Global Settings and View-specific Settings

You need to adjust several settings so your pipes are properly displayed. The following list is certainly not comprehensive, but it should point you in the right direction and show what to pay attention to when setting up your plumbing sheets:

• All plotted views should be set to Hidden Line.
• Detail Level should be set to Coarse, because most regulatory authorities still require single-line plumbing drawings.
• View range should be adjusted to display necessary pipe systems.
• Visibility Graphics categories should be set to display the appropriate object categories. If worksharing is enabled, it is more efficient to turn off other disciplines' objects by using worksets instead of managing every single object. However, good worksharing practices must be in place, and all objects must be associated with the appropriate workset.
• Pipes going under plumbing fixtures will be completely hidden. To resolve this, plumbing fixtures should be set to Transparent for your model and any linked Revit models containing plumbing fixtures. Note, however, that plumbing fixtures with a high level of detail may start displaying unnecessary lines.
• Wall cut patterns should be turned off. For example, architects often assign cut patterns for their walls to display the fire rating. While this is not important for the mechanical or electrical plans, it is crucial for the plumbing plans, where most objects are in the wall (see Figure 15.1).

  

• Pipe Rise/Drop Annotation Size under Mechanical Settings should be changed to suit. If you're not sure what you will need, 7/128″ (1. 5 mm) is a good starting point.
• For buildings that are not orthogonally oriented, scope boxes should be set up and associated with the views. Another, simpler method is to rotate the crop region so you can lay out your pipes orthogonally to your screen.
• Configure the Single Line gap under Mechanical Settings to match your company standard. If you do not have one, 3/128″ (0.6 mm) is a good starting point.

Defining Systems Visibility Through Filters

Revit MEP 2015 automatically creates the piping systems for you when you lay out pipes, even when pipes are not connected to plumbing fixtures. When drawing pipes, you need to specify the system type they belong to. The system type can be used to define the line weight, linetype, color, and system abbreviation. The system abbreviation can be used to define what system will appear on what sheet via filters. This helps you hide the mechanical pipes in the plumbing views, as well as separate your sheets between domestic and sanitary pipe layouts.

Establishing a good naming convention for the filters is important, because that defines the order in which you see them in your Properties palette when drawing pipes. The default examples of filters and their settings are not going to get you too far with your projects. We recommend that you take your time and come up with a complete list of systems that your company uses and create them as system types and filters in Revit MEP. Organizing all of them in Excel can be beneficial. Notice that the Filter By setting is set to Equals under the System Abbreviation, as shown in Figure 15.2.

Once the filters have been created, go into a view where you want the different disciplines to show up and type VG to bring up the Visibility/Graphic Overrides dialog box. Click the Filters tab, and add the newly created filters. Using the Visibility check boxes, you can define the systems that would be visible in that view. You can then use this view to create a view template that can be applied to all views that require these settings. Filters can also be used to define color, line patterns, and in some cases, line weights. There are times when you will need filters to do this; however, the recommended place to control these is in the system type. This way, those settings will be global rather than per view. However, the filters will still be managed and they will control what system is visible in what view (see Figure 15.3).

Now that your plans are coordinated and displayed the way you require, you are well on your way to completing your documentation. Consider using the same filters to display 3D views that can enhance the design, making it easier to understand and further reducing errors.

Every rule has its exception, and here is a great example for it. Controlling the colors and line patterns of your systems in the 3D views would color the contour of the pipes, making the pipes hard to see. Instead of going that route, we suggest you override those in the filters with a solid pattern; this way, your 3D views will be a lot easier to see and understand (see Figure 15.4).

One common drafting standard is to show all piping serving a given floor in the same view. For instance, on the sheet showing the restroom located on the second floor of a three-story building, you would expect to see all the sanitary piping below the second floor and the vent piping in the second-floor attic serving that restroom. You would not want to see the sanitary pipe serving the third-floor restroom, even though it also occupies the second-floor attic, and you would not want to see the vent piping serving the first floor.

One way to accomplish this selective visibility in projects with overlapping view ranges is with workset visibility. You can assign all the piping serving the first, second, and third floors to specific first-, second-, and third-floor worksets. This will allow you to turn off the first- and third-floor worksets, cleaning up your second-floor view. See Chapter 3, “Worksets and Worksharing,” for more information.

Creating Custom Pipe Assemblies

Many piping conditions are not worth modeling piece by piece, such as piping beneath counters for p-traps and supply lines or complicated pipe and valve assemblies. If a plumber can preassemble these off site or perhaps prefabricate them as an assembly on site and then just move them into place; it may be logical to emulate this by building custom families that represent a complete assembly instead of using individual families that must be connected to one another repeatedly in the model.

