Activity 2.1.

3 Utility Shed Design GuidePart 1

Procedure
In this activity you will use Autodesk Revit 2016 to create a utility shed. You will
produce a drawing to document your design in Part 2 of the activity.

Constraints

The utility shed must have the following attributes:

12 ft 16 ft footprint
8 ft wall height
One exterior wall should include brick
Floor
Gable roof

Revit Instructions
Step 1Create a New Project
Create a new project called GreenUtilityShed_YourInitials using the Architectural Template
available in Revit.

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Civil Engineering and Architecture Activity 2.1.3 Utility Shed Design Guide Part 1 Page 1

Step 2Rename Elevations Levels

1. In the Project Browser, right-click on
Level 1.
2. Left-click on Rename. Change level 1
to Floor, and change Level 2 to Roof.
3. Select Yes to prompt Would you like
to change corresponding level and
views? Otherwise the change will
only show up on the specific elevation
you are editing.
4. Ensure that the Floor Plan names
have changed appropriately.
5. Open the East Elevation view (by
double-clicking the view name in the
Project Browser). Note that the levels
are labeled Floor and Roof (per your
revision). Also note that the Floor
elevation defaults to 0-0 and the Roof
elevation defaults to 10-0. We will
change these elevation values later in
the tutorial.

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Civil Engineering and Architecture Activity 2.1.3 Utility Shed Design Guide Part 1 Page 2

Step 3Drawing Exterior Walls

Sketching Walls
1

In the Project Browser under Floor

Plans, double-click on the Floor level.
The default Floor Plan elevation is 00.

6. Under the Architecture tab in the Build

panel, select Wall. The cursor will
change to a plus sign once in the
drawing area. This indicates that the
program is ready for input.
Note that many wall options become available in the Options bar.

Several methods to create walls are available.

Method 1Individual Walls

1

Deselect Chain on the Options bar.

7. Click once at the beginning point of

the wall and once at the end point of
the wall.
8. Continue creating all walls in this
manner.
9. Right-click to open the Context menu
and select Cancel. Do this twice.
(Alternatively you may press the Esc
key.)
Select a wall, hold down the Ctrl key,
and select the remaining walls OR (if
the walls form a closed loop) select a
wall then hover over an adjacent wall,
press the Tab key, and then click on
the wall. Either method should result in
all walls being selected.
Note that the Modify Walls tab is
highlighted. If necessary, you can now
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Civil Engineering and Architecture Activity 2.1.3 Utility Shed Design Guide Part 1 Page 3

modify the selected walls using these

tools.
Delete all of the walls using the Delete key.

Method 2Rectangle Tool

1

Under the Architecture tab, select Wall

in the Build panel.

Choose the Rectangle in the Draw

panel.

10. Click once to place the upper-left

corner.
11. Move cursor to lower-right corner and
click again.
12. Press the Esc key.
Delete all of the walls.

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Civil Engineering and Architecture Activity 2.1.3 Utility Shed Design Guide Part 1 Page 4

Method 3Chaining Walls

1

Select the Wall tool and click on Chain

in the Options bar.

13. Click once at the beginning point of a

wall.
14. Move cursor to end point and click
again.
15. Move cursor to end point of next wall
and click again.
16. Repeat to finish four walls.
Note that the program will assist with wall
alignment with dashed lines.

Before proceeding, check the orientation

of each wall to ensure that the outside
face of the wall is oriented toward the
outside of the building.

To check the orientation of each wall,

select the wall and note the location of the
double blue arrows. The double blue
arrows are always located adjacent to the
OUTSIDE face of the wall. If the arrows
appear inside the building, click on the
arrows to flip the orientation such that
the arrows appear outside of the building.

Check (and correct, if necessary) the

orientation of each wall.

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Step 4Changing Dimensions of Walls

1

Be sure to exit any active toolrightclick to open the Context menu and
select Cancel. Do this twice, or press
the Esc key.

To enforce a dimension, select an end

wall perpendicular to the dimension to
be specified. A blue temporary
dimension will appear. Only blue
dimensions can be edited.

17. Blue square grips are positioned on

the extension lines which default to the
centerline of the walls.
18. Click on the Grips to toggle the
extension lines to the exterior face of
the wall.
19. Dimensions are to be 12 16
measured to the outside face of the
exterior walls. Click on the blue
dimension and change to 16; repeat
for an adjacent wall using a dimension
of 12.
Note: These are temporary dimensions which
appear only when a wall (or other object) is
selected. Permanent dimensions, on the other
hand, are always visible. Temporary
dimensions can be converted to permanent
dimensions by clicking on the small
dimension icon near the temporary dimension
line. In addition, permanent dimensions can
be placed using the dimensioning tools.
Dimensioning tools are found under the
Annotate tab.
20. Add permanent dimensions in both
directions.
21. Lock the 16 dimension by

selecting the dimension and

clicking on the small lock under the
dimension line.
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Step 5Revising Level Elevations

1

Under Elevations in the Project

Browser, click on any one of the
elevations (North, South, East, or
West) to see the elevation view.

