Pile Cap Creation - Family vs Model-In-Place

[geteway2digitalindia]

I need to create Pile Caps of various shapes - some regular, some irregular as per attached drawing. I tried 2 routes :

Option 1 :

For regular rectangular & triangular shapes I created parametric family having L/B/D as parameters.  For the non-regular shapes I created non parametric unique standalone families of exact dimensions & loaded into projects & placed at respective locations. The process is time taking considering the irregular shapes scenario.

Option 2 :

For whichever shapes I used Model-In-Place as a Structural Foundation having Host Rebar - selected & specifying the depth. The process is quite fast.

Which of the above 2 options is recommended from all future considerations of these components from  Quantity Takeoff / Rebar schedule / Tagging / Progress Tracking.... perspective.

[RDAOU · Accepted solution]

@geteway2digitalindia 

In terms of quantity takeoff, rebar scheduling, tagging, progress tracking, etc., both approaches are essentially the same.

As a new user trying to understand how Revit works, one might feel that creating families is be time-consuming, especially for larger projects. However, in reality, structural families—particularly piles and pile caps—are relatively easy to model and are valuable assets that can be reused in future projects. Over time, as one becomes more familiar with the process, even the most complex family will take nearly the same amount of time as an in-place model.

That said, this doesn’t mean that in-place models are a waste of time. If you find that in-place modeling is faster in certain situations, feel free to use it. You can always convert in-place models into loadable families later when you have more time.

Which approach should you adopt?

I recommend mastering both workflows and using the one that best suits the current project you're working on. It’s quite common to use a mix of both approaches, depending on the project's needs.

[jay_colcombe · Accepted solution]

It all depends what information you want to use in the Schedules if you want Parameter's to be pulled into them the schedule for then they need to be defined in the Families its really that simple!

You do not need them to be Parametrically driven is this is too long or difficult but if you set reference planes and dimensions with Labels you can call them out.

I have seen simple Model In-Place Families with no parameters where the information is in the Family Name or Type

e.g. Foundation Pad 1A LxBxD 

[Tom_Kunsman · Accepted solution]

I think trying to use families as much as possible is the way to go. I would only use the model in place for the "one off" very unique situation. 

Could consider making a pile cap "starter" family template, that already has some reference planes, dimensions, etc to help you get started. Just a thought

[geteway2digitalindia]

GOT IT..