Standard Deliverables: Ceiling Grid Creation 

This is a effective way to provide a great ceiling plane in your model.  Not just a flat plane, but actual T-bar modeling.  This goes great with ceiling coordination, access tiles, etc.

STEP 1: To begin, you must have AutoCAD Architectural version for this to work efficiently. If you have AutoCAD Vanilla, please contact Vincent Marquez @ vmarquez@swinerton.com. For best results, please begin with an Architectural Ceiling Plan AutoCAD background file. Open Architectural Ceiling Plan in AutoCAD Architectural or MEP.

STEP 2: Isolate the Ceiling T-Bar and T-Bar Elevation Tags

STEP 3: Now modify each T-Bar grid Hatch to the specified elevation.  If your drawing isn’t a Hatch, please elevate each line to the specified elevation.  

STEP 4: Once you have completed all the T-Bar elevations, its time to “Explode” the Hatch. IF you don’t have hatches, then you do not need to explode. Exploding the hatch will break it up to allow individual lines for each T-Bar.

STEP 5: Next you must copy and paste the T-Bar structural Beam object from another project. To do so just open the other project select the T-bar Beam Object, Ctrl C and Ctrl P into your new drawing. This will load this object into your drawing.

STEP 6: After you have loaded the T-bar beam into your drawing, its time to change Lines to Beams. To do so, open the Architectural Tool Pallet

STEP 7: Next, select all T-Bar lines (T-Bar lines only, for best results, only have this layer on). Then go to the Arch. Tool Pallet and right click on “Structural Beam”  Apply Properties to Linework. NOTE: you will get prompted to “erase layout geometry." This is ok to do so, but you will erase the T-Bar linework.  

STEP 8: You will notice that all the lines will be converted into the Default Beam Tool. Remember that T-Bar tool you copied and pasted into your drawing? You will now select all T-Bar Beams and change the style to the T-Bar Beam

STEP 9: You should now be complete