22. Select the wall in the elevation view

and notice that the wall is 20 ft tall.
You will modify the height of the walls later
in the tutorial. Notice that the Floor level
and the Roof level appear in the elevation
view. The level elevations can be edited in
the elevation view by selecting the
elevation value and editing the value.
23. Select the Roof elevation (value) and
change it to 8-0. Remember 8
(space) 0 can be entered.
Step 6View Cube and Steering Wheels
1

Choose the View tab in the Ribbon.

Select 3D View from the Create panel.

View Cube
Graphically allows control over
orthographic and perspective view of the
3D model.

Steering Wheels
Provide control for zooming, panning, and
orbiting 3D or 2D models. Direct
manipulation of camera views is possible
using the steering wheels.

Experiment with the view cube and

steering wheels.

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Civil Engineering and Architecture Activity 2.1.3 Utility Shed Design Guide Part 1 Page 7

Step 7Changing Wall Height

When creating walls in Revit, the wall
height will automatically default to 20-0.
The wall height can be modified to the
desired height using any of several
methods. Two methods follow.

Method 1Element Properties

1

Select a wall. Notice that the wall

properties appear in the Properties
Palette on the left of the screen.

24. Change the Unconnected Height from

20 to 8 OR change the Top Constraint
from Unconnected to Roof using the
drop-down menu.
25. Press the Apply button at the bottom
of the Properties Palette.

Method 2Drag Wall Edge

1

Open an elevation view.

26. Select a wall.

27. Drag the blue arrowhead at the top of
the wall to the desired elevation (Roof
level).
Note that you must either perform the
same change for each wall independently
or select all walls together and change the
properties simultaneously.
Change the height of all remaining walls
to 8 ft.

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Step 8Adding Floors

1

Open the Floor level Floor Plan.

Under the Architecture tab, select

Floor from the Build panel. This places
you into sketch mode.

You can create the floor boundary by

sketching the edges, but an easier
method follows.
28. Create the floor boundary by selecting
each wall of the building. Notice that
when you select a wall, you may use
the double blue arrows to toggle
between the interior face and exterior
face of the wall. In this case the floor
should extend to the exterior face of
each wall.
29. In the Properties Palette, click on the
drop-down menu in the upper-right
corner. Select Wood Joist 10 Wood
Finish.
Click on the green check mark in the ribbon to
exit sketch mode. Note that the wood pattern
is parallel to the first wall selected.
Step 9Creating a Gable Roof
1

Under Floor Plans in your Project

Browser, select the Roof level.

Note that the floor and walls are visible

but are shown in halftone since they are
positioned below the Roof level elevation.

30. Under the Architecture tab, in the Build

Panel, select Roof.
Notice that roof options appear in the
Options bar and the Defines Slope box is
checked. Roof edges identified when the
Defines Slope checkbox is checked will
slope up to the peak.
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You can create a roof boundary by

sketching the edges, but an easier
method follows.
31. In the Options bar, enter 1 in the
Overhang input field to create a 1 ft
overhang on all sides.
32. Select two opposite walls of the
building. Notice that when you select a
wall you may use the double blue
arrows to toggle between an offset
inside or outside the building. Be sure
your roof edge is outside the building.
33. Uncheck the Defines Slope box and
choose the two remaining opposite
walls. The roof will not slope up from
these two edges.
Notice that the two sloping roof edges
have a small triangular icon next to the
line. If you need to change the slope
definition, select the roof edge and either
check or uncheck the Defines Slope box.
34. In the Properties Palette, edit the type
to change the roof type to Wood
Rafter 8Asphalt ShingleInsulated.
7. Click on the green check mark in the
ribbon.

If asked, answer Yes to the prompt Would

you like to attach the highlighted walls to the
roof?

If the walls of your shed do not attach to the

roof, attach them. Select all four walls. Then,
in the Modify Wall panel, select Attach Top/Base.
Then select the roof in the graphics window. The
walls should automatically extend to the roof.

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9. Shade the 3D view. In the view control bar,

choose the Visual Styles button and select
Shaded. Save your project
(GreenUtilityShed_YourInitials).

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Step 10Changing Wall Type

1. Select one of the 12 ft long walls.
2. In the type selector, choose Exterior
Brick on Mtl. Stud.

From the view control bar, change

your Visual Style to Realistic.

35. While in the Floor Plan view, click on

each exterior wall. Verify that the blue
arrows are on the exterior side of each
wall.
36. Open the 3D view. Rotate the shed to
verify that one wall has a brick faade.

Congratulations, you have created a full 3D model of a building. Continue with Activity
2.1.3 Utility Shed Design Guide Part 2 to practice more advanced modeling skills
and document your design on a construction drawing.

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