects as they would be constructed, I think we should be able to create floor slabs like the site topo surface tool. Except you should be able to select walls to define a boundary, set top of slab. Then place spot elevations to deform the surface and create the low spots you need.

This also would be true for flat roof construction, tapered insulation and crickets etc.

[Vincent Valentijn]

Maybe Revit should add another method for creating roofs and floors called "By Ref Plane"

great suggestion.. don't forget that we'd want to be able to redefine such work/ref. plane! (as Nic suggested for the solids connected to workplanes in families)

[gregcashen]

Since Revit attempts to tackle objects as they would be constructed, I think we should be able to create floor slabs like the site topo surface tool. Except you should be able to select walls to define a boundary, set top of slab. Then place spot elevations to deform the surface and create the low spots you need.

This also would be true for flat roof construction, tapered insulation and crickets etc.

That would also work. It would be nice if the locations of the spot elevs could be controlled parametrically.

[PeterJ]

You are entering the realms of a solids modeller here, or at least that is how it seems to me and I had thought that that was not Revit was aiming itself at. If you have a top and bottom surface and each is a mesh then you are looking at quite sophisticated maths I would imagine to make other elements work with it.

I think there are more significant alternative areas yet to be addressed.

[Scott D Davis]

Another thought with the roof tool:

When doing "flat" roofs, if you were to set a roof drain, and assign an elevation via parameter, the roof could automatically slope to the drain.

I love the idea of being able to set point elevations and have the roof slope update!

[Steve_Stafford]

I think it's possible to accomplish without "major" changes because site topo already does this. There are some conventions like contours that aren't necessarily appropriate for slabs and roofs but the process is similar and it is a "surface" with a defined depth via Site settings.

I only need to model the top surface of a roof or floor slab and the poche infill of it. Topo does this pretty well now. If the the same programming techniques can be pointed at these tasks as well I think we'd be pretty close.

A 3d view of a flat roof that actually models the crickets, peaks and valleys could be a great means to communicate intent too, particularly if it doesn't take great effort to achieve.