Roof : Not quite qood is it?

[dpasa]

I like Revit very much, but I would like to see some changes. As you all know, rendering is now a part of our work. Presentation sometimes is everything. Unfortunally we can't have much quality with Revit roofs. Check the attachments to see what I mean.
Simple 3-layer roof. The 3d section shows everything as it should be. The other 3d view shows the roof tile having zero width (as a painting) and the white painting covers the side.
Of course this has nothing to do with reality.
Also, as you know, there is a special construction at the end of each side (the top of the roof in our example).

I have seen roofs made with Archicad (if I'm right) that can deal with this problem.
Some others use modeling in 3ds MAX to create something like that.
I think this should be resolved from inside Revit

I would appreciate a tip on how to make my roofs better.

[eddy.lermytte]

Try to create the outer layer as a separate layer on top of the roofs structure.
Doing so you can set appropriate material and construction settings for each layer, top and structure

[patricks]

well, to really get accuracy in the model, you will have to use some trim/fascia sweeps, since the roof would have some sort of trim around the eaves anyway in real life.

As a quick solution, you can always use the Paint tool to apply a material to those white edges of the roof object in the model, so it would look a little better when rendering.

[kpaxton]

dpasa,

I think I understand your question and most of us agree with the suggestion that things should get better with the tools that are inside of Revit. I'm also trying to understand between what you're saying and what you're showing. Although the roof systems in Revit are 'flat', so to speak, showing only the 'layers' of the materials, they are far from being unrealistic. I would suppose that all depends on what level of detailing that you're looking for.... and how much you're willing to put into the model.

When you say statements like: "Unfortunately we can't have much quality with Revit roofs.", I have to disagree. I have seen many, many examples on here (mine included) that showcase the things you can achieve for presentations. You'll have to pardon me if I jump to conclusions, but there is a large discrepancy between what you're speaking of seeing and the examples you're posting. If I had one of my draftsmen come to me and show me this, I would say he's not finished.

That being said, there are things that can be added to correct these problems. Patricks is correct in mentioning one of the big things- the representation of the Fascia. This is done using a sweep and then applying it to the upper roof edge. The larger point is that you need to think about how things are constructed in real life, and build in Revit accordingly.

You mention a Tile (barrel/flat?) roof, yet your roof doesn't have a hatch applied to it to tell us this. In the Roof material definition of your outer 'layer' (tile), you can represent 1) color, 2) hatch pattern, 3) a cut pattern (for sections), and 4) a render material. Having these all defined helps in the presentation you're trying to make. Is it a 3-dimensional representation of the tile? No. Could it be? Sure! Should it be? Maybe. Even Autocad couldn't do this properly. If you wanted it modeled, you usually did it in Max or Viz.

If you really, really need it, search the Revit forums here, as there were examples of how to build a 3-dimensional tile roof in Revit. Be careful, this will add a tremendous amount of overhead to your model.

For building sections and wall sections we will typically use a repeating detail component that represents the roof tile, which will sit on the top of the substrate layer. For presentations...I will leave that up to the render material that I choose, and apply a bit of a bump map to it (which no, is not as good as a Max/Viz bump, btw). I have had no complaints from anyone, including clients, as to the capabilities of the renderings within Revit.

You mention: " Also, as you know, there is a special construction at the end of each side (the top of the roof in our example)." Ummm. I'm looking at your example, and for the life of me, cannot figure out what you're talking about. Special construction? Do you mean a dutch gable with a vent? or do you mean some sort of decorative piece? Do you mean the ridge and hip caps? Please clarify this (sketch?). If you mean the ridge and hips, I did a tutorial showing one method for doing this. It CAN be done !!! :D

While Patricks mentions painting materials on faces of surfaces, I tend to shy away from this. It works in a pinch, but takes just a little bit more time to model the pieces and it's a bit more accurate to real life.

I hope this helps,
Kyle