Want to add professional-looking elements to your wall designs in Revit? Learn how to create and use wall sweeps. The first method uses prebuilt families from the out-of-the-box library, and the second method designs your own profile.
Wall Sweep is a design feature that allows you to add architectural and decorative elements, such as moldings and trim, to walls.
Method 1 – Load Wall Sweep
Details: Use the built-in wall sweep tool.
Suitable for using the basic sweep families in the standard library.
Steps
- Go to the Architecture tab > Build panel > drop-down Wall menu.
- Click “Wall: Sweep”.
- In the placement panel, select horizontal or vertical placement.
- Move the mouse pointer over the wall > click to add the wall sweep.
Edit
To edit a wall sweep, load an RFA profile into your project, change the sketch lines, save it as a new family, and then load it into your project.
- Go to the Insert tab > Load from Library panel > click Load Family.
- Revit Family Library > Profiles > Wall.
- Select “M_Cornice-Precast.rfa” > click Open.
- Select the sweep > Click “Edit Type” in the Properties palette.
- Under the Construction tab, select the loaded profile.
- Click OK.
Adjust the material and other parameters in the dialog box as needed to customize your sweep.
Returns
- Select the sweep in the view.
- In the Wall Sweep panel, click Modify Returns.
- In the Modify | Wall Sweeps panel, change the Angle value.
- Click the end of the element to apply the new return.
Positive angle values move the end towards the wall, negative values move it away from the wall.
Method 2 – Create Profile
Details: Sketch a sweep profile and load it as a family.
This method is more advanced and allows for more flexibility and customization in your wall design.
To create custom profiles for wall sweeps, we draw the profile shape using the various drawing tools in the family editor, such as lines, arcs, and splines.
Steps
- In the Project Browser, extend Families > extend Profiles.
- Right-click “M_Circular-Precast” > click Edit.
- Go to the Create tab > Detail panel > click Line.
- In the Draw panel, select your sketch tool.
- Delete the previous sketch lines.
- Go to the File tab > drop-down Save As menu > click Family.
- Assign a name for the family > click Save.
- In the Family Editor panel, click Load into Project.
Once you have created the profile, you can use it as the basis for a wall sweep by assigning it to a profile type in the Type Properties dialog box (as explained in the steps of Method 1).
If the wall sweep is grayed out or not working, you may be in a plan view. Switch to a 3D, elevation, or section view to use the feature.
Mohamed Fakhry has helped thousands of architects and designers find their next project with step-by-step guidance on his blog, mashyo.com. About Mohamed
His journey began during his university years when he recognized the need for information-rich 3D models to accelerate learning and improve production processes. Now, Mohamed shares his expertise through Revit tutorials that are accessible to all.
