topic Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness in Revit Architecture Forum

Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:20:40 GMT

Does anyone know how to create a floor or structural slab that is both sloped AND has a variable thickness?

I can do either, but not both. Thinking that I may need to create a generic mass.

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Fri, 28 May 2010 03:21:38 GMT

that's an in-place floor..

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Fri, 28 May 2010 14:28:56 GMT

You can use the shape editing tools for slabs to do this. If your floor has
at least 2 layers in it you can go into the edit assembly dialod to modify
the structure of the floor making a particular layer "variable" in
thickness. This allows you to make the floor/roof sloped and the material
you specify to be variable will be altered to create the slope.

--
Jeff Hanson
SME (Subject Matter Expert)
Autodesk - BIM UX
Manchester, NH

wrote in message news:6399170@discussion.autodesk.com...
Does anyone know how to create a floor or structural slab that is both
sloped AND has a variable thickness?

I can do either, but not both. Thinking that I may need to create a generic
mass.

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:33:13 GMT

Jeff,

I have made a floor type that has two layers, one concrete and one earth fill on top of the concrete. The earth fill layer is variable. If I use the shape editing tools, it will only let me adjust the variable layer, so all I can do is increase the amount of earth fill on top and make the top of that layer slope based on the points I put in. The concrete layer cannot be manipulated at all in this scenario even using the slope arrow tool in the edit boundary command. When the slope arrow is used it automatically removes the variable thickness of the variable layer.

So unless I am missing something it isn't possible to slope the concrete floor and have variable earth cover.

I am trying to find a way to construct an underground space and it seems that the topography isn't nimble enough to do it and the variable thickness floors and roofs aren't quite there either. Perhaps floors and roofs could have a function added to cut into topography similar to how pads work but with a check box to cut topography above or below until it meets another topo cutting element. With this type of feature, tunnels and underground buildings could be modeled with out having to try to match a toposurface and its method for manipulation with a mass or in place component and its different method for manipulation. For example, it would be very useful to be able to:

1) Make a topo surface.

2) Make a floor with an instance check box to cut topo surface ABOVE the floor to a certain height.

3) Make a floor or roof above the floor made in step 2 with an instance check box to cut topo surface BELOW the floor or roof to a certain depth.

This would leave the topo above the floor/roof in step 3 so that it could still be manipulated as part of the topo surface.

Based on my understanding of how the toposurface works (that it is not a solid or a mass, but merely a paper thin surface that shows a depth when cut by a section or pad), the topo surface might have to be changed to a different type of object for this to work. It seems that the toposurface not being a solid or mass is the main culprit behind the cumbersome chore of making a tunnel or underground space. Because it is just a surface, there isn't any dirt to carve a space out of. All a pad can do is punch a hole in that paper thin surface.

Hopefully Autodesk can add this feature soon!

Ian

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

loboarch — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:23:41 GMT

That is an old post brought back from the grave. 🙂

You are correct. If a roff element has a slope applied then the shape editing tools are disabled. I think I probably mis-spoke in that post 2 years ago, but hey the feature was only about a month old when i made that post, so can I get a little slack?

As for underground structures, it is a little bit of trouble because of the nature of the Revit totpsurface kind of being a hybrid of sorts. It acts like a surface until it is cut in a view and then it gets "thickness" and looks a bit like it has volume. Making the toposurface a real solid and having additional elements (beyond just the pad) havign some relationship with it could help in creating underground spaces.

I did manage to ger somthing that looks a bit like an underground space bit using shape editing however. In the example below I made a roof (but it could easily be a floor) and then shape edited it to create a "toposurface". It is a bit faceted and ugly but might work. Once I had my "site" I used an in place void family and used it to cut out a hollow space in my site. Now you have a hollow space inside of a "site" and you could add floor, walls etc...

Maybe that will help you solve your situation?

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:40:44 GMT

Sorry, I was actually hoping I was missing some little check box that would make it work! Not trying to give you a hard time.

