Revit Tip: Edit Profile/Boundary for precise wall, floor, and roof geometry

Use Revit’s Edit Profile/Boundary tools to sculpt walls, floors, and roofs precisely without over‑modeling or custom in‑place families.

When to use it

• Irregular parapets, sloped or stepped wall tops, and arched cuts.
• Slab depressions, curb/haunch edges, and elevator pit profiles.
• Roof crickets, tapered edges, and gable/eave custom terminations.

Preparation for stable results

• Create and name Reference Planes where critical edges should lock.
• For walls, open a perpendicular elevation/section; detach top/bottom if attached to other elements.
• Use Pick Lines with Lock when sketching to maintain intent through design changes.
• Turn on Thin Lines and Reveal Constraints to verify snaps and locks.

Walls: Edit Profile workflow

• Select the wall in a perpendicular elevation/section > Edit Profile.
• Sketch a single closed loop; avoid self‑intersections and overlaps.
• Use Pick Lines to reference Levels, Grids, or named Reference Planes; apply Align + Lock for critical edges.
• Finish the sketch; review hosted doors/windows—extreme shape changes can orphan or cut them incorrectly.
• If the wall is Attached to a roof/floor, Unattach Top/Base before editing; reattach after if needed.

Floors and roofs: Edit Boundary/Footprint and profiles

• Floors/Roofs by Footprint: Select element > Edit Boundary/Footprint; maintain one closed loop; add separate loops for openings.
• Roofs by Extrusion: Edit Profile in a section aligned to the extrusion work plane.
• Use Slope Arrows or Defines Slope on sketch lines for tapered planes; for localized depressions/curbs, use Shape Editing (Add Point/Split Line) on floors.
• Model true openings with Shaft/Openings where appropriate, not with negative geometry in families.

Quality checks

• Immediately review Manage > Warnings; resolve “Profile is not valid” and hosting/orphan warnings.
• Confirm Room Bounding behavior after floor/wall edits to keep areas accurate.
• Re‑join geometry and clean up joins after profile changes for correct section graphics.

Best‑practice guidance

• Favor simple, parametric types first; use Edit Profile for genuine edge conditions—not as a catch‑all modeling method.
• Document intent: add a Yes/No Instance parameter like “EditedProfile” and filter views/schedules to track nonstandard geometry.
• For repeat conditions, consider a face‑based family or a type‑driven family rather than many ad‑hoc profiles.

Avoid common pitfalls

• Don’t confuse Edit Profile (3D model change) with Edit Cut Profile (2D view‑only graphic tweak).
• Avoid tiny sketch segments and near‑coincident lines—they cause regen failures and unstable updates.
• Check hosted elements (doors, windows, railings) after edits; rehost or constrain as needed.

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