Revit Tip: Attaching Walls to Stairs – Part 1

by Dennis Collin

Walls are fairly flexible families which can be attached to a variety of different hosts, including roof and floor slabs. However, they cannot be attached to stair system families which may be necessary to model a feature like an understair cupboard. There is a workaround though as users can attach the top and bottom of walls to construction elements like reference planes. This can be derived from existing Revit families or from reference CAD elements if required.

Fig 1. Stair in Plan with cupboard walls added.

In the example below, a stair family has been created with an internal wall set where a finish face is aligned to the desired edge of a stair within a plan view.

Fig 2. Unless modfied walls span from level to level or a plain height offset

In 3D and section views the wall shows through the stair.

Fig 3. Top of Walls can be attached to Reference Plane elements.

In a section view, create a reference plane by selecting an edge of a stair support. Name it as Underside of Stair or similar.

Fig 4. Choose Top in this scenario.

Select the wall, choose Attach Top/Base with the top selected, then select the reference plane. The wall geometry will update accordingly. Other walls can also be attached to the same reference plane. Reference planes do not normally print by default, but if required by been assigned different subcategories and colours for easier indentification and working.

Fig 5. Custom door families can be created and placed as required.

This technique works for most simple scenarios where walls are straight and vertical, but there are other alternate options for this instance. A similar process could also be applied to ramps, depending upon how the ramp is modelled. There are also alternate workflows if the walls are curved, sloped and slanted! I will cover these steps in a separate blog.

Wall modification, along with Stair and Railing elements, are a popular topic of discussion on Cadline’s Revit Essentials and Intermediate training courses. For more details visit https://training.cadline.co.uk/ and talk to one of the team who can help you with your requirements.