Revit stacked walls are a system family that allow you to combine two or more basic wall types into a single wall element.

This can be useful for modeling walls that have different thicknesses, materials, or heights at different levels.

Revit stacked wall

In this blog post, we will also explore some of the common challenges that arise when using stacked walls, and whether or not they are worth the effort.

Create A Stacked Wall

To create a stacked wall, you must have at least two basic wall types that you want to stack on top of each other. You can use any of the predefined wall types in Revit, or you can create your own custom wall types.

Step 1 – Activate the wall tool

Go to the Architecture tab > click on the Wall icon (shortcut: WA).

Step 2 – Define the stacked wall type

In the Properties palette, select the type of wall you want to create. Select one of the types in the Stacked Wall category.

Step 3 – Insert the wall into the Plan

Draw the stacked wall using one of the drawing tools in the Draw panel. Press Esc to finish drawing.

create stacked walls in Revit

Step 4 – Add subwalls to the stacked wall

You can then add, remove, rearrange, and flip the subwalls by editing the type properties of the stacked wall.

  1. Go to the Properties palette > click Edit Type.
  2. In the Type Properties dialog box, click Edit next to Structure.
  3. Click Insert to add a new row for each subwall you want to include.
  4. For each row, select a basic wall type from the drop-down list.
  5. Specify the height of each subwall under Constraint.
  6. Click OK.
edit stacked walls

By clicking the Preview button, you can see the wall layers and their properties as you make changes.

preview subwalls in Revit

Learn how to create curtain walls

Edit Stacked Walls

Once you have created a stacked wall, you can make changes to the multiple walls or to each wall.

To change the properties of each wall individually:

  1. Select the stacked wall in a section or elevation view.
  2. Press TAB to cycle selection highlight of subwalls.
  3. Left-click the individual wall.
  4. In the Properties palette, click Edit Properties.
subwall selection

You can also break up a stacked wall into individual walls if you want to have more control over each subwall:

  1. Right-click the stacked wall.
  2. Select Break Up.
break up Revit stacked walls

The stacked wall is divided into separate basic walls that can be modified independently.

Learn more about editing wall profiles

Stacked Wall vs Multiple Walls

The advantages and disadvantages of using different wall families to stack multiple walls are shown in Table 1.

TypeProsCons
Stacked Wall– Faster and easier to create and edit wall types.
– Fewer wall elements in the model and better performance.
– Consistent and continuous wall layers across levels.		– Prone to errors and inconsistencies when changing wall thickness or function.
– Breaks the connections with other elements such as floors, roofs, doors, and windows.
– Requires careful selection and adjustment of subwall properties.
Multiple Walls– More control and flexibility over wall design and alignment.
– More features supported such as split faces, reveals, and sweeps.
– Easier to modify or delete individual walls without affecting the entire assembly.		– More steps and attention required to create and join separate walls.
– More wall elements in the model and poorer performance.
– Requires manual adjustment of wall layers across levels.
Table 1

So Revit’s stacked walls are a great feature, but we usually end up breaking them up into individual walls that go from one level to the next.