Drop ceilings or soffits?

[ACADuser]

What is the best method to create a ceiling with a header wall and not break up the room definition?

 

Ceilings are 9' drop-in tile.

In the waiting room I want to jump the ceiling to 11' with a header wall separating the ceiling spaces.

I do not want to break the room up with invisible walls.

[GeneDavis]

Use the room dividers and put them on a layer you can turn off.  Room def defines ceiling structure.

[ACADuser]

I need the square footage to populate a room schedule.

Room dividers will mess up the schedule.

 

[robdyck]

3 hours ago, ACADuser said:

What is the best method to create a ceiling with a header wall and not break up the room definition?

I'm not going to claim I've got the best method, but for simple rectangular items like this, I'll use a beam. Obviously I place it on an appropriate layer and adjust the schedule reporting if needed. The reason is simple. You can edit a beam or other framing member in section view!!

Often an actual beam needs to be wrapped. This is easily accomplished in section view by copying (pick your method) and then it's dimensions can be dragged / tabbed or adjusted through the dialog.

If I needed a more complex profile, I would use a molding line / polyline.

[rgardner]

16 minutes ago, robdyck said:

I'm not going to claim I've got the best method, but for simple rectangular items like this, I'll use a beam. Obviously I place it on an appropriate layer and adjust the schedule reporting if needed. The reason is simple. You can edit a beam or other framing member in section view!!

Often an actual beam needs to be wrapped. This is easily accomplished in section view by copying (pick your method) and then it's dimensions can be dragged / tabbed or adjusted through the dialog.

If I needed a more complex profile, I would use a molding line / polyline.

I agree sometimes an invisible wall just complicates especially if there are some close adjacent ones.  Another method is that you set a 2nd surface to the ceiling plane and make it 24" deep and set at the upper level.  Downside is that it will not show the lower portion of the bulkhead wall in the ceiling as the other surface will go to the outside of the "bulkhead wall"  So a beam as Robert mentions can be useful.

 

[ACADuser]

So for the ceiling use a 9 foot ceiling in all rooms & use a tray ceiling to raise the 2 feet in the core.

Then use beams or solids on a layer that will display in section views for the header walls.

[ACADuser]

So crossing the wall is not the issue. You must have a small gap between the tray ceiling line and the auto generated exterior ceiling line.

That seems to work.

[Kbird1]

4 hours ago, ACADuser said:

So for the ceiling use a 9 foot ceiling in all rooms & use a tray ceiling to raise the 2 feet in the core.

Then use beams or solids on a layer that will display in section views for the header walls.

 

Perhaps I am missing something? but I assume the Exterior Walls are 11' to give you the Service Space above the 9' Rooms ?  so, is there any reason not to just use a couple of 3D solids in those areas that you don't want to effect the Room Definition in for the dropped Ceiling?  ( The 9' Room Ceilings can be done with a drop ceiling, or use the Shelf Ceiling Option and set the Room to 9' or simply shape the Ceiling 3D Solid to cover all 9'Areas).

 

 

 

 

*PS.  unless something has changed?  just Note that Tray Ceilings don't like Invisible Walls, and

 

the 3D Solid Technique above is actually Chief's OLD way of doing Tray Ceilings.

 

Ceilings_Creating-a-trey-or-coffered-ceiling-using-polyline-solids_2016.pdf

 

 

X15 Plan File :  Commercial Space Drop Ceilings.plan

 

 

M.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ACADuser]

I think you are correct, the tray ceiling is still fighting me.

 

Your method seems to work in this case..

 

Thanks

 

 

[Kbird1]

58 minutes ago, ACADuser said:

I think you are correct, the tray ceiling is still fighting me.

 

Your method seems to work in this case..

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Happy to Help , just seemed like you were doing things the "hard way" to me  .....  I added the Plan file done in Chief's template to the Post above in case someone wants to look at it too, though I think most in the thread already know what/how it was done..

 

 

[ACADuser]

Looks like it will work out fine.