12/4/2008 - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Room:Lando 4205 (AEC)

Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit® Architecture

Patrick Davis, Assoc. AIA - , HNTB Architecture, Inc.
and Todd Williams (Co-Speaker)

AB314-3 Attendees will learn how to create families for posts, balusters, panels, railings, and stair
nosing. Focusing on design for high-end commercial and residential projects, this class will
dive directly into the use of the Family Editor to physically build the components needed. Once
the families are established, the class will move to Assembly in the project to expose the
difficulties designers face. The commercial portion of the class will cover extruded steel with
glass panels; the residential portion will cover custom handrails and raised panels. You’ll also
learn how to design winding and spiral staircases, as well as how to create custom materials
with wood hatching that you can apply to the stair components to give the stairs and railings
your personal touch.

About the Speaker:

Todd Williams
Todd is a CAD/BIM Manager for HNTB Architecture located in Kansas City, Mo. With 13 years
of experience, he is an expert in the deployment and implementation of AutoCAD Architecture.
He has worked on and help support a wide variety of projects and project teams from sports
stadiums, laboratories and mixed use commercial. He is skilled in project workflow and proper
project creation and execution through the use of Project Navigator.

Stay Connect with AU all year at www.autodeskuniversity.com

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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

STAIRS

Belowisanoutlineofalltheparametersavailabletoyouwhencreatingandeditingstairsalongwitha
briefdescriptionofparameters.

UI/UnderstandingtheDialogBoxes
INSTANCEPROPERTIES

Constraints
BaseLevelSetsthelevelatwhichthestairs
start.
BaseOffsetSetstheheightofthestairsfrom
thebaselevel.Useanegativenumbertostart
belowthelevelandapositivetobeginabove
thelevel.
TopLevelSetsthetopofthestairswherethe
stairsstop.
TopOffsetSetstheoffsetofthestairsfrom
thetoplevel.Useanegativenumbertofinish
belowthelevelandapositivetofinishabove
thelevel.
MultistoryTopLevelSetsthetopofthe
stairsinamultistorybuilding.Theadvantage
tousingthisparameter(asopposedto
sketchingindividualruns)isthatifyouchange
therailingononerun,thatrailingischanged
onalltheruns.Also,ifyouusethisparameter,
theprojectfilesizedoesnotchangeas
significantlyasitwouldifyousketched
individualruns.Notethatthelevelsinthe
multistorybuildingMUSTbeauniformdistanceapart.

Graphics
Up/DownTextSetsthetextfortheUp/Downsymbolinplan.ThedefaultisUP/DN.
Up/DownLabel/ArrowDisplaysorhidestheUp/Downlabelandarrowinplan.
ShowUparrowinallviewsDisplaystheUparrowinallprojectviews.

Dimensions
WidthWidthofthestairs.
DesiredNumberofRisersThenumberof
risersiscalculatedbasedontheheight
betweenlevels.
ActualNumberofRisersNormally,thesame
asDesiredNumberofRisers.However,itmay
bedifferentifyoudonotcompleteaddingthe
correctnumberofrisersforthegivenrunof
thestairs.Thisisareadonlyvalue.

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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

ActualRiserHeightDisplaystheactualriserheight.Thevalueisequaltoorlessthanthevalue
specifiedinMaximumRiserHeight.Thisisareadonlyvalue.
ActualTreadDepthYoucansetthisvaluetochangethetreaddepthwithouthavingtocreateanew
stairtype.Also,theStairCalculatorcanchangethisvaluetosatisfythestairequation.

IdentityData
CommentsSpecificcommentsonthestaircase.Thisinformationwillshowuponthestairschedule.
MarkAlabelcreatedforthestairs.Thisvaluemustbeuniqueforeachstaircaseinaproject.

Phasing
PhaseCreatedThephasewhenthestairswerecreated.
PhaseDemolishedThephasewhenthestairsweredemolished.






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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

TYPEPROPERTIES

Construction
ExtendBelowBaseExtendsstringersbelowthebase
levelofthestair.Thisisusefulforcaseswherethe
stringerattachestothefaceofaflooropeningrather
thanrestingonthesurfaceofafloor.Toextendthe
stringerbelowthefloor,enteranegativenumber.
MonolithicStairsSpecifiesthatthestairsaretobemade
ofonematerial.
LandingOverlapEnabledwhenstairsaresetto
monolithic.Whenamonolithicstairhasawinder,the
bottomofthestaircanbeasmoothshapeorstepped.If
itisstepped,thisparametercontrolsthedistance
betweentheriserfaceandtheverticalfaceofthe
correspondingstepontheunderside.
UndersideofWinderEnabledwhenstairsaresetto
monolithic.Ifamonolithicstairhasawinder,thebottom
ofthestaircanbeasmoothshapeorstepped.

