BIM Software Tip: How to Extend the Top of a Revit Wall
When you extend the top of a wall in Revit, it might initially seem like you’re simply applying a top offset to the wall. However, this is not the case. Take a closer look at the image below:
The image shows two distinct parameters. Notice that the “Top Extension” parameter is grayed out and appears unusable in most cases. So, what exactly does this parameter do? Let me explain with an example.
Suppose you create a roof on top of several composite walls. Typically, the walls extend only up to the bottom of the roof slab, which can create gaps between the slab edge and the wall, as illustrated in the following image:
To address this issue, there are three potential solutions:
1. Offset the entire wall upward by the thickness of the slab, then use the roof to cut the overlapping portion of the wall.
2. Create a stacked wall with a surface-type wall at the top, where the wall height matches the slab thickness.
3. Use the wall top extension distance feature to extend only the top surface layer of the wall.
In this article, I will focus primarily on the third approach.
First, open the wall’s Type Properties and edit its structure by opening the wall section preview. Then, select the “Modify” command and unlock the specific construction layer that you want to extend at the top, as shown below:
After confirming these changes, select the wall instance in your project where you want to extend the board edge. You will now see that the Wall Top Extension Distance parameter in the wall instance properties is active and ready to use. Here, you can enter the thickness of the board as the extension height. The image below demonstrates this process:
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