Wall Design
Click each corner and the walls are drawn; close a loop and it is a room, with its area, its floor and its ceiling. Every wall has its thickness, its build up of layers, its height to a level or a roof, and a curve, lean or batter of its own.
Every property, and what it does
Select a wall and these are its rows: on the plan first, then its Construction, then what is derived from it, its faces and its materials. A field shows when it applies, so a battered wall has its batter angles and a vertical one does not.
On the plan
What every drawn element has, and the wall's thickness.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Thickness | How thick the wall is. With a build up, it is the sum of its layers. | Millimetres, 10 and up |
| Layer | The drawing layer it is on, for showing, hiding and printing. | The project's layers |
| Colour, Lineweight, Linetype | How its lines are drawn on the plan and on paper. | By layer, or its own |
Construction
How tall the wall is, what it is for, and its shape.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Height | What the wall rises to: the storey above, the tallest wall round its room, the roof over it, a named level, or its own height. | Storey, Follow room, Roof, Up to a level, Custom |
| Which roof | The roof this wall follows when two cover it. Automatic is the nearest roof above. | Automatic, or a roof by name |
| Offset | Raises or lowers the head from the level it is built up to. | Millimetres |
| Head | The wall's own height, when it is Custom. | Millimetres |
| Function | What the wall is for. Groups schedules and takeoff, and maps to IFC; Auto names what it worked out. | Auto, Exterior, Interior, Retaining, Foundation, Soffit, Core-shaft |
| Curve | Bends the wall into an arc: one wall, built as a chain of straight pieces. | The bow of the arc |
| Cross-section | Vertical, leaning, or tapering to the head. | Vertical, Slanted, Tapered |
| Lean | How far a slanted wall leans from vertical. Positive leans to the wall's left. | Degrees |
| Batter left, Batter right | How far each face of a tapered wall leans in, so the wall thins as it rises. | Degrees |
| At the head | How a slanted or tapered wall is finished at its top. | Square, Nosing |
| Curtain wall | Turns the wall into a glazed curtain wall: a frame of mullions and transoms filled with panels. | Solid, Curtain |
Derived
Read from the wall as it is.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Built to | The height the wall actually reaches. | Read from the model |
| Length | The wall's length. | Read from the plan |
| Area | The area of the wall's face. | Square metres |
Faces
Each side of the wall has its own finish, and a finish can change part way along.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Split | Splits a face into two finishes along its length. | On or off |
| Split at | Where along the face the second finish starts. | Millimetres from the start |
Materials
What the wall is made of, across its thickness and up its height.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Build up | The layers across the wall, outside to inside: structure, insulation, plaster, cladding, each with its thickness and material. The wall's thickness is their sum. | Any number of layers |
| Apply to type | Gives every wall with the same build up the change you made. | One click |
| Up the wall | Bands of different construction stacked up the height, each with a build up of its own. | Bands by height |
| Faces | The finish painted on each face, over the build up. | Any project material |
How the Wall tool works
Open the Wall tool
In the editor, open Build and choose Wall, or type WALL (WA). Arc wall (AW) draws a curve.
Click each corner
Click each corner, and click the first one again to close the room. WT cycles the thickness, WJ draws on the centre, left or right of the line.
Rooms appear
Any space the walls close is a room, with its area, floor and ceiling. Remove a wall between two rooms and they become one.
Shape each wall
Select a wall to drag its corners, type its length, and set its height, build up, curve, lean and finishes.
Wall questions, answered.
Do I draw rooms or walls?
Walls. Any space the walls close is a room, with its area written in it, and it changes as soon as the walls do.
Can a wall be made of layers?
Yes. A build up stacks structure, insulation, plaster and cladding across the wall, each with its own thickness and material, and the thickness is their sum.
How tall is a wall?
By default it reaches the storey above. It can be built to a level, to the roof over it, to the tallest wall in its room, or to a height of its own.
Can walls curve or lean?
Yes. A wall can curve into an arc, lean from vertical, or taper on either face for a retaining or sloping wall.
Read on
- Curtain Walls: Glazed walls of mullions and panels.
- Door Design: Doors set in a wall, the wall cut to match.
- Walls and rooms docs: Drawing walls, build ups, rooms, slabs and shafts.