Graphics
BreakSymbolinPlanSpecifieswhetherthecutlineof
thestairsinplanviewhasabreakline.
TextSizeandTextFontChangesthesizeandfontofthe
UPDNsymbolinaplanview.

MaterialsandFinishes
Tread(Riser,StringerandMonolithic)Material–This
controlsthematerialused.Clickthebuttontoopenthe
Materialsdialog.

Treads
MinimumTreadDepthSetstheinitialvaluefortheActualTreadDepthinstanceparameter.IfActual
TreadDepthvalueexceedsthisvalue,RevitArchitectureissuesawarning.
TreadThicknessSetsthethicknessofthetread.
NosingLengthSpecifiestheamountofthetreaddepththatoverhangsthenexttread.
NosingProfileTheprofileforasweepaddedtothefrontofthetread(predefinedprofiles).

Risers
MaximumRiserHeightSetsthemaximumheightofeachriseronthestaircase.
BeginwithRiserIfselected,RevitArchitectureaddsarisertothebeginningofthestairs.Ifyouclear
thecheckbox,thebeginningriserisremoved.Notethatyoumayreceiveawarningaboutactual
numberofrisersexceedingthedesirednumberofrisersifyouclearthischeckbox.Toresolvethis,
eitherselectEndwithRiserorchangethedesirednumberofrisers.
EndwithRiserIfselected,RevitArchitectureaddsarisertotheendofthestairs.Ifyouclearthecheck
box,RevitArchitectureremovestheendriser.
RiserTypeCreatesstraightorslantedrisers,ornoriser.
RiserThicknessSetsthethicknessoftheriser.

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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

RisertoTreadConnectionSwitchestheconnectionoftheriserandtreadinrelationtoeachother.The
risercanextendbehindthetread,orthetreadcanextendundertheriser.

Stringers
TrimStringersatTopTrimStringeratTopaffectsthetopendofstringersonastair’srun.Ifyouselect
DoNotTrim,thestringeriscutwithasingleverticalcutresultinginapointatthetop.Ifyouselect
MatchLevel,thestringeriscurthorizontally,makingthetopofthestringerflushwiththetoplevel.If
youselectMatchLandingStringer,ahorizontalcutismadeatthesameheightasthestringertopon
landings.Toseetheeffectsofthisparameterclearly,youmaywanttoclearthecheckboxforEndwith
Riser.
Right/LeftStringerSetsthetypeofstringerfortheright/leftsideofthestairs.Nonemeansthereisno
stringer.Aclosedstringerencasesthetreadsandrisers.Anopenstringerexposesthetreadsandrisers.
MiddleStringersSetsthenumberofstringersthatappearunderneaththestairsbetweentheleftand
rightofthestairs.
StringerThicknessSetsthethicknessofthestringers.
StringerHeightSetstheheightofthestringers.
OpenStringerOffsetEnabledwhenthestairshaveanopenstringer.Movesanopenstringerfromside
toside.Forexample,ifyouoffsetanopenrightstringer,itmovestowardtheleftstringer.
StringerCarriageHeightAllowsyoutocontroltherelationshipbetweensidestringersandtreads.If
youincreasethenumber,thestringermovesdownfromthetreads.Treadsdonotmove.Railingsdonot
changeheightrelativetotreads,butbalustersextenddowntomeetthestringertop.Thisheightis
measuredfromthetreadend(lowercorner)tothebottomsideofthestringer,perpendiculartothe
stringer.
LandingCarriageHeightAllowsstringerstohavea
differentheightrelationshiptolandingsthantheydo
toslopedruns.Forexample,itlowersahorizontal
stringertowardalandingonushapedstairs.

IdentityData
TypeMarkAvaluetodesignatetheparticular
stairs.Usefulifyouneedtoidentifymorethanone
setofstaircases.Thisvaluemustbeuniqueforeach
stairwayinaproject.RevitArchitecturewarnsyouif
thenumberisalreadyusedbutallowsyoutocontinueusingit.(Youcanseethewarningusingthe
ReviewWarningscommand).
KeynoteAddoreditthestairskeynote.ClickinthevalueboxtoopentheKeynotesdialog.See
Keynotes.
ModelThemodeltypeforthestairs.
ManufacturerManufacturerforthestairmaterials.
TypeCommentsSpecificcommentsonthestairtype.
URLAlinktoawebpageforthemanufacturerorotherappropriatelink.
DescriptionAdescriptionforthestairs,suchascircular.
AssemblyDescriptionDescriptionoftheassemblybasedontheassemblycodeselection.
AssemblyCodeUniformatassemblycodeselectedfromhierarchicallist.
CostMaterialcost.



