Standing Seam Roof

[rrothwel]

I have been tasked with developing a standing seam roof system, we do large footprint buildings. I can create the panel but what a huge model this will turn into! I know a roof is a system family so I cannot create one , we render for every job for presentations and buy off. I can apply it as a material class but the look and feel is what I have been asked to research. Anyone have any advice? I know it can be hatched, or symbolic lines and visibility controled, this is why I need advice on this one. I know someone has run into this before. Thanks,

[twiceroadsfool]

I would personally just make it a roof with a surface pattern and a Rendering Material assigned to it that shows the seams.

People have made them out of curtain systems and Generic models/whatever, but it is a lot of overhead to carry around in the model through the life of the project.

At BEST, i would make it a curtain system and plan on switching it out when you need to render. No way i would leave it in a model full time though...

[dgreen.49364]

We have done this and Aarons first suggestion is the best way to go. Give the roof a surface pattern and a rendering material that shows seams. Follow the Revit rule and only model what you need to.

[gwnelson]

This, and Board & Batten walls are in the same boat. The suggestions offered are OK if the camera distance is far enough from the object, but in our typical residential applications we are closer such that the lack of shadows from the seams & battens are obvious and deal breakers. All of the solutions so far don't easily accommodate penetrations by windows, doors & skylights.
Wish list item?

[twiceroadsfool]

I could see multiple uses for a rule-based embedded sweep system. For instance, now, we would have to embed a wall sweep at regular intervals, so we would have to have different wall types for different heights. It can also only be achieved currently with horizontal sweeps.

I think it would be great if walls could have vertical sweeps, where you set the distance between them and the alignment like railings. It would be great if horizontal ones worked this way too.

I still wouldnt do it for board and battens for Standing Seams, but i also dont need renderings that are THAT obsessively detailed. For me its just plain overmodeled. But i could find uses for the above system regardless. Tilt up concrete comes to mind. :)

[cdatechguy]

This is where I, or someone else would say, ArchiCAD does it....BUT, even with ArchiCAD it slows the model down big time! I place it on a different layer and only turn it on for elevations and 3D presentation. I'm not much of a programmer, as GDL and me don't mix well, if Archicad can do it I wonder how its done and if it can be mimicked in Revit.

Perhaps a sweep can be used and arrayed? Or a faced based extrusion that can be adjustable? But it would be totally kewl if would follow the roof design when it changes (like ArchiCAD)

Oh...there is a thread somewhere about creating tile roofs...that may be helpful if you can search for it.

Just a thought as well....if you have a panel family created and its face based, you should be able to attach it to the roof...its only a family duplicated many times so you shouldn't have file size problems...maybe create it as in place family then use void extrusions to trim off the areas where you have hips and ridges? Which my guess is this is how ArchiCAD does it but its transparent...(not seen)

[twiceroadsfool]

In place, sweeps, and curtain panels used on something with a scale and complexity as wide as a Standing seam roof, and that models performance is going to take a huge hit. Plus, aside from rendering its not very value adding. Just something to think about.

I wouldnt take the time hit, budget hit, or performance hit, or ease of editability hit, just for making a rendering loot a *little* better. id dedicate some time to playing with a very aggressive bump map and MR materla, or id bite the bullet and go render in max, lol...

[sbrown]

If you just need it for a rendering, create a sloped glazing system with the ribs you need, then group it, create a link out of it and link it in when you need to render. but with a good bump map texture you can get some good results without it.

[Joef]

My boss, (pencil and paper guy) complains that my standing metal seam roof doesn't line up properly and has a stupid 3" section at the edge of the roof. I tell him it took 37 seconds to draw it and how long would it take him to draw it, but that doesn't cut any ice as 37 seconds or 45 seconds it still looks stupid. I tell him we should use shingles since they work better in Revit, but that didn't fly either. I will probably just leave off the pattern altogether and use a note.

[twiceroadsfool]

If youre using a model pattern, why is it off? Tab-select the line of the model pattern, and line it up. Itll take 5 seconds, and then he cant complain. :)

[Joef]

I knew you could rotate patterns (we use that upside down cedar shake pattern a lot) but I haven't tried nudging it. Thanks a lot! Now I feel really stupid.:)

[twiceroadsfool]

No problem! You can nudge them, move them, align them, etc. I use model patterns for Tile flooring, and contractors love it!

[bryanl]

If you just need it for a rendering, create a sloped glazing system with the ribs you need, then group it, create a link out of it and link it in when you need to render. but with a good bump map texture you can get some good results without it.

I have found this to be the easiest was to make standing seam metal roofs. I create my roof the way I want it to be. Copy that roof up about 10' then change it to a sloped glazing system. Put in curtain grids at the seam locations then put in a mullion that will give us the look we need. I then select all the panels in my sloped glazing roof, change them to empty and last select my sloped glazing roof and move it down so the mullions sit on top of my existing roof.