Section Box Tips and Tricks in Revit + Only 1 Day Left!!!

 

In this Office Hour Session I riff on section boxes in Revit, share some short cuts, tips, and tricks!  This is one of the more common questions I get asked when teaching Revit and using the "BX" shortcut... ;)

Click here to view the session now...

1 Day Left to Register for NicheBIM 2024!

Quick reminder that I will be closing registration for NicheBIM 2024 tomorrow night!  I've been having a blast designing graphics for swag, organizing with the venue, and preparing for the first ever conference dedicated to small firm architects using BIM!  

If you want to join us next month, you must register by tomorrow night... 

Click here to learn more and register right now.

Modern Kitchen Renovation Series - Revit Light Fixture Family Creation (Episode 14)

In episode 14 of our modern kitchen renovation series we will take a minute to build a fully parametric Revit light fixture family!   In this tutorial I will walk you through the steps it takes to build a pendant light fixture family in which you have total control of the size, height, materials, and light intensity!  

Oh.... all in like 9 minutes or so.. :)

Click here to view episode 14 now....

Type in Formula Hack in Revit Tutorial

 

In this BIG "BAD" BIM Tip of the Week Paul shares a type in formula hack that will save you a bunch of time when putting together your Revit models.  With this Revit tutorial you will be able to quickly use complex formulas WHILE your build you models... You can also use different units and systems efficiently throughout you Revit design process. 

Click here to view the tutorial video ....

Door Style Schedules in Revit to SAVE TIME! (Office Hour Sessions)

On this episode of the Office Hour Sessions, community member Reggie asks a great question about making door schedules more efficiently, which lead us into a tutorial about door style schedule in Revit.  How to save time making door schedules, be more efficient with your schedules, and not be stuck using door parameters from downloaded families. 

Oh, and we talk about using the same method on Room Finish Schedules... ;)

Every other week I hold a private call with members of the BIM After Dark Community (https://community.bimafterdark.com/).  I thought it would be valuable to highlight some of the conversations here on the channel.

If you think you could benefit from an Office Hour like this one, Join the BIM After Dark Community for full courses, support, and sample files today !

Click here to view the office hour session tutorial now... 

Use "Count" in Revit Schedule Formula Tutorial

In this BIG "BAD" BIM Tip of the Week Peter shares an awesome tip that lets you use the "Count" value in Revit schedule for calculations in a Revit formula.

Thanks for sharing this Use "Count" in Revit Schedule Formula Tutorial , Peter!!

Click here to view the video now... 

Revit Family Tips ( From a Professional Revit Family Creator ! )

This episode of BIM After Dark Live had the chat buzzing!  Brenton Wiberg (of RevitFamily.biz) joined me to talk about what he has learned while building Revit families for his clients.  We hit on a bunch of great topics and tips from what to look out for when starting a Revit family to using family type parameters!

If you missed it live, be sure to check out the replay above!  

The live audience (after 1.5 hours!) was asking for a part 2... stay tuned... ;)

Revit Structural Framing - Cut Rafter at Ridge Beam Revit Tutorial

In this Revit Structural Framing tutorial I run through two approaches to cutting rafters a ridge beams in Revit.  This tutorial was inspired by a member of the BIM After Dark Community, Chris.   Thanks Chris!

If you are interested in joining the other 150+ members (and myself) within the BIM After Dark Community, take advantage of the current 14 day free trial I am offering!

As a member of the community you'll get access to:

- Self-paced Revit courses (all four! and any new courses to be added in the future) with sample files, live chat, and community support.
- Access sample files from your favorite "Revit Kid" tutorial posts.
- Exclusive access to online "office hours" with Jeff and guests.
- Connect with other Revit users to share ideas, best practices, and ask/answer burning questions as a community.

Click here to start your FREE trial today...

Importing Google Maps into Twinmotion Tutorial (in 3D!)

In this quick Twinmotion Tutorial video I will build on the process I demonstrated a few weeks ago (here is the video) and show you how to take a mesh made from Google Maps and bring it into Twinmotion for context and visualization purposes.

