Laying out existing walls for 45 yo multi story condo remodel

[KKBKeith]

I'm preparing a remodel set of drawings for a unit in a 45 year old, multi-floor condo building where no original construction documents are available. Entire unit is being remodels so wall board, fixtures, flooring, doors & windows are being replaced. We have measured the entire unit & I'm now using those measurements to create the as built plan. The problem I'm running into right off the bat is wall thicknesses & composition & how to easily lay this beast out without having to create dozens of different wall types/thicknesses to match what is there. There are internal structural columns that bump out into several rooms, the walls they intersect are padded out to different thicknesses on one side to the other so a long straight wall with no in and out bumps & other irregularities is rare. Are there any methods for laying out & setting up dimensions to measure from outside surfaces of walls like these that will make laying this out any easier? Thanks for taking a look.

 

 

 

Keith

Chief Architect X17

Windows 10

 

[mtldesigns]

3 hours ago, KKBKeith said:

out without having to create dozens of different wall types/thicknesses to match what is there

SOUNDS LIKE FUN... :-)

 

Honestly, right off the top of my head, I'd use the same wall type, and just change thicknesses with a material region.. that in itself will take time, but you won't have 30 different wall thicknesses.  You can adjust the thickness to anything you want.  I'd make sure to keep the "Cut Finish Layers to Parent Object" checked.

Edited yesterday at 02:41 AM by mtldesigns

[mtldesigns]

That view of the ocean is perfect.  Where in FLO..  I'm up here in the panhandle.

[KKBKeith]

Hi Michael, Thanks for the reply. So the procedure for that would be to build the wall as the main interior or exterior type & then once the intersecting walls are placed view the wall in elevation & change thickness of each section by building a material region? That does sound a lot simpler than different wall types. Thanks, I will give that a try.

 

That's Cocoa Beach seen from the 11th floor balcony, a couple of miles south of the crowded public access beaches so it's a fairly private stretch of beach.

 

[SHCanada2]

You don't have to change the wall type to change the thickness. You could create wall breaks, open up that section of wall and type in a thickness. 

 

If the wall jut out is wider that a few inches and then comes back, I will often draw a another wall for the jut out  and change its properties to "no room definition", just for the jut out.

 

You could also draw the wall to follow the jut outs, as I assume you only care about the inside dimensions... if you have no room of interest on the other side

Edited yesterday at 03:41 PM by SHCanada2

[KKBKeith]

59 minutes ago, SHCanada2 said:

You don't have to change the wall type to change the thickness. You could create wall breaks, open up that section of wall and type in a thickness. 

 

If the wall jut out is wider that a few inches and then comes back, I will often draw a another wall for the jut out  and change its properties to "no room definition", just for the jut out.

 

You could also draw the wall to follow the jut outs, as I assume you only care about the inside dimensions... if you have no room of interest on the other side

 

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the reply. This is kind of what I started doing, breaking walls & modifying thickness. I'm resigned to the reality that with a project like this, until we actually start stripping away drywall we really have no idea exactly how each little section a wall is framed &/or padded. The one area we did this with already was a half wall behind a kitchen peninsula with plumbing, and it revealed a combination of metal studs of various depths some padded out, some not. 

[DBCooper]

Just as an FYI, changing the wall thickness will automatically create a new wall type (as long as there isn't already one for that thickness).  

 

Another thing that I sometimes like to use is soffits or poly solids.  The nice thing about soffits is that room moldings will automatically wrap around them and switches and outlets will bump out to sit on top of them.

Edited 21 hours ago by DBCooper