Vertically Compound Walls

[brede.207016]

Help! I've been using Revit for a while now and I can do everything required to produce a set of drawings but we are trying to more fully utilize the capabilities of the program... Thus Vertically Compound Walls.

We want to do a wall with a few rows of cmu, then a row of brick, then more cmu, then brick, etc. I've searched the help menu for how to use the vertically compound walls but it's not terribly helpful. I can split the regions and get to modify but I can't figure out how to assign different materials to the different regions.

We're using Revit Architecture 2009.
I do NOT want to use stacked walls.
I know how to do sweeps but I find this cumbersome.
Also, I don't like the idea of using external wall sweeps.

How do I assign different materials, vertically, to the exterior layer of a wall?
Thanks all!

[emily.clark]

1. After you split a material layer you will see that it's thickness is "variable".
2. You will then need to create a new material layer in which you will assign.
3. Use the assign option in the dialogue box (unsure you are on the new material you create) and select the split area you want to assign.
4. This selection can be tricky, you might have to select on the edge of the material rather than the middle. At times Revit likes faces and edges.
5. Once the new material is assigned you will see the new material pattern if there is one.

Hope this helps.

Emily Clark
Assoc. AIA | LEED AP
AEC Applications Specialist
Ideate Inc.

www.ideateinc.com

[brede.207016]

Thank you! Yes that worked great! No way would I have been able to figure that out from the help menus, haha. Funny how they skip some key steps.

[twiceroadsfool]

I know you said you didnt want to use them, but i would definetely use Stacked Walls for them...

[brede.207016]

Well then we'd have to have 3 or 4 stacked walls on top of each other. Also I don't like the way Revit draws stacked walls in section.

[twiceroadsfool]

You mean the line that it puts in between them? It does that if the materials are different at that layer, which can be problematic if you name different types of concrete in each section of a stacked wall, but otherwise they display exactly like what youre trying to achieve, i think.

Im not sure what you mean by stacked walls on top of one another, either. It sounds to me like it would be one stacked wall with 6 or 7 basic walls in it. Just a thought. :)

[Merlin]

Hi
Any work-arounds may have issues come out somewhere down the track. So I let the mantra
"Model it as you would build it"
be the guiding policy.

If that means you have one wall type on top of another wall type then to me that's the precise way to model it.

Having a fix that shows up what you want and is faster may be fine for your application - great. But you have to look down the track as to what may eventually be called for from that area of the model. Will it be good enough for any future requirements? That's the question.

my 5 cents
John Mc

[chriskline2007]

Thank you! This was very helpful. I am using Revit 2010 and I can report that the Revit help has not improved for this tool. I wanted to create a single precast concrete wall element that had two different finishes on the exterior surface for a rendering. Using a vertically compound wall, as opposed to a stacked wall, is the right tool for this application. Stacked walls can be difficult to manage, and as the other poster noted, the sectional appearance may be a drawback.