Stepped strip footings

[KeesW]

Can someone suggest the easiest way to draw a stepped strip footing for a sloping site.

[Dave Seabury]

Kees

I use a profile shaped to the height of the step, narrow at the bottom
with a steep slope, match your footing fill and material and they
merge, I can post an image tomorrow if it helps.

David

[Barry Kelly]

One of these 3DMD objects would be great if you can edit the profile shape.
But I am not sure if you can - I have never used them but they look great.

http://3dmediadesign.blogspot.it/

Barry.

[Barry Kelly]

You could always use the Morph tool and 'Tube' the profile along the path you want.
Use the bottom edge of your walls as the path for the footing.

Barry.

[KeesW]

Use of the morph and tube would work but.....the overlap of the steps needs to be 1.5x the depth of the footing. Would one then use the morph tool to drag the overlap the required distance?

[Barry Kelly]

Yes, easy to adjust any surface on the morph.

Barry.

[Erich]

Kees,

You don't say your current method. For my work, I typically model the footing and stem separately using a bog standard wall for the stem and a complex profile for the footing. I make the profile to the smallest anticipated size and stretch it as necessary. This yields good 3D and 2D results with plenty of flexibility for display.

[KeesW]

I have been using the beam tool for these footings and they can be stretched using standard Archicad procedures. I am not sure if the complex profile method is any easier.

The footings should, ideally, be related to the site contours (i.e. the mesh) by nominating the size of the footing (cross section), size of steps, min depth below surface, etc.

Just had a brain wave! Could we use the stair tool?

[Barry Kelly]

KeesW wrote:
Just had a brain wave! Could we use the stair tool?

Only if your footings steps were all exactly the same height and length as each other.
Then they wouldn't be following the slope of the ground unless you had a perfectly uniform slope.

Barry.