Custom pipe assemblies can be represented in one of two ways in the Family Editor. First, you can use sweeps to represent the p-trap, wye, and associated piping, as shown in Figure 15.12. This method creates a smaller file size and reduces the size of the overall plumbing model. Assemblies representing fittings with sweeps and extrusions would not allow you to schedule the fittings directly. However, if quantity takeoffs are important to you, they can be achieved by creating shared parameters that store the number and type of fittings that are used in the assembly.

The second method is to assemble nested families, which can allow for better quantity takeoffs for all the fittings, create more-accurate dimensional information when supplied by manufacturers, and be easier for the plumbing designer to create. The downside is that it produces a larger family file. This second option will help you achieve more of the building information modeling (BIM) status as well as a more accurate visual representation of the plumbing systems in addition to taking advantage of already existing content, hopefully reducing modeling efforts (see Figure 15.13).

Now let's examine how nested piping assemblies are put together and some key areas to be mindful of:

1. Open the PR-Sinks and Lavs.rfa file found at www.sybex.com/go/masteringrevitmep2015.
2. Several modified pipe-fitting families are nested into this family that make up the assembly. They are Trap P - PVC-DWV.rfa, Tee Sanitary-PVC-DWV.rfa, PVC-DWV Pipe Section.rfa, Plug-PVC-DWV.rfa, Elbow -Copper Type L.rfa, and Copper Type L Pipe Section.rfa. These can all be found at www.sybex.com/go/masteringrevitmep2015, or you can get the originals from the Pipe Fitting directory located in the Imperial library.
3. When placing the fittings together, make sure to align, lock, and dimension each one, as shown in Figure 15.14. If not, the fittings will pull apart.

   

4. When creating your pipe assembly, make sure that the Center Front/Back reference plane is placed at the wall's finish face in the project. When you do this, the family will easily snap into place.
5. You can add parameters to flex your piping to align it under a sink or lavatory or to give a certain depth to account for a floor slab. You can make these parameters as complex or as simple as you want (see Figure 15.15).

   

6. Make sure that when adding a water piping connection to a rough-in pipe, you add an elbow pointing in the direction of the pipe routing (for example, from the floor or from the ceiling). This will help with autorouting and manual routing (see Figure 15.16).

   

Now that you have reviewed some of the items that make up a pipe assembly, you can place the pipe assembly family in your plumbing model and align it with the architectural plumbing fixtures without having to turn them off. If the architect adds a plumbing fixture, you now have the capability to view it. By following this workflow, you can both tag and schedule the pipe assembly family while the graphic representation needs are satisfied by the family in the architectural linked file.

Copying/Monitoring Plumbing Fixtures

Now let's take it a step further. If the plumbing fixtures that the architects are using match the same orientation and insertion point of your pipe assemblies, you can copy/monitor the pipe assemblies directly behind the plumbing fixtures. Then, when the architect moves a plumbing fixture, you will receive a warning that you need to coordinate your view (see Figure 15.17).

You will also have the capability to copy and change all of the plumbing fixtures on multiple levels at one time. This can be a huge time-saver.

To use Copy/Monitor, do the following:

1. Choose Collaborate Copy/Monitor Select Link, and then select the architectural background.

   When you click the architectural file, the ribbon should change to Copy/Monitor. If it doesn't, that means you didn't click the architectural file. Trying to select objects by clicking on their surface is a common mistake. In Revit, all selection is done by clicking the contour of the object, not on the surface. If that happens to you, you will need to start over with the Copy/Monitor command.

2. In the Copy/Monitor panel, select Batch Copy. Click Specify Type Mapping Behavior & Copy Fixtures.
3. A Coordination panel opens, displaying Category and Behavior selection tables. Select Type Mapping, and replace the plumbing fixtures from the architect with the ones you created (see Figure 15.18).

   

4. Click Copy and then select the plumbing fixtures you want to copy (see Figure 15.19).

   

5. If you are working on multiple floors, you can select the plumbing fixtures from all levels while in an elevation view, and then you can use the Filter command to isolate only the plumbing fixtures.

   If you highlight the assembly, you should see the monitoring symbol on the assembly, as shown in Figure 15.20.

   

To take full advantage of the Copy/Monitor feature, you will need to coordinate all of your plumbing fixtures with your pipe assemblies, but you will find it is time well spent.

A less traditional way of using the Copy/Monitor tool, especially when the insertion point and orientation between the architectural fixtures and yours don't match, is to batch-copy all of the architectural plumbing fixtures and place a little dot or a cylinder. The idea is to create a relationship between your model and the architectural model that will provide you with alerts whenever the architect moves or deletes plumbing fixtures. Remember, you will not be notified when the architect places new fixtures, but the workaround for that is to batch-copy/monitor all fixtures with every update of the architectural background. This way, you will be able to see the number of newly copied/monitored elements (that is, new plumbing fixtures) in the architectural model. You will still need to manually place your own plumbing fixtures or pipe assemblies, but knowing what changes the architect made to the plumbing fixtures will be a huge time-saver.

