Life in a Virtual Building

Phased and Confused?

This is How to Successfully Use Phases In Revit

Revit has its own way of dealing with existing, demolition and new construction. This concept is referred to as Phasing. Learning to use the Phasing feature in Revit can be difficult. Not because it is hard to use, but because the workflow is not super intuitive.

Part 1 - Overview

To be successful, you must understand the primary factors that control phase graphics (what you see in the view). The primary factors are as follows…

Element Properties

· Phase Created

· Phase Demolished

View Properties

· Phase Filter

· Phase

Phasing Settings

· Project Phases

· Phase Filters

· Graphic Overrides

Part 2 - Preparation

Proper preparation is necessary for success. Follow these 3 major steps…

Step I – Phasing Settings

Open the Phasing manager and review the following…

1. Setup/Review Project Phases

2. Setup/Review Phase Filters

3. Setup/Review Graphic Overrides

Step II – View Setup

Do not model in the documentation views! Create separate views just for modeling.

1. Create “documentation views” for your sheets

2. Create “non-documentation views” for your modeling and/or exploring.

a. Create a set of views for new construction. Make the phase New Construction

b. Create a set of views for existing modeling work. Make the phase Existing

Step III – Element/Family Phase

1. Control the Phase Created and Phase Demolished properties of all elements.

a. The phase setting of the view you work in, determines the phase of the elements you create.

i. Create new construction elements in a view that has the phase set to New Construction

ii. Create existing elements in a view that has the phase set to Existing

b. The phase of an element can also be manually changed via the properties palette.

Part 3 - Time Lines

A demolition drawing shows the point in time before new construction, with certain existing construction elements identified for removal. Keep in mind that Revit views exist relative to the timeline, the same way that model element properties do.