I think I am going to have to do some hybrid of this to get it to work on my project, but it helps.

Thanks!

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:04:51 GMT

You can create two roofs, one over another. The first could be sloped and the second could have a variable layer. Then join the two roofs

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

AJA14 — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:51:59 GMT

Hi. Not sure if this helps, but in the edit structure for floors or roofs, there is a variable checkbox at the far end that you can check. This makes a sloping floor with a variable thickness. You could use that and still have layers within your floor or roof.

Regards,

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 14:36:12 GMT

Just now I read your post.

I got a solution for this issue.

Floor or structural slab is possible to create both sloped and variable thickness..

Its is necessary to be checked the variable option in Material Assembley.

Then it is necesary to made Shape Editing option available under Modift Tab. The shape editing option is done with more accuracy. After you change the elevation by Modify Sub Elements.

You can add layers also for this case.

Regards,

Karunakaran

BIM Coordinator

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 01:00:25 GMT

Ok, I am resurrecting this post once again. In the graphic that karunakaran1991 posted, what I need is that slab with the bottom surface of the slab sloping as well. So the ENTIRE slab slopes, and also changes thickness along the way. Is this possible? I can make something similar with a mass, but both masses and in-place families trim the edges of the slab at a 90d angle to the bottom of the slab. An actual floor will trim it vertical and thus give me a nice join with the piece of slab next door.

Thanks,

Matthew

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

micmoctovi — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 18:59:55 GMT

I have been trying to figure this same situation out with a splined bottom of floor to have the correct contour to my beams and then also pick points on the top side of the floor to manipulate the little changes in elevation in the floor, the floor changes thickness from 4.25" to almost 5.25" in the center of the beams where there is the most deflection, let me know if you have any ideas other then 2 seperate peices of floors or roofs, I need it to be 1 solid peice. Thanks for any ideas

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 15:54:29 GMT

Hi,

I just wanted to add to this- per my understanding, and hopefully if I am wrong, then someone will correct me.

I stumbled upon this thread because I wanted to create a rooftop deck, where the roof slopes, and then above that are tapered sleepers so that the finish decking would be flat, and water would drain below on the slope to a gutter.

It seems that with variable thickness, the bottom will always be flat, and only the top will slope. I attempted to do this using modify shape tools (with the sleeper layer being a variable thickness (per your post), and then slope the whole floor so that the top would be level and the bottom slope.

Unfortunately, you can either slope or modify thickness, but cannot do both. Roof or Floor.

In my image, you can see the section of my (untapered) sleepers and deck structure, with the sloped truss below, but cant get the bottom of my deck to slope with the truss.

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

ToanDN — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 16:40:46 GMT

You are correct. When I need it, I have to model a main sloped floor or roof with a constant thickness, and another layer of floor or roof over it for the cricket, then join them.

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

justin — Fri, 08 Feb 2019 05:07:15 GMT

what you're saying makes sense (regarding joining the floors) but I cannot place a floor on a sloping plane. So if I make the first floor sloping, I cannot then make another floor that sits on the reference plane defined by the first floor.

Any tips on how to do that would be appreciated.

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

ToanDN — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 00:43:33 GMT

@justin wrote:

what you're saying makes sense (regarding joining the floors) but I cannot place a floor on a sloping plane. So if I make the first floor sloping, I cannot then make another floor that sits on the reference plane defined by the first floor.

Any tips on how to do that would be appreciated.

The first floor is sloped. The second floor is flat with modified sub-elements, overlapping the 1st floor. Then join them.

See attached: 1st floor = grey, 2nd floor = red, modified sub-element = orange.

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

justin — Sat, 09 Feb 2019 01:33:55 GMT

Thanks, Toan.

Re: Floor with Slope AND Variable Thickness

gottfried.schmidtke — Fri, 07 Feb 2020 16:41:37 GMT

I think the way around is to work with variable points for the thickness and a void ( generic model in place) to cut the lower slope . Just did that and it works fine. ...Not the most elegant way , but hey whatever works right?