topic Creating a wall with different materials at different height in Modeling

Creating a wall with different materials at different height

Anonymous — Wed, 24 May 2023 06:29:46 GMT

Could someone advise/point me in the right direction for creating a wall(s) with different materials at different heights please.

I have masonry at low level, with cladding above it and I'd like to know the best method(s) for modelling it.

I started out with two separate walls at different heights but windows/doors don't seem to cute through both walls and I think I might be going down the wrong route.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Barry Kelly — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 09:07:05 GMT

For this you want to look at Complex Profile walls.
You create a fill to represent each different material of you wall in section.
This will act as a single wall as far a doors and windows go.

There is a little more to it as you can define an area to stretch when altering the height of the wall (same for width as well f you want).
i.e. you want the masonry part to remain the same and the framed part to change height.

Always make your profile the shortest height required because you can stretch a complex profile taller but not shorter than what was drawn.

You also have lines to establish the opening reference plane so if your wall s different thicknesses you can set where you want the door/window reveal distance to be measured from.
I seem to remember an issue with this - I will see if I can find the post.

You can also model the two walls on top of each other and use the "Merge Walls" command (Design menu > Complex Profiles >Merge Walls).
This will create the complex profile for you.

Barry.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

alemanda — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 09:59:17 GMT

Depending on the editing level you want to achieve, you can model the two walls separately and put them in two separate layers, one for blockwall and one for thebcalddings. A bit more work but much more flexible for representation and documentation in my opinion.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 13:54:13 GMT

Thanks.

As i had the walls above one another I tried the Merge Walls option but I could only find it under the following:-

Edit>Reshape>Merge Walls

I selected both walls, merged them using the above but the whole wall has now gone dark grey (the top was light grey and the bottom brick/brick coloured)

How do I control the hatch/fill in elevation please?

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Electric Flute — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 14:28:44 GMT

You can play with Wall Accessory > Moldings and Panels

So you will have just one wall to deal with. See image below.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Mon, 10 Jul 2017 15:10:48 GMT

Thanks Electric Flute

Is that an add on? Not delved into those yet.

From having a quick google, would that enable timber framework to be modelled quickly and could I potentially use it for the metsec framing for the cladding?

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 07:46:17 GMT

How would it work for a curtain wall with masonry at low level? Can the two be merged or do they have to be separate?

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Barry Kelly — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:18:22 GMT

thompsonmp wrote:
Thanks.

As i had the walls above one another I tried the Merge Walls option but I could only find it under the following:-

Edit>Reshape>Merge Walls

Yes that is the correct default location - I have a customised Work Environment and I still have it where it used to be in old versions.

thompsonmp wrote:
I selected both walls, merged them using the above but the whole wall has now gone dark grey (the top was light grey and the bottom brick/brick coloured)

How do I control the hatch/fill in elevation please?

Possibly just turning off the surface overrides in the wall settings will fix it.

You can also edit the complex profile now (if it says 'Custom' for a name you will have to 'Store Profile' and give it a name and then swap the wall in plan for this newly named profile).

In the profile editor you can select each of the fills and the click on the fill edge to bring up the pet palette.
There you can edit that edge to be whatever surface material you want.

Back in the wall properties make sure you are not overriding the surfaces.
With a complex profile you only have an end surface and all other surfaces (front, back top and bottom) are all considered as the same extrusion surface if you override them - they will all have the same surface material.

Barry.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Barry Kelly — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:31:32 GMT

thompsonmp wrote:
How would it work for a curtain wall with masonry at low level? Can the two be merged or do they have to be separate?

They would need to remain separate - I don't think you could merge them even if you try.
A curtain wall is essentially an object.
I haven't used them much but I would imagine you could set a panel at the bottom with no transoms or mullions, adjust its thickness and materials, and you might get something close (probably easier said than done).

But I would stick with walls if you want to put doors and windows in them.
Curtain walls you will have to edit to create the doors and windows or create openings in which you can place a separate wall with doors and windows in it.

