Adding Horizontal Reveals in Revit: A Step-by-Step Guide

Efficiently Adding Horizontal Reveals to Revit Walls

Learn how to efficiently add horizontal reveals to your architectural design using a computer-aided design tool. Understand the common mistakes made in the process and how to avoid them by allowing the computer to do the work while maintaining full control over parameters.

Key Insights

  • Adding horizontal reveals can be done in two ways: manually tracking around the building and adding them at each location, or applying it to the wall type so it shows up in all locations automatically. The latter method is recommended for its efficiency and avoidance of common mistakes, such as missing locations.
  • By adjusting the structure settings, you can access 'sweeps and reveals' options and modify the wall height, add profiles, and set distances from the base of the wall. It is advised to avoid hitting the escape key, as it exits the dialog box without saving your work.
  • Once reveals are added, they can be adjusted at any time for optimal design. Keep in mind, however, that errors may occur if the wall's height is below the reveal instance line, as it cannot show up in such cases.

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To add horizontal reveals, we can do a couple of different things. We can use the same process that we used before, where we add a reveal, and then I can go in with the horizontal option selected, and then we can add them in to each of these locations. So I could track it around the building, like the one we have here, and hit each one of these points.

And then just like we did with the verticals, I can select 'Restart Reveal, ' and I can do the same thing. This way works pretty well if you have a simple building like the one we have here. But if you wanted to build it into the wall type, what we could do is we can actually apply it to this particular wall type here, and then it'll just show up in all the locations.

One of the things that I see that commonly happens with this process is people will miss some locations. So you can see here, there would be a reveal going across at this location here and here that we haven't added in, so we'd have to add that back. But the best way to do it is to add it to the wall type so that we don't have to worry about making those mistakes.

It's back to the whole idea or the philosophy of allowing the computer to do as much work for us while we control all of the parameters. So what I could do is I can select my wall here, and I can go to 'Edit Type.' This is going to be in the structure settings here.

And then what we need to do is to access the sweeps and the reveals options. We need to open the preview, and it's telling you here, 'Modify Vertical Structure, Section Preview Only.' So I have to change this to 'Section Preview, ' and then now all of these come to life.

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So our wall is not 20 feet, it's actually 24 feet. So I'll change that to 24 for the sample height, and then that'll give us an idea of what the sample height looks like. One of the things you want to keep in mind while you're doing this is you don't want to hit the Escape key out of habit because it'll just take you out of this dialog box, and then you won't have any of your work saved.

So you want to make sure and not do that. We're going to add reveals. We'll click on reveals, and this is a matter of just adding the profiles in and telling it where we're going to set it.

If I say add, it's going to use the default profile. So I'll go ahead and change that to our Control Joint. And then I can say the distance that I want from the base of the wall and which side it's going to be on, and that's it.

So I can say distance. So our sill height is two feet eight inches. So that means I'm setting a Control Joint two feet eight inches from the base of the wall.

So then I can go in, and what I could do is instead of redoing all these settings every time, I could just say duplicate. And so the next one that I want is going to be at the first-floor window header, which is eight feet eight inches. And so now I have one going across here at two feet eight inches, eight feet eight inches, and then our floor line is at 12 feet.

So then this one would be at fourteen feet eight inches. So I can say duplicate again, and then my next one could be fourteen feet eight inches, and it's a six-foot window. If we duplicate again, then we would be at twenty feet eight inches, and that should take care of all the reveals here, here, and here.

And it's one of those things, if I didn't get the numbers right here, it's not a big deal because we can always go back in and make adjustments to these. Or if you're thinking, well, maybe we want another one somewhere else, then you can always go back in and make those adjustments. So I'll hit OK, and we will get errors as we go through this because not all of our walls are at or above the twenty feet eight inches line.

If the wall's down below at that line, then the reveal instance won't show up. So it's just letting you know that. And if I look here and zoom in on the preview, you can see that we have the different locations shown here.

And so I'll hit OK and hit OK again. And now you can see that all of the reveals that we've punched in are added across the building. And that gives us the control joint look all the way around the building without having to go through and click each one of those walls, which is what the manual process would have had us do.

photo of Michael Wilson

Michael Wilson

Revit Instructor

Bachelor of Architecture, Registered Architect

Mike is recognized by Autodesk as one of North America’s leading Revit Certified Instructors. He has significant experience integrating Revit, 3ds Max, and Rhino and uses Revit Architecture on medium and large-scale bio and nano-tech projects. Mike has been an integral member of the VDCI team for over 15 years, offering his hard-charging, “get it done right” approach and close attention to detail. In his spare time, Mike enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife, children, and dog.

  • Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI GOLD – 1 of 20 Awarded Globally)
  • Autodesk Certified AutoCAD Professional
  • Autodesk Certified Revit Professional
  • Revit
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