Sloping Pipe

When modeling pipe, you can use either the autoroute or the manual routing feature. You are more likely to have success with a manual layout when using sloped pipe. Before you lay out your pipes, it is a good idea to check the Slopes settings located under Manage MEP Settings Mechanical Settings Pipe Settings Slopes. From here you will be able to add or delete slopes that would be available for you to use when drawing pipes.

For sloping pipe to work properly, it needs to have start and end points. To set up sloping pipe, open Ch15_plumbing.rvt and Ch15_base.rvt. This file is found at www.sybex.com/go/masteringrevitmep2015. Next, do the following:

1. Open the Sanitary view and make sure that you have your view range set correctly because you are going to be routing pipes below 0′-0″ (0 mm). Select View Range from the Properties palette, and change Bottom and View Depth to Unlimited for your lowest-floor views, as shown in Figure 15.21. A good starting point for upper-floor view ranges is –3′-0″ (–1 m). (This setting will vary according to your project.)

   

2. Look at your routing choices for your main. Then locate your end run fixture, floor clean-out, or wall clean-out.
3. Locate your sanitary point of connection (POC) outside the building. Locate the sanitary piping at –4′-0″ (–1.2 m), below the finished floor.
4. Select the Pipe toolbar located on the Systems tab of the ribbon. Before you start routing your pipe, be sure to select Slope Up, as shown in Figure 15.22, and set the Slope Value to 1/8″ / 12″ [25 degrees]. Make sure you have the justification set to your preference. You can also enable the Show Slope tooltip, which would display Start Offset, Current Offset, and Slope right next to your cursor as you draw your pipes.

   

5. Start your run from the sanitary point of connection, and route into your last fixture or clean-out. You now have a main trunk off of which you can build your system.
6. Select the Pipe toolbar, and then select the point on the main from which you want to route. After starting your pipe run, you can select the Inherit Elevation and Inherit Size buttons from the toolbar, as shown in Figure 15.23, or you can press the spacebar one time. This makes the new piping connect at the same elevation and size as the pipe main you selected to start the run. Then route out to the water closets or any other components that take a 1/8″ [25 degree] slope.

   

7. Route all of your sloped pipe that contains the same degree of slope first. Then route all of the next matching slope. Having a redundant pattern will add to your efficiency and productivity. Now you should have a sloped system (see Figure 15.24).

   

8. New to Revit MEP 2015 is the ability to choose whether you want to use Add Vertical or Change Slope when connecting from A to B (see Figure 15.25). This replaces the Ignore Slope To Connect option found in previous versions of Revit.

   

Annotating Invert Elevation and Slope

Once your piping model is at the desired slope and elevation, you can easily apply parametric elevation and slope annotations. Choose Annotate Dimension Spot Slope or Spot Elevation. The slope tag is very simple; it can be placed at any point along a pipe run while you're viewing single- or double-line pipe.

The elevation tag is more complicated. The Spot Elevation tag can show only the top and/or bottom elevation of the pipe selected. You must be able to see double-line pipe (Fine Detail) in order to place the Spot Elevation tag. This tag exists only within the project. It is a system family, and it cannot be edited in the Family Editor. This means that all changes are done in the Properties and Type Properties palettes within the project interface. In the Options Bar, you will want to make sure to set the elevation to reference the correct level. Also in the Options Bar, you should set the Display Elevations option to either Bottom Elevation or Top And Bottom Elevation. In the Type Properties dialog box, you will likely want to change the Units Format value and the Display Elevations format to match your standard for labeling pipe elevation—for example, B.O.P. = bottom of pipe (see Figure 15.26).

If you prefer to annotate the elevation of the pipe centerline, you will have to use a pipe tag. This is the same type of annotation family as the common pipe diameter tag. You can duplicate and edit that family to change the label to include the parameters Start Offset and End Offset. Note that these parameters can display the elevations of only the two endpoints of each pipe segment. Like the Spot Elevation tag, they cannot display the elevation at any point along the pipe segment.

Using Pipe Fitting Controls

Understanding pipe fitting controls can really make life easier if you are routing a lot of piping. When you are laying out your piping, turn 90 degrees to create an elbow. If you click the elbow, you will notice a plus (+) sign. If you click that sign, it will change from an elbow to a tee, allowing you to add more piping and to continue your pipe routing. If you select the minus (–) sign, it will downgrade the fitting. When you see the symbol on a fitting, it allows you to rotate the fitting, and the symbol allows you to flip the fitting.

Placing Valves

When you need to add valves to your piping, select the Home tab and click Pipe Accessories. Use the Type Selector to select the type and size of valve you want to use. Most valves will break into the piping and connect as you simply select a piece of pipe (see Figure 15.27).