Now that the exterior shell is up and the rooms are basically laid out, it is time to start considering the interiors. As it stands, you have a bunch of rooms with the same wall finish, the same floor finish, and no ceilings to speak of. The restrooms don’t have any fixtures, and the rooms are going to be useless without furniture.
Another issue is that you don’t have any separate views such as furniture plans or finish plans. This chapter dives into all of these items—and then some!
Placing a ceiling is quite easy; the hard part is finding the view in which to do it. As you have probably noticed, the Project Browser is divided into categories. The categories for plans are Floor Plans and Ceiling Plans. Whereas floor plans show the views standing at that level looking down, ceiling plans show the view standing at that level looking up. In Revit, you are looking at a true reflected ceiling plan.
To begin, open the file you have been following along with. If you did not complete Chapter 8, “Structural Items,” go to the book’s web page at www.sybex.com/go/revit2012ner. From there you can browse to Chapter 9 and find the file called NER-20.rvt.
1. Go to the Level 1 ceiling plan, as shown in Figure 9.1 (remember, this is a ceiling plan, not a floor plan).
2. On the Home tab, click the Ceiling button, as shown in Figure 9.2.
3. With the Ceiling command active, select Type Selector.
4. Choose 2´ × 4´ ACT System (600 × 1200mm Grid) from the Type Selector, as shown in Figure 9.3.
FIGURE 9.2 The Ceiling button on the Home tab of the Design bar
FIGURE 9.3 The available ceiling types listed in the Type Selector
5. Hover your mouse over the room shown in Figure 9.4. Notice that the perimeter is outlined in red. This indicates that the ceiling has found at least four walls you can use as a layout.
6. When you see the red outline, pick a point in the middle of the room. Your ceiling should now look like Figure 9.5.
7. Have at it! Add a ceiling to every room in the east wing except for the hallway, the bathrooms, East Radial Entry, and, of course, the elevator shafts, as shown in Figure 9.6.
8. With the Ceiling command still running, select Compound Ceiling : GWB On Mtl. Stud from the Type Selector.
9. Pick the bathrooms (not the chases) and the hallway.
10. Press Esc.
That was just too easy! Too good to be true, right? All right, it is. You always have to make adjustments to this type of item. You probably noticed that you had no control over which direction the grids were running. Also, you have no clue how high these ceilings are. It is time to start modifying the ceilings.
FIGURE 9.6 Adding 2×4 ACT ceilings to the specified rooms
Modifying Ceiling Grids
To be honest, a ceiling consists of nothing more than a basic hatch pattern applied to a material. Actually, everything in Revit is a basic hatch pattern applied to a material. That sure does make it easy to understand!
The one unique thing about hatch patterns in Revit is that you can modify them onscreen. That means you can move and rotate a hatch pattern. That also means you can move and rotate a grid pattern. Let’s give it a shot:
1. Press Esc or Modify to cancel the command you may be in.
2. Pick the ceiling grid line, as shown in Figure 9.7. (Make sure you’re zoomed in close enough to make the Rotate command active.)
3. On the Modify | Ceilings tab, click the Rotate button, as shown in Figure 9.7.
4. Rotate the grid 45 degrees by using the two-pick method, as shown in Figure 9.8.
Now that the ceilings are in, let’s look at the ceiling’s properties before you go too far. As a matter of fact, it is a good idea to investigate the ceiling’s properties before you place it in the model.
Setting Ceiling Element Properties
As I mentioned earlier, ceilings are set up in a similar fashion as floors. So, it stands to reason you will see many similar properties.
Before you get started, let’s make some modifications to the west wing. The objective of this procedure is to add a hard ceiling with metal framing, gypsum, and a 3/4˝ (18mm) cherry finish. To do so, however, you need to modify some of the walls:
1. Go to a 3D view of the model.
2. Select the sloped roof that covers the west wing, as shown in Figure 9.10.
3. Right-click.
4. Select Override Graphics In View By Element (see Figure 9.10).
5. In the View-Specific Element Graphics dialog box, click the Transparent button in the upper-right corner, as shown in Figure 9.11.
6. Click OK. The roof is now transparent.
FIGURE 9.7 Select one of the grids and click the Rotate button.
FIGURE 9.10 Selecting the roof, and right-clicking
FIGURE 9.11 The View-Specific Element Graphics dialog box
You made the roof transparent because some of the walls have to be attached to the roof. It is much easier to attach the walls in a 3D view. But to do so, you need to see the walls that you will be working on:
The next step is to constrain the partition walls in this area to Level 3. The ceilings you will add to these rooms will be much higher than the rest of the building. Follow these steps:
1. While still in a 3D view, select the partitions shown in Figure 9.13.
2. In the Properties dialog box, set the Top constraint to Up To Level: Level 3.
3. The walls are now constrained to Level 3.
4. Select the roof that is transparent, right-click, select Override Graphics In View, click the Reset button, and then click OK.