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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

CalculationRulesUsethestaircalculatorto
calculatethetreaddepthofstairs.Thecalculator
appliesacommon,ruleofthumbformula,for
example,aformulaspecifiedintheArchitectural
GraphicStandards.Beforeusingthestaircalculator,
specifyvaluesfortheminimumtreaddepthand
maximumriserheight.
Ruleofthumbformulaforinteriorstairs,as
specifiedintheArchitecturalGraphicStandards.

Riser+Tread=17.5inches:7.5inchesfortheriser
height;10inchesforthetreaddepth.
Riser*Tread=75inches.
2(Riser)+Treadisgreaterthanorequalto24inches
(minimumthreshold)orlessthanorequalto25
inches(maximumthreshold).

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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

RAILINGS

Belowisanoutlineoftheparametersthatcontrolrailingswithabriefdescription.

UI/UnderstandingtheDialogBoxes
INSTANCEPROPERTIES

Constraints
BaseLevelSetsthebaselevelfortherailing.You
canchangethisvaluetoanylevelintheproject.
BaseOffsetOffsetstherailingtoaspecified
distanceaboveorbelowthebaselevel.

Dimensions
LengthTheactuallengthoftherailing.

IdentityData
CommentsCommentsontherailing.
MarkAmarkappliedtoarailing.Thiscanbea
labelthatappearsinamulticategorytagwiththe
railing.Forcompleteinformationaboutmulti
categorytaggingandsettingupsharedparameters,
seeSharedParameters.

Phasing
PhaseCreatedThephasewhentherailingwas
created.SeeCreatingPhases.
PhaseDemolishedThephasewhentherailingwasdemolished.SeeDemolishingElements.




















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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture




TYPEPROPERTIES

Construction
RailingHeightTheheightofthetopmostrailin
therailingstructure.
RailStructureOpensaseparatedialogwhereyou
setthenumberofrails,height,offset,material,and
profilefamily(shape)foreachrail.SeeModifying
RailingStructure.
BalusterPlacementOpensaseparatedialog
whereyoudefinebalusterpatterns.SeeControlling
PlacementofBalustersandPosts.
BalusterOffsetOffsetsthebalustersfromtherail
sketchline.Bysettingavalueforthispropertyand
railoffsets,youcancreatedifferentcombinations
ofrailsandbalusters.
UseLandingHeightAdjustmentThisparameter
controlstheheightofrailingsatlandings.Ifsetto
No,railingsatlandingsusethesameheightasthey
dooverstairruns.IfsettoYes,therailingheightis
adjustedupordownbytheamountsetforLanding
HeightAdjustment.Togetsmoothrailing
connections,settheTangentJoinsparametertoExtendRailstoMeet.
LandingHeightAdjustmentRaisesorlowerstheheightoftherailingfromthevalueindicatedinthe
RailingHeightparameteratintermediateortoplandings.
AngledJoinsIf2railingsegmentsmeetatanangleinplanbutdonotconnectvertically,Revit
Architecturecanaddverticalorhorizontalsegmentstocreateajoinoraddnoconnector,leavingagap.
Thiscanbeusedtocreateacontinuousrailingwherethestartofastairrunleadingupfromalanding
cannotbedisplacedbyonetreadwidth.Joinmethodscanbeoverriddenonanconnectionby
connectionbasis.SeeModifyingRailingJoins.
TangentJoinsIf2tangentrailingsegmentsarecollinearortangentinplanbutdonotconnect
vertically,RevitArchitecturecanaddverticalorhorizontalsegmentstocreateajoin,extendsegments
tomeet,oraddnoconnectorleavingagap.Thiscanbeusedtocreateasmoothjunctionwhenthe
railingheightismodifiedatalandingortherailingturnsoutatthebottomofastair.Joinmethodscan
beoverriddenonaconnectionbyconnectionbasis.SeeModifyingRailingJoins.
RailConnectionsWhenconnectionsaremadebetweenrailingsegments,RevitArchitecturetriesto
createmiteredjoins.Ifitcannotmakeamiteredjoin,thensegmentscanbetrimmed,whichmeansthey
arecutwithaverticalplane,ortheycanbewelded,whichmeanstheyarejoinedinamannerascloseto
amiteraspossible.Weldedconnectionsworkbestforcircularrailprofiles.

IdentityData
KeynoteAddoredittherailingkeynote.ClickinthevalueboxtoopentheKeynotesdialog.See
Keynotes.
ModelDefinestherailingmodel.
ManufacturerDefinestherailingmanufacturer.

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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

TypeCommentsRailingcomments.
URLSetsapplicableURL.
DescriptionRailingdescription.
AssemblyDescriptionDescriptionoftheassemblybasedontheassemblycodeselection.
AssemblyCodeUniformatassemblycodeselectedfromhierarchicallist.
TypeMarkSetstherailingtypemark.
CostRailingcost.

