Stop New Phase Openings from Altering Existing Walls’ Geometry and Documentation

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When inserting a door or window in the New Construction phase into an existing wall, Revit currently alters the wall’s geometry, area calculations, and documentation in the Existing phase. This automatic infill or modification of the existing wall often introduces inconsistencies in drawings and quantity takeoffs. In real-world practice, adding a new opening during the new phase should have no impact on how the existing wall is documented or calculated.

Why This Matters

1. Accurate Existing Conditions

   • Existing-phase documentation should remain pristine, reflecting the real conditions on site before any new work is added.
   • Unwanted infills or geometry changes can skew area calculations and create confusion in renovation drawings.

2. Realistic Construction Phasing

   • In practice, a new opening in an existing wall is a localized change that should not automatically alter the entire wall’s data or representation in existing-phase views.
   • Keeping the existing phase untouched is essential for clear, phased documentation.

3. Minimize Workarounds

   • Users resort to time-consuming manual overrides, filters, or post-processing in external software (e.g., Photoshop) to hide unwanted changes in existing-phase drawings.
   • A more direct solution in Revit would streamline workflows and reduce errors.

Proposed Solution

1. Phase-Specific Modifications

   • Ensure that openings created in the New Construction phase only affect the wall geometry, area calculations, and graphical representation within the New Construction phase.
   • The existing wall should remain intact and unaltered in all existing-phase documentation.

2. Optional Infill Control

   • If infills are necessary (for partial demolitions or phased renovations), provide a clear, user-driven method to define them—rather than defaulting to an automatic infill that distorts existing-phase data.

3. Consistent Drawings and Calculations

   • Allow the user to maintain accurate existing-phase drawings, ensuring that any new work is isolated to the correct phase.
   • This preserves correct area calculations, wall assemblies, and graphical representations for each phase without requiring extensive manual editing.

By preventing new-phase openings from affecting existing walls’ geometry or documentation, Revit will more accurately reflect real-world construction processes, reduce confusion in phased drawings, and save users from cumbersome workarounds.