5. Go to Level 1 under Ceiling Plans.
The next procedure is a tad off the beaten path but it fits squarely within this process. Because you have specified the walls in this area to be of a greater height than the rest of the walls in the model, you are obviously adding ceilings higher than 8´–0˝ (2400mm). This poses a problem in terms of the Level 1 ceiling plan view range.
Creating a Plan Region
Sometimes you will need to set your view range in a specific area that differs from the view range in the plan as a whole. In this example, you will add a ceiling at 14´–6˝ (4350mm) above the finish floor. If you do this with the current View Range settings, Revit will not display the ceiling. If you modify the View Range for the entire view, you will see the 14´–6˝ (4350mm) ceilings, but you will not see the regular 8´–0˝ (2400mm) ceilings in the rest of the building, in that view.
In the following procedure, you will create a region that has a different view range as compared to the view range in the Level 1 ceiling plan:
1. In the Project Browser, make sure you are in the Level 1 Ceiling Plan.
2. Zoom in to the west wing.
3. On the View tab, select the Plan Views Plan Region button, as shown in Figure 9.14.
FIGURE 9.14 The Plan Region button on the Create panel of the View tab
4. On the Draw panel, click the Pick Lines button, as shown at the top of Figure 9.15.
5. Pick the inside, finished face of the exterior walls around the north portion of the west wing, as shown in Figure 9.15.
6. For the lower-left corner, draw a straight line, as shown in Figure 9.15. (Unfortunately you can’t have radial perimeter lines in a plan region.)
FIGURE 9.15 Defining the limits of the plan region by drawing a rectangle around a specific area
Notice that the View tab has now switched to the Modify | Create Plan Region Boundary tab. You need to define the view range for this region:
1. In the Properties dialog box, click the Edit button in the View Range row.
2. In the View Range dialog box, set the Top setting to Level 3.
3. Set Cut Plane Offset to 14´–6˝ (4350mm).
4. Set Bottom Offset to 7´–6˝ (2250mm).
5. Set View Depth Level to Level 2 with an Offset value of 16´–0˝ (4800mm), as shown in Figure 9.16.
FIGURE 9.16 Configuring the View Range for the crop region
6. Click OK.
7. On the Mode panel, click Finish Edit Mode.
You now have a plan region. Although it may not seem as though you did anything in the plan, when you place a ceiling at 14´–6˝ (4350mm), you will be able to see it.
With the plan region in place, you can now place a ceiling at a higher distance from the finish floor. Because you are going to the trouble of placing a high ceiling, you might as well make the ceiling something special.
Creating a Custom Ceiling
So, what do you do if your ceiling is not an acoustical tile ceiling or a gypsum system? This is Revit! You make a new one.
As mentioned earlier, creating a ceiling is similar to creating a floor or a roof. The Properties dialog boxes are exactly the same. This procedure guides you through the process of creating a custom ceiling:
1. Be sure you are in the Level 1 ceiling plan, and zoom in on the northwest room.
2. On the Home tab, click the Ceiling button.
3. In the Type Selector, select GWB On Mtl. Stud. To the right and below the picture of the ceiling is the Edit Type button. Click it (see Figure 9.17).
4. Click Duplicate.
5. Name the new ceiling Wood Veneer on Metal framing and then click OK.
6. In the Structure row, click the Edit button, as shown in Figure 9.18.
7. In the Layers field, as shown in Figure 9.19, click on row 4. This is the Finish 2 [5] Gypsum Wall Board row.
FIGURE 9.17 Clicking the Edit Type button after choosing the GWB On Mtl. Stud ceiling type
FIGURE 9.18 Clicking the Edit button in the Structure row to gain access to the ceiling’s structural composition
8. Just below the Layers field is the Insert button. Click it.
9. Click the Down button to move the new row to the bottom.
10. Change the function from Structure to Finish 2 [5].
11. Click in the Material cell and click the […] button, as shown in Figure 9.19.
12. In the Materials dialog box, find Wood – Cherry.
13. To the right of the Materials dialog box, click the Graphics tab, as shown in Figure 9.20.
14. For Shading, click the Use Render Appearance For Shading check box.
15. Give it a Surface Pattern setting of Wood 1.
16. Give it a Cut Pattern setting of Plywood.
17. Click OK.
18. Change the Layer 5 thickness to 3/4˝ (18mm).
FIGURE 9.19 Clicking the […] button in the Material cell
FIGURE 9.20 Selecting and configuring the material for the ceiling
19. Click OK twice.
20. In the Properties dialog box, change the Height Offset from Level to 14´–6˝ (4350mm).
21. Place the ceiling in the room shown in Figure 9.21.
For the adjacent rooms, add the same ceiling. You can keep the same height. You can follow along with these steps, but I encourage you to try to put the ceilings in from memory:
1. In the Project Browser, be sure you are in the Level 1 ceiling plan.
2. On the Home tab, click the Ceiling button.
3. In the Change Element Type menu on the Element panel, find the ceiling called Compound Ceiling : Wood Veneer on Metal framing (it will probably be the current selection).