Also, don't forget, if you are interested in leaning more about Twinmotion, check out my FREE From Revit to Twinmotion course!

Revit 2022: The New Features You DON'T know about, but SHOULD (w/Aaron Maller)

 

By now you may have heard about all of the fancy new features in Revit 2022... Or have you? Instead of doing a simple "here are the new features" run-down of the latest Revit release, we thought it would be fun to have friend of the show, Aaron Maller (of Parallax Team), join us to talk about the less glamorous (but super important) features in Revit 2022. You know, the ones that will truly enhance your workflow, improve your lives, and eliminate some of those ridiculous workarounds you have been doing for years.

We had some great questions and great conversation about Revit 2022 and our opinions on the features.

Also, this is one with A LOT of links mentioned so be sure to continue reading...

How to Filter Walls BY LEVEL in Revit

 

This "Community Quick Tip" talks about one approach to filtering walls by their levels.

File this one under, "why can't Revit just be able to do this?!".  In this tutorial we mix a little Revit and Dynamo to show you how you can filter a Revit wall by it's host/base level.  Something that is NOT possible out of the box...

I know, crazy... Right?  

Well, hopefully this tutorial will help!

Continue reading to see my approach to this out of the box Revit limitation...

Adding a Detail Item in a Wall Sweep in Revit?!

 

Here is a great little tip on how to embed detail component items within your profile families in Revit.  For example, if you had a metal coping profile that was a wall sweep and you wanted to see 2x6 blocking when you cut a section (but don' need to model it) then this is a great solution for you!

This tutorial was inspired by a question from Emil, a member of the BIM After Dark Community.  Thanks for the inspiration, Emil!

Continue reading to view the "Community Quick Tip" tutorial...

Managing LARGE & COMPLEX Sites in Revit and Twinmotion (Replay w/Links)

 

On last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live I broke down how my team and I manage large, complex, and phased scenes in Revit & Twinmotion 2020 to create construction logistics/phasing plans, aerial views, and more... There are a lot of aspects to this session for Revit: - Model setup of super large scenes (acres upon acres of land). - Use of Container models using the design teams files. - Managing multiple phases, fencing, and more... Then, there are all the lessons learned when using Twinmotion 2020 with these large scenes, such as: - Export/Import Tips for less crashes. - Managing Phases/Sequencing, etc... - More efficient and stable model refreshes on large scenes - Best trees and material settings for aerial views. - Best lighting settings for aerial views...

Follow along as I walked through two different projects with their own unique approaches to creating large site models in Revit and managing how those scenes are built in Twinmotion.

Also, it's worth watching this episode to see how nervous I was while running two instances of Twinmotion 2020, two instances of Revit, and streaming live to YouTube from a 2K monitor... Talk about risky!

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (as well as the Twinmotion light settings I walk through at the end)...

Residential Revit - Under Construction (Replay + Links)

 

In this episode of BIM After Dark Live I gave an update on my ongoing home addition project ("Split Level Redux") and talk about some of the ways Revit has helped during the construction phase. 

So often in residential construction, as the architect, we spend countless hours working with a client to design their dream home (or addition).  However, there isn't always a connection between that effort and the efforts in the field.  

I have been using my own personal project as an opportunity to explore how Revit (and "BIM" in general) can add value to residential contractors, too.

In this episode we explored:

- General construction updates on the project (with some cool footage).

- How I am using Revit to track progress.

- How Revit is helping me place material orders.

- Real-time diagramming and problem solving using the model..

- And of course, some of the head-aches along the way....

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (there were quite a few links mentioned!)... 

Revit and Drones - Mapping, Point Clouds, and More...

If you missed last night's episode of BIM After Dark Live, do yourself a favor and check out the replay below...  If you're an overall technology junky/geek like me, you

Drones and Revit are two technologies I have been trying to figure out how to connect for a couple of years now.  Recently, a colleague of mine introduced me to a technology that makes it all possible.

In this episode I walked through how I was able to take a $600 (Black Friday sale drone) and map out an existing building, export it to a point cloud, and bring it into Revit...

