Best way to draw a stepped parapet wall

[MaltbyDesign]

I have an existing commercial building where the parapet steps up and down along the length of the building (see attached photo). These steps occur around the full perimeter of the building. It seems that the "Create Stepped Wall" command handles steps going a single direction but not rising and descending like the parapet does. Is there a standard way of drawing parapets like this? Does drawing wall segments of different heights make sense? Or stack layers of walls representing each step? Thanks for any tips.

[Pat Stanford]

What about just adding Wall Peaks at the necessary step points?

[zoomer]

I think I would have drawn separate Walls for each level

and overwritten the stylized Wall Top Heights in OIP.

[MaltbyDesign]

32 minutes ago, Pat Stanford said:

What about just adding Wall Peaks at the necessary step points?

Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't even know you could do that.

[MaltbyDesign]

1 minute ago, zoomer said:

I think I would have drawn separate Walls for each level

and overwritten the stylized Wall Top Heights in OIP.

That does seem to be the simplest solution.

[zoomer]

Maybe even by simple Extrudes or Generic Solids, maybe an Addition of these

(for each Facade) and finally apply IFC WALL Tag.

As I think these are existing and not meant to be modified much (?)

 

I think there are pretty much endless ways in VW to create these Attic Walls.

Not sure if there is a best way. And if, it depends on what you need to do with

them or not.

[line-weight]

5 hours ago, zoomer said:

it depends on what you need to do with them or not.

 

This!

 

One of the first questions should be: will I want to edit this after I've drawn it.

 

Do they need to be shown as multi-component in section.

 

Etc.

[E|FA]

6 hours ago, zoomer said:

I think I would have drawn separate Walls for each level

and overwritten the stylized Wall Top Heights in OIP.

If the parapet was level, would you have drawn it as a wall?  If so, I agree with @zoomer's suggestion as quickest, with stepped wall peaks as equally valid and a chance to learn how to use them.  

[TomKen]

1. Draw Wall

2. Create Extrusion

3. Menu Command .. AEC/Fit Walls To Objects

 

Super fast and you can redo it anytime you need to.

 

 

[Tom W.]

If the parapet has coping (looks like it does?) you might be wanting to draw that extrusion anyway to represent that (+ convert it to Auto Hybrid)...

Edited December 15, 2022 by Tom W.

[AlanW]

You can always add nodes to the wall this is one wall, see attached

Edited December 19, 2022 by AlanW

[Shortnort]

Tom, your response is brilliant!!!

Most of my Convenience Stores have broken parapets.  I have been cutting the walls and adjusting the wall heights.  But I love your solution!!! 

 

My walls typically have CMU with lightgauge studs covered with gypsum wallboard on the interior.  I have to adjust the height offset for the studs when I change the wall height.  Is that necessary using your method?

 

Alan, I am not familiar with adding nodes.  I see that you are in the Building Toolset but can't make out the other icons.  Please link to where I can learn to do this.

[Benson Shaw]

@Shortnort  @AlanW will likely reply, but meanwhile. His screenshot shows the Edit Wall interface, wherein one can add or subtract nodes to wall top and wall bottom. There a several paths to access the tool:

• Activate the Edit Wall tool in the Building Shell toolset.  or
• Dbl click a wall (this activates the Wall Edit tool).  or  
• Right click a wall and choose Edit (this activates the Wall Edit tool)

Once activated, the tool's mode bar shows modes for

• "Reshape Wall Peaks"    Use this to move existing wall peaks up or down.
• "+"   This is the Add 3d Wall Peaks mode
• "-"   This is the Delete 3d Wall Peaks mode  

Alan's screenshot shows the "+" mode in action.

 

With the "+" mode selected,  hover over an existing wall handle. Cursor changes to the double flag style, click- move-click. Establishes a new node at 2nd click.

Give it a whirl.

 

HTH

-B

Edited January 2 by Benson Shaw
Details, Devils . . .

