Is it better not to use stacked walls? - how do YOU use them?

[3dway]

Again, to start I'll let eveyone know that I'm learning Revit and I'm just passing the frustration state. I'm actually trying to setup a template right now. I'm renaming all of the walls with a naming convention that is similar to the AIA four letter code system.

I'm wondering if I should be using stacked walls.

We do mainly residential so we would use stacked walls were we have siding over a masonry skirt. the problem is we will ususally have about three or more heights of the masonry skirt. That means three or more stacked walls. I've made a wall with a sweep as the precast will at the top. I'm finding it easier to use this and just give three levels to which the masonry comes up. Above that is another basic wall with the EIFS, or siding or whatever above, constrained to those levels.

The other place I was tempted to use stacked walls was for foundation walls. We have parging to 8" below grade and HDPE drainage membrane below grade. The problem there is that grade varies all around the house or building and the stacked wall doesn't perform that way.

So, as a standard to I say "no stacked walls"?

How would you cope with the foundation wall situation? We can't get a material take off from a generic wall type that has notes saying where the parging goes and where the membrane goes. I don't care to use two walls and actually step them where they would actually step. I'll have up to four walls vertically between the footing and the top plate if I try to do that... or is that what is best?

Our goal will be to produce working drawings for permit and for construction, but material take-offs are going to become more and more important as time goes on.

Thanks.

[dgreen.49364]

We do large commercial, not residential, so my comments may or may not fully apply. First of all, I would not say "no" to stacked walls. They have their place and do come in handy. I've used them many times and have never regretted it. YMMV. I'm not telling you to use them, but don't write them off, either. I would not use a stacked wall for foundation walls. I would keep the foundation walls separate from the framed wall above.

As far as the best way to approach the situations you are describing...experience is the best teacher. No matter how well you try to plan out your approach, once you've done a project or two, you will figure out if it worked or didn't work and what to do differently the next time. Don't be afraid to get bruised a little in the process. It's part of the Revit process. Take your best shot and learn from it.

[Scott Womack]

Again, to start I'll let eveyone know that I'm learning Revit and I'm just passing the frustration state. I'm actually trying to setup a template right now. I'm renaming all of the walls with a naming convention that is similar to the AIA four letter code system.

The other place I was tempted to use stacked walls was for foundation walls. We have parging to 8" below grade and HDPE drainage membrane below grade. The problem there is that grade varies all around the house or building and the stacked wall doesn't perform that way.

So, as a standard to I say "no stacked walls"?


Good luck with the naming conventions, this is what we have decided to use, for a multitude of reasons. Interior - (A1a) - (4 7/8") 3 5/8" Stud Partition w/ Batts (1-hr)
·Interior – means it is for interior use only.
·(A1a) shows the wall tag designation within the style
·(4 7/8”) shows the total overall wall thickness
·“3 5/8" Stud Partition w/ Batts” is a description of the wall style
·(1 – hr) shows the rating, if there is any. Non rated walls do not have this

I've also attached a Word doc on a recent class we just had that covers when to use stacked walls. Maybe this will help, maybe not. Take it for what its worth.

[cdatechguy]

Stacked walls work great if you have the same walls around the entire perimeter...placing doors and windows in them can be challenging, but that is what the rehost family button is for...

[twiceroadsfool]

We use stacked walls religiously, and love them. There is a lot that they can make easier for you, as long as you know the limitations of them. You cant attach them to roofs, for example, without using "break up" first.

We have a naming convention, and it does fall short a LITTLE on stached walls, but it basically goes "EXT (8-3/4") EIFS - MTL STD - GYP" for a regular wall with 1.5" EIFS on a 6" stud with gyp on both sides. Where we use stacked walls, we impore the same similar format, and try to include parenthesis where it is necessary to indicate height changes. The thickness represents the thickest part, or the overall, of theyre offset from one another.

"EXT (8-3/4") EIFS/MASONRY (4'-6")- MTL STD/MASONRY - GYP"

Its long and cumbersome, but when you see thirty in the wall drop down with the same format, its VERY easy to find what youre looking for. Also worth mentioning, we have a LOT fo wall types in a project. If youre organized about it, it isnt an issue...

[3dway]

I wouldn't stack the foundation wall with the wood framed wall above, but would you stack a foundation wall that has damp-proofing on the bottom and parging on the top?

Or how do you deal with the changing grade and the steps in where you have to parge to?

I'm fairly decided not to use stacked walls for masonry with siding above it in the ground floor wall.

[Scott Womack]

I wouldn't stack the foundation wall with the wood framed wall above, but would you stack a foundation wall that has damp-proofing on the bottom and parging on the top?

Or how do you deal with the changing grade and the steps in where you have to parge to?

I'm fairly decided not to use stacked walls for masonry with siding above it in the ground floor wall.

The other methodology I'd explore is making the Parging/waterproofing/damproofing a separate wall, drawn next to the foundation wall.You can always use the Join Geometry tool to make any openings pass-through etc. In this way, the separate waterproofing "layer" could have the profile edited, to match the grade, always exposing the foundation wall behind. Best of both worlds for working.