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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

Relationshipofrailingstostairs








x Railingishostedbythestair.
x Railingbehavesindependentlyofthestringer.
x Closedstringer:stringergoesontheoutsideofstair.
x Openstringer:stringergoesunderneaththestair.
x WidthofthestairdoesNOTchange.








Railingwillalwaysupdateaschangesaremadetothestair.
x Oncethesketchoftherailinghasbeeneditedthentherailwillnotreadchangesmadetostair.

Balusterplacement:

ClickonrailingsandgotoitsTypePropertiesÆBalusterPlacement
Specify howmany

balusterspertread
youwanttouseand
Revitwilldo
themathto
figureout
thespacing.











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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

TipsandTricks:

x Howtosetthedefaultrailing.
Beforeyoudrawthestair,gototheModelingtabÆRailingtool;startrailingtoolandgothe
Railingproperties.Therailingspecifiedtherewillbeusedinthestairifyouspecifytousethe
defaultrailing.

x Howtodrawrailingsfromscratch.
Drawrailing.
ClickSetHostandpickstair.Besurethatrailiswithinthestairboundry.
ChangeBalusterOffsetandRailStructureinTypePropertieswindow.
InsertrailingsandcustomizeProfile.

x Howtoattacharailingtoastair.
Youcandrawarailing,thenclickonSetHostandpickthestair.

x Railingsaresystemfamiliessoyoucancopyandpastethe
railingscreatedtodifferentprojects.Youcaneithertransfer
projectstandardsorfindtherailingfamilyandCopyto
Clipboard.




GeneralPractices:

x Stairgoesuphillfromthewayyoudrawit.

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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

CONSTRAINTS

TheBaseLevelisthelevelthatwillbeusedtostartthestair.
TheTopLeveliswhereRevitwillstopbuildingthestairs.








Youcanadjustthedistanceawayfromthelevelthatwillbe
usedtostartthestair.EnterthedesireddistanceintheBase
Offsettab.

Youcanalsoadjustthedistanceawayfromthetoplevelby
enteringthedesireddistanceintheTopOffsettab.















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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

TheMultistoryTopLevelistheuppermostlevelatwhichthe
multistorystairwillfinish.Allthefloorsbetweenthelowest
levelandtheuppermostlevelMUSTbeequal.
















Therearemanyadvantagestousingthisparameter:
1.Ifyouchangetherailingononerun,thatrailingischangedonalltheruns.
2.Theprojectfilesizedoesnotchangeassignificantlyasitwouldifyousketchedindividual
runs.


























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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture


GRAPHICS


InorderfortheUp/DownTexttoshowupyouhavetocheck
theUp/DownlabelboxwithintheElementpropertiesdialog
boc.










InorderfortheUp/DownArrowtoshowupyouhaveto
checktheUp/Downarrowbox.Thisdisplayiscontrolledbya
yes/novisibilityparameter.










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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture


TypeProperties
Construction















YouhavetoenteravalueintheExtendBelowBaseboxin
ordertoextendthestringersbelowthebaselevelofthe
stair.Thisisusefulforcaseswherethestringerattachesto
thefaceofaflooropeningratherthanrestingonthesurface
ofafloor.Toextendthestringerbelowthefloor,entera
negativenumber.


















Tocreateastairthatismadeoutofonematerialcheckthe
MonolithicStairsbox.





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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture





Whenamonolithicstairhasawinder,thebottomofthestair
canbeasmoothshapeorstepped.Ifitisstepped,this
parametercontrolsthedistancebetweentheriserfaceand
theverticalfaceofthecorrespondingstepontheunderside.
TheLandingOverlapisenabledwhenstairsaresetto
monolithic.Tochoosewhetherthebottomofthestairisa
smoothshapeorstepped,makeyourselectioninthe
UndersideofWinderbox.


















ClicktheTread(Riser,StringerandMonolithic)Material
buttontoopentheMaterialsdialog.Thiswhereyoucan
choosenotonlythematerialbutalsothesurfaceandcut
pattern.






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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture





Treads



YoucansetthethicknessofthetreadintheTread
Thicknessbox.



















Youcanspecifytheamountofthetreaddepththat
overhangsthenexttreadintheNosingLengthbox.











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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture














Youcanloadapredefinedprofilefromthelibraryanduse
itforasweepaddedtothefrontNosingProfileofthe
treadtocreatearoundededge.

Ifyouwanttodisplaythenosingprofilenotonlyonthe
frontbutalsoontheleftandrightofthetread,thenyou
canselectthatundertheApplyNosingProfile.





























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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture

Treads
















































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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture














Openriser–Astairwherethespacebetweentwo
adjacenttreadsisnotfilledbyasolid.



















Slantedriser–Anangledmaterialbetweentwoadjacent
treads.













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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture














































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 Custom Stairs and Railings in Revit Architecture





Stringers



















Onemiddlestringers–Allowstheusertocreateastairwithasinglestringer.

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