How to determine site elev. at building

[djlauch]

I am following the Getting Started tutorial for Revit Architecture 2008. I am having difficulty constructing the sloped ramp from the exterior entry slab to where it is to intersect the topography on the northwest corner of the foundation. First, I am having difficulty editing the sloped surface. I select the sloped slab, click on floor, click on slope arrow, go to properties, enter a value in Height offset at tail, click ok and than finish sketch. I continue to get an error that the sketch is empty. So as a work around I have been deleting the slab and redrawing it by entering various values for the Height offset at tail. This is not very precise and I would like to be able to determine the elevation of the ground where it intersects the foundation at the northwest corner so I can enter a precise value. How can I find this elevation value, and what am I not doing correctly in editing the slab slope?

Thanks for your help.

[djlauch]

OK, I figured out what I was doing wrong editing the slope of the slab, however, I would still like to know how you determine the elevation of where the northwest corner of the building intersects the ground. I don't seem to be able to activate the measuring tool while in 3D mode, and the point I would like to measure is not visible in elevation due to the terrain rising in the foreground.

Thanks for your help.

[djlauch]

51 people have viewed this post so far and none have a suggestion? Determining the elevation of the ground as it meets the building is fundamental when designing a grading plan. Everyone must have had to do this at some point. Please, I would appreciate any help!

Thank you.

[iankids]

Hi djlauch,

Assuming the site has been surveyed for levels, I would create the toposurface in a separate model using the survey levels (0.0 being sea level).
Then link the drawing to the building model - reposition the toposurface to the correct physical level - acquire the coordinates from the topo model - create a new level marker using "shared". Having set this up, all of the levels (inc any particular place on the toposurface) within the now combined model will be able to be found using the spot elevation tool.

Cheers,


Ian

[trombe]

51 people have viewed this post so far and none have a suggestion? Determining the elevation of the ground as it meets the building is fundamental when designing a grading plan. Everyone must have had to do this at some point. Please, I would appreciate any help!

Thank you.

Hi djlauch.
you should be find a Plan view, that shows your topography.
You should now be able to use the Dimensions - Spot Dimension - Spot Elevation measuring tool, which also works in 3D views, sections, elevations and so on.
This will assist you in discovery of what elevation lies at the place you are interested in.

Unless the ground is flat, its a path, drive, apron, footpath, kerb or invert level position, ground, is uneven ! if you are seeking to finish the lower end of a ramp, at a specific elevation relative to say FFL or some other datum, using the spot elevation tool is a fast way to establish this point.

In elevations, you can always use model lines, or drafting lines to place a temporary point to work with if necessary, and delete later as you choose......there are a number if ways to get what you seek here, the above is but one.
Sorry you had to wait for a little while.
Some people might have thought that you need to read the Help a lot more than you seem to have in the sense that they might see this as fundamental working knowledge at the basic level.
Some other people will rather just ask someone else than even open the Help file if they can avoid it.
good luck.
trombe.