4. In the Properties panel, set the height above the floor to 14´–6˝ (4350mm).
5. Pick the rooms shown in Figure 9.22. When you are finished, press Esc a couple of times or click Modify to clear the command.
FIGURE 9.22 The north row of rooms will receive cherry ceilings!
Now that you have experience placing ceilings and creating custom ceiling systems, it is time to start adding features. The first items that come to mind are lighting fixtures, but you need to go back even further and figure out how to “cut holes” in the ceilings and add soffits.
Unless you are in a residential dwelling, or a prison, you can look up and notice that a ceiling is merely serving as a host for electrical, mechanical, and architectural components. Very seldom will you find a ceiling that does not require a modification in some capacity. This section of the chapter deals with this issue, starting with creating a ceiling opening.
Creating a Ceiling Opening
The objective of the next procedure is to cut an opening into a ceiling to later drop a soffit into:
1. Open the Level 1 ceiling plan.
2. Zoom in to the wood ceilings in the west wing, as shown in Figure 9.23.
3. Select the ceiling in the northwest corner of the building.
4. After the ceiling is selected, click the Edit Boundary button on the Modify | Ceilings tab, as shown in Figure 9.23. The ceiling pattern disappears and is replaced by a magenta sketch line at the perimeter of the room.
5. Click the Ref Plane button on the Work Plane panel, as shown in Figure 9.24.
6. Draw two reference planes, as shown in Figure 9.24. Be sure to snap to the midpoints of the magenta sketch lines.
7. With the reference planes drawn, hit Esc a couple of times or click Modify to clear the Ref Plane command.
8. On the Draw panel, click the Boundary Line button. You will see an expanded list of sketch choices. Pick the Circle choice, as shown in Figure 9.25.
FIGURE 9.23 Clicking the Edit Boundary button on the Modify | Ceilings tab
9. Draw a 4´–0˝ (1200mm) radius circle at the intersection of the reference planes (see Figure 9.25).
10. On the Mode panel, click Finish Edit Mode.
11. Verify that your ceiling looks like Figure 9.26.
With the cutout in place, you need to think about closing this feature with a soffit and, perhaps, another ceiling.
Creating a Soffit
Soffits are nothing more than walls with a base offset. This makes sense if you think about it. If your floor level moves, you certainly want the distance from the finish floor to the bottom of the soffit to remain consistent. This one is going to be easy!
1. On the Home tab, click the Wall button.
2. In the Type Selector, select Basic Wall : Interior: 6 1/8˝ Partition (2 Hr).
3. Click the Edit Type button.
4. Click Duplicate.
5. Call the new wall 4 1/2˝ Soffit. (Metric users, call it 112mm Soffit.)
6. Click OK.
7. Click the Edit button in the Structure row.
8. Delete rows 1 and 7 (the double gypsum layer).
9. Change the gypsum thicknesses for rows 1 and 5 to 1/2˝ (112mm).
FIGURE 9.27 Modifying the dimensions of the 6 1/8˝ wall
12. In the Properties dialog box, set Base Offset to 14´–0˝ (4200mm), as shown in Figure 9.28.
13. Set Top Constraint to Up To Level: Level 3 (see Figure 9.28).
FIGURE 9.28 Setting the Top Constraint and Bottom Offset
You are now ready to place the soffit. You will add it to the radial hole in the ceiling. Normally, you would need to physically draw the wall by using the Arc Sketch function. In this case, you can simply pick the radial portion of the ceiling opening:
1. With the Wall command still running, click the Pick Lines icon on the Draw panel.
2. Mouse over the radial ceiling opening. Notice that a blue alignment line appears. Make sure it is to the inside of the opening and then press the Tab key twice.
3. Notice that the entire circle is selected and the blue alignment line is facing the inside of the hole (see Figure 9.29). When you see this, pick a point to the inside of the hole.
It is now time to add a secondary ceiling to the inside of the soffit. This procedure is carried out exactly as it was when you added a ceiling to the entire room:
1. In the Project Browser, go to the Level 1 ceiling plan and zoom in on the ceiling with the soffit.
2. On the Home tab, click the Ceiling button.
3. Select Compound Ceiling : Wood Veneer On Metal Framing (if it is not the current selection already).
4. Click the Edit Type button.
5. Click Duplicate.
6. Call the new ceiling Mahogany Veneer on Metal Framing and then click OK.
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By Element (see Figure 9.10).
Plan Region button, as shown in Figure 9.14. 