Barry.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Barry Kelly — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 08:41:41 GMT

You can do it with a single curtain wall by playing around - but don't ask me how I got there.

Barry.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 10:04:09 GMT

Thanks Barry, I really appreciate your time and advice.

I'm frantically trying to get up to speed with Archicad and then really delve deep

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 10:08:10 GMT

If I have a wall above another, is there any reason why it is greyed out when I try to merge them?

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

NCornia — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 15:44:41 GMT

Hi thompsonmp,

Try selecting the walls in a floorplan viewpoint, then check the menu. Certain commands will only be available in the menus in certain views. The floorplan is the go-to viewpoint so if a command does not work in one viewpoint, try visiting the floorplan view. I'll bring this one to the attention of our development team though. Not sure why this command wouldn't work in 3D. Could be a technical reason.

I hope this helps.

Best regards,

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 15:54:59 GMT

Thanks Nicholas.

Will the merge option not function if the walls are parallel but slightly different lengths?

Whether it was because I was working in plan or because I trimmed the walls at both heights (in case it was the latter), I got them to merge thanks.

Is there a way to unmerge walls and/or change the build up for the two separate elements once they have been merged?

I.e. I want to change the build up of the wall below the cladding or the depth of the claddiing above after I have merged the two walls?

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

NCornia — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 16:12:27 GMT

Will the merge option not function if the walls are parallel but slightly different lengths?

Not necessarily. You can have walls at different lengths and they will merge. Maybe there are some special cases where it wouldn't work. It would require some trial and error.

Is there a way to unmerge walls and/or change the build up for the two separate elements once they have been merged?

I.e. I want to change the build up of the wall below the cladding or the depth of the claddiing above after I have merged the two walls?

There is not an "Unmerge walls" command, but you can edit the complex profile after it has been created and save variations.

TIP: If you have a wall with a Complex Profile or Composite applied to it, select the wall and right-click; notice in the context menu an option to "Edit Selected Composite/Profile". This makes it much quicker to access the editing environment to make changes.

My advice is not to focus on the "Merge Walls" command too much. In my own experience I would use it only on very rare occasions. Normally I would simply open the Complex Profile Editor (Window > Palettes > Profile Manager) to create and edit CPs.

Complex Profile is one of the most popular functions in ARCHICAD. If you visit Google and simple enter "ARCHICAD Complex Profile" you will get a load of articles, posts and videos about their use.

Best regards,

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 16:28:08 GMT

Thanks Nicholas.

I'd started out with two walls above one another at separate heights which is why I was looking to merge them but having just used your tip of right clicking and "Edit Selected Composite/Profile" it's miles quicker and better.

I need to have more of a play around in Demo mode at home with Complex profiles for walls etc. I'd had a quick Google before but couldn't find relevant examples for walls, I'll have another look.

On a different note, one feature of the Autodesk site that I liked was the ability to mark a response on the forum as the answer/solution to a question/problem. Is there any chance of adding this function to Archicad-talk (I'm not sure who would be able to answer/implement this)?

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

NCornia — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 16:35:35 GMT

Regarding suggestions for the forum, send a PM to one of the moderators: laszlonagy, gkmethy, Karl Ottenstein, Barry Kelly, ejrolon

Best regards,

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Jul 2017 08:36:04 GMT

Thanks Nicholas.

Is there a reason why I can't select an existing wall and change it to the complex profile wall that I have created?

I can use the created wall to form a new wall but I can't select complex profile (it's greyed out) for existing walls.

Re: Creating a wall with different materials at different he

Laszlo Nagy — Sat, 15 Jul 2017 13:36:51 GMT

thompsonmp wrote:
On a different note, one feature of the Autodesk site that I liked was the ability to mark a response on the forum as the answer/solution to a question/problem. Is there any chance of adding this function to Archicad-talk (I'm not sure who would be able to answer/implement this)?

I will forward this wish to GRAPHISOFT for their consideration.