Exercise 1: Create the Elevator Shaft Foundation

1. Open the office building project file:

Application button Open Project

[Ctrl+O]

2. Open a section view that cuts through the elevator shaft. If one doesn’t exist, create it now.

3. Create a new level and name it T.O. Ftg - Elev Shaft and set the elevation to (-5’- 0”). No need to create an associated floor plan view for this level.

4. Open the Level 1 plan view. 5. Modify the elevator shaft wall constraints in the Instance Properties dialog box:

Select the 4 CMU walls that make up the elevator shaft

Modify ... contextual-tab Element panel Element Properties Instance Properties ...or right-click on the element Element Properties...

RA 2009: Options Bar Element Properties

6. In the Instance Properties Dialog box, set the Base Constraint parameter to T.O. Ftg - Elev Shaft, then click OK.

7. Modify the Level 1 floor slab boundary:

Select the floor slab

Modify contextual-tab Edit panel Edit Boundary

RA 2009: Options Bar Edit

8. Sketch an opening around the exterior side of the elevator shaft by selecting the four walls as shown, then click Finish Floor (RA 2009: Finish Sketch).

9. Add wall foundations to the four CMU walls of the elevator shaft::

Home tab Structure panel Foundation Wall Foundation

RA 2009: Design Bar Structural tab Foundation Wall

10. Select one of the Bearing Footing types from the Type Selector. 11. Click once on each of the four CMU walls to add the footings.

You won’t be able to see the footings in this view as you create them, so be careful when selecting walls. If you have a foundation plan view already created, you can open this

view instead to place the footings. Here you will be able to see the footings as they are created.

12. Click Modify 13. Open the section view that cuts through the elevator shaft. It should look similar to the

illustration below.

Exercise 2: Create the Pad

1. If you haven’t already done so, open the office building project file:

Application button Open Project

[Ctrl+O]

2. Open the section view that cuts through the elevator shaft. 3. Create a new level and name it FF Elevator Shaft and set the elevation to (-4’- 0”) as

shown below.

4. Open the FF Elevator Shaft floor plan view. 5. Create a 6” thick concrete floor inside the shaft:

Home tab Build panel Floor Floor

RA 2009: Design Bar Modeling tab Floor

6. Using Pick Walls, draw four boundary lines on the interior side of the four CMU walls.

7. Click Floor Properties to open the Instance Properties dialog box, and change the settings as required to match the illustration below.

8. Click OK. 9. Click Finish Floor (RA 2009: Finish Sketch). 10. Go back to the section view. It should look similar to the illustration below.

11. Notice the topo surface cuts through the shaft. Placing a floor alone does not displace the surface.

12. Go back to the FF Elevator Shaft floor plan view. 13. Add a building pad:

Massing & Site tab Model Site panel Building Pad

RA 2009: Design Bar Site tab Pad

14. Click on Building Pad Properties to open the Instance Properties dialog box.

15. Set the Height Offset From Level parameter to -0’ 6” as shown below.

16. Click Edit Type 17. Click Edit... next to the Structure parameter to open the Edit Assembly dialog box. 18. Set the structure thickness to 0’ 0 1/16” as shown below.

19. Click OK multiple times to exit all dialogs. 20. Pick the four walls to create a boundary around the exterior side.

21. Click Finish Building Pad (RA 2009: Finish Sketch) 22. Open the section view. The earth should be removed from the shaft as shown below.

Notice however that the pad is visible where it cuts through the CMU walls.

23. To remedy this, turn pads off in the Visibility/Graphics Overrides dialog box:

View tab Graphics panel Visibility/Graphics ...or from within the View Properties dialog box, click Edit... next to Visibility/Graphics Overrides

RA 2009: View menu Visibility/Graphics...

VG / VV

24. Expand the Site branch in the Model Categories tab, and uncheck the Pads checkbox.

25. Click OK. 26. The section view should now look similar to the illustration below.

Save the project

Conclusion Based on your graphics standards you may need to tweak this procedure to suite your needs. For example, if you use a heavier cut line for topo surfaces than for building elements, the wider cut line may show up in some places where you don’t want it, like on a wall or floor cut line. In this case you’ll need to experiment with pad sizes and level offsets to “bury” the pad within these elements.

Furthermore, if this is the only way in which you use building pads, it makes sense to change their color to something other than black in the Object Styles dialog box. This will help them stand out in your working views.

As always, if you have any additional information on the subject, or find anything is incorrect or incomplete in this tutorial, please let me know!

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