[M5d]

8 hours ago, Shortnort said:

My walls typically have CMU with lightgauge studs covered with gypsum wallboard on the interior.  I have to adjust the height offset for the studs when I change the wall height.  Is that necessary using your method?

 

If you want the stud and gypsum to remain at their default construction heights, deselect the 'Follow Top Wall Peaks' option in the Wall Component Settings, or in the Wall Style itself if you want this as the style's default behaviour. You don't need to do this before you reshape a wall, the stud and gypsum will reset to their default heights once you deselect the Follow Wall Peaks option for each component.  

 

Edited January 2 by M5d

[AlanW]

You could always use the create wall recess, But VW appears to still have the problem where it can't close off the end part of wall even though the extrude goes past the end of the wall see attached.  

Edited January 3 by AlanW

[AlanW]

@ShortnortHi, so you double click on top of the wall and you get nodes. hit the + and you can click on one of the nodes and it will drag,  so just keep ding this, yo can do it by typing in distances also.

HTH

[line-weight]

I find the wall reshape system quite confusing, because it sort-of works like reshaping something like a polygon but not quite.

 

For example, along the top edge you start out with a node at each end and one in the middle:

 

 

So far, just like a polygon.

 

But if you move the end nodes, the mid one stays where it is, unlike with a polygon:

 

 

And if you want to use the + mode to add more nodes, that mid one disappears altogether. Unlike with a polygon reshape where you can click on a mid node to make it into a vertex.

 

Once you've added some extra "peaks", then going back to the reshape mode makes that "midpoint" handle re-appear, and moving it seems to move all of the nodes along the top edge... but the preview it gives you before the action is complete is wrong and only shows the end points moving.

 

 

(I've only realised that in making the screenshots for this post. This must be a bug? It explains one of the reasons I always hate using the wall reshape tool in practice, anyway. A sure-fire way to confuse users is to give a preview of an action that doesn't match the result.)

 

It's also frustrating that there's no midpoint handle on each of the sections along the top. If I want to move two adjacent peaks upwards by the same amount I have to do it manually, moving each one individually.

 

Edited January 4 by line-weight

[fabrica]

another option is the split tool - draw your wall as normal , mark out where you want to make cuts , and then change wall heights to suit..

Then use an extrude etc for your wall capping...

[Tom W.]

1 hour ago, line-weight said:

I find the wall reshape system quite confusing, because it sort-of works like reshaping something like a polygon but not quite.

 

For example, along the top edge you start out with a node at each end and one in the middle:

 

 

So far, just like a polygon.

 

But if you move the end nodes, the mid one stays where it is, unlike with a polygon:

 

 

And if you want to use the + mode to add more nodes, that mid one disappears altogether. Unlike with a polygon reshape where you can click on a mid node to make it into a vertex.

 

Once you've added some extra "peaks", then going back to the reshape mode makes that "midpoint" handle re-appear, and moving it seems to move all of the nodes along the top edge... but the preview it gives you before the action is complete is wrong and only shows the end points moving.

 

 

(I've only realised that in making the screenshots for this post. This must be a bug? It explains one of the reasons I always hate using the wall reshape tool in practice, anyway. A sure-fire way to confuse users is to give a preview of an action that doesn't match the result.)

 

It's also frustrating that there's no midpoint handle on each of the sections along the top. If I want to move two adjacent peaks upwards by the same amount I have to do it manually, moving each one individually.

 

 

I agree. I find it can be quite fiddly + involve a fair bit of trial + error, especially when looking to shape the vertical edge of a Wall rather than its top. But you can achieve quite cool stuff which can't be done any other way so a bit of an unsung feature I think.

[line-weight]

It also all tends to fall apart if you want to resize your wall lengthways.

[Andrew Pollock]

6 hours ago, Tom W. said:

 

I agree. I find it can be quite fiddly + involve a fair bit of trial + error, especially when looking to shape the vertical edge of a Wall rather than its top. But you can achieve quite cool stuff which can't be done any other way so a bit of an unsung feature I think.

Also windows cant be placed on the split