brick lintels

[stl4310]

Ideally I'd like to model a brick lintel with soldier bricks which would be in the same plane as my running bond brick wall.

What's the best way to do this? I tried creating a new wall, 8" high, but putting it in the same plane as my wall but it doesn't show the bond pattern in elevation.

Should I create a sweep in the wall type? It appears to me that the sweep goes around the entire wall and my opening does not.

[PijPiwo]

Try this:

http://www.revitforum.org/showthread.php/2359-Walls-embedded-in-Walls

I'm not sure if this is the best way to do it though.

[Alfredo Medina]

It is possible with a wall sweep. Create a new profile family as a rectangle, that matches the thickness of the wall and the height of the brick. Load the profile into the project. In the project, from an elevation view, place a wall sweep above the opening. Select the wall sweep > Edit type: Duplicate, rename, check "Cut by inserts". This will allow you to get blue dots at the ends of the sweep, to adjust the length of the lintel in elevation to match the width of the opening, or to go beyond the opening for supports. In the Material parameter, select "Masonry - Soldier brick course". In the profile parameter, replace the "Default" profile with the new profile that you created. From a section view, select the sweep. In the instance properties, assign a negative offset, equal to the thickness of the wall. In elevation, align and lock the lintel to the width of the opening.

[snowyweston]

Or you could model the lintel as part of the door family, on a new subcategory, that follows size rules controlled by the door itself.

Or as a type-controlled nested shared family (but without the ability to tie-dimensions like you do with non-shared nested families, that could become a pain to manage)

[Alfredo Medina]

The issue with the solution of the lintel in the door, is that in this case, the user is trying to put a lintel to an opening, not to a door. I know it is possible to create an opening with a door family, but then it will be a "door" that you will have to remember to filter out from the schedules, since it is not a door.

[snowyweston]

I know it is possible to create an opening with a door family, but then it will be a "door" that you will have to remember to filter out from the schedules, since it is not a door.

The nested, if shared, doesn't have to be a door. So, although a bit dirty I know, you could always switch it's category to something else, Structural Framing perhaps?

[mdradvies]

It is possible with a wall sweep. Create a new profile family as a rectangle, that matches the thickness of the wall and the height of the brick. Load the profile into the project. In the project, from an elevation view, place a wall sweep above the opening. Select the wall sweep > Edit type: Duplicate, rename, check "Cut by inserts". This will allow you to get blue dots at the ends of the sweep, to adjust the length of the lintel in elevation to match the width of the opening, or to go beyond the opening for supports. In the Material parameter, select "Masonry - Soldier brick course". In the profile parameter, replace the "Default" profile with the new profile that you created. From a section view, select the sweep. In the instance properties, assign a negative offset, equal to the thickness of the wall. In elevation, align and lock the lintel to the width of the opening.

Sorry Alf but I wouldn't reccommend this solution... In a small project this might be doable, but on a slightly larger scale (10+ doors), this is going to take a lot of time.
Why not create a Wall based family? This is easy to place, easy to maintain, dimensions can be easily parametrized and can be put in any desired category (in holland there's a lot of debate going on on whether this is a structural element or part of the opening)

[Alfredo Medina]

Yes, I agree with you. If the user is going to be doing this many times, then, creating a family for that purpose is more recommended, of course.

[Rick Moore]

I created a wall based family for this, you mean I guessed right the first time? Doesn't happen much...

[Alfredo Medina]

Well, if two solutions are valid, it depends on the situation which solution is better. If I had to do this once or twice, I would do the wall sweep, and get done with it. If I had to do this many times, then it would make more sense to spend the time to create a family. It's always a choice between Time vs. Benefits.