Creating a wall with different materials at different height

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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

[NCornia]

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,

[Anonymous]

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?

[NCornia]

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,

[Anonymous]

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)?

[NCornia]

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

Best regards,

[Anonymous]

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.

[Laszlo Nagy]

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.