Slab Edge

[Anonymous]

Two questions: 1) How do I get rid off the line separating the slab from the thickened edge, which is a profile. Both are structural concrete; 2) If the priority of concrete is higher than earth, then why doesn't the concrete footer cut the earth automatically? Thanks.

[Steve Jepson]

As with anything in ArchiCAD, there are many ways to get what you need. And you always can.

You could use Solid Element Operations on the mesh your using for the soil.
Footing and Stem wall are Operators, Mesh the Target - Subtract.

As for the thickened slab edge and slab - you may want to consider merging them into a morph so they can be all one monolithic element. ?

This is a curious detail. Why is the slab edge thickened?

[Anonymous]

Steve,

Thanks. I will use the SEO to subtract the footing from the mesh. But that is what I did for the wall. I was just curious about the role of priority in this aspect, because if it works for many materials, it should for the mesh.

As for the thickened edge slab, even if it is a non-structural slab on grade and it does not support any bearing load, I always thickened the edge of slab so that when it is loaded with anything heavy it will hold, including differential settlement. In this case, the slab is for a garage.

[Barry Kelly]

So long as you have used the same Building Material for both the slab and the thickening then they should merge in section with no need to connect or convert to morphs or any thing else.
If the slab is a composite (as mine is here even though it only has one skin) then it must use the same BM as the thickening in the composite settings.
My thickening is just a simple slab with an angled edge but it could have also been a composite.
They must also touch exactly top to bottom.
If there is a gap or they overlap then you will see the line of the top and bottom surfaces.

Unfortunately the footing (slab) and mesh do not interact automatically in section (3D).
You must perform a Solid Element Operation on them.
There is no Priority Based Connections for meshes.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Barry, thanks for the response. The slab and the profile are both concrete, and the slab is not a composite. The problem was the fact that the complex profile was saved and used as a beam. Once I edited the complex profile to make it a wall and not just a beam only, the two merged. Thanks again.

[Barry Kelly]

Cheikh wrote:
The problem was the fact that the complex profile was saved and used as a beam. Once I edited the complex profile to make it a wall and not just a beam only, the two merged.

I have also done it where the thickening was saved as a complex profile as a beam only and it still merges in section.

The good thing about using complex profile is it can clash (overlap) with the slab and it will still merge - unlike if both are slabs.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Barry, I am baffled. After editing the complex profile and made it a beam only, it merged with the slab as you said. So I am not sure then what the problem was, but it is solved. Question: The "Use Building Material" is checked but greyed out. Why?

[Barry Kelly]

You need to select the fill in the profile editor to activate that option.

I didn't notice that this post is in the 'Schedules' section of the forum so I have moved it to the "working in Archicad' section.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Ok, Barry. Thanks again.

[Steve Jepson]

The one element I never use for a garage slab is a Slab.

Garage slabs have a slope, and usually multiple slopes if you model the slope on each side of the garage door to prevent water traps. Sometimes they have a floor drain too. That, and for a slab that has special geometry on the bottom, the regular Slab is never adequate. This is why you may want to consider making it into a morph at some point. Not just for the graphics.

I start with a roof for the sake of uniform thickness and slope.

The complex profile beam is good because you can give it a slope to match a roof/slab.

In the end, my garage slab ends up being a morph because there is no other single element that can have all of these things I want, and is easy to adjust for each new project I re-use it in.