Oh, and so so much more...

Like this really cool looking image...

Continue reading to see what I am all jazzed up about and to see the links (software and hardware) mentioned...

Parametric Dining Room Light Fixture Family in Revit - Start to Finish

 

I built a parametric family in Revit on yesterday's episode of BIM After Dark Live.

But, not just any old Revit family.  A dining room light fixture. 

Why a light fixture family?  

Well, I've noticed over the years that light fixtures are probably some of the most wanted families.  Probably because there are literally millions of fixture with all sorts of little details within them.

Another reason I wanted to walk you through the creation of this fixture live is that is contains a whole bunch of great family creation tips and tricks along the way.  

There were some great questions and I shared a lot of "process" references (like sketches, and diagrams) that are worth checking out...

Topics Covered:
- Laying out a Parametric Object
- Using Nested Families (when, why, and how).
- Using multiple light sources in one family.
- Carrying parameters (like materials) through nested Families
- When to use sweeps over extrusions
- Tips for making "rods"...

And so much more.  

If you missed it, be sure to continue reading to see the replay and view all of the reference materials...

Behind the Scenes "BAD" Office Hour (Topics: Revit Curtain Walls & Placeholder Links)

 

Over the last few days I have received some emails asking about what an "Office Hour" within the BIM After Dark Community actually is...

Instead of simply responding to a bunch of emails, I thought I would make a video!

In this video I take you behind the scenes of an actual "BIM After Dark Community" office hour. I hold these private office hours about every other week for members of the community.

The topic of this sample office hour is Revit Curtain Wall Systems (a couple specific questions from member, Jerry) and placeholder links in Revit (a great tip and discussion for anyone dealing with links!).

So, this video can serve as an example of an Office Hour, but also give you some valuable tips and tricks... Win win!

Click here (or the image above) to view the office hour sample...

Want to see more Office Hour examples...?  

Check out this episode of BIM After Dark Live (Top 5 Ways to Use Design Options in Revit) where I hosted a Community Office Hour WITH a YouTube lice audience... 

How to Split a Wall Sweep in Revit (Community Quick Tip)

Happy final Monday of 2020!!  Thank goodness... Am I right?

Today's video is the first of a mini-series I am calling "Community Quick Tips".  Essentially, these are video versions of longer question and answer conversations had over on the BIM After Dark Community.

In this video I answer Emil's question within the community about splitting wall sweeps.  I show two different approaches to splitting a wall sweep (hint, you can't just use the split tool).  

Click here or the image above to view the video tutorial...

Learning Revit, together.

Also, don't forget, you can save 30% off your membership if you join before the end of the year.  Click here to lean more or join now...

Calculating Occupancy in Revit, Automatically

 

On the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by Dana De Filippi to talk about automatically calculating (and tagging) occupancy loads in Revit.  Dana is a co-host on the BIM Thoughts Podcast and a BIM technologist within the field of architecture and kicks all kinds of Dynamo butt.

Dana shared the workflow she developed that will automatically (and accurately) calculate your occupancy loads and place them into tags for you!  Something I know you all just love doing manually ... ;)

Topics Covered:

- Creating and using Area Schemes in Revit

- Constructing key values and using conditional formatting in Revit schedules.

- Use Dynamo to collect Revit and Excel Data

- Discover how to integrate user selection of different code requirements.

This is a DO NOT MISS for all of my fellow Architects out there (and FP engineers, too!)...

Continue reading to view the episode and download the sample files Dana was so gracious to share!

Sloped Shower Floor / Drain in Revit (Quick Tip Edition)

In our next "Quick Tip" video I demonstrate a few different approaches to making your floors slope to a drain in Revit.  This could be used for showers or any sloped floor, really...  Enjoy!

Corrugated Metal Walls in Revit ("Butler" Buildings) - Quick Tip Edition

In this short tip I demonstrate one possible solution to modeling corrugated metal walls (like "Butler Buildings") in Revit...  This is just one way to approach it... There are many!

Enjoy...