How to create a ceiling in Revit follows almost the same method as a floor: a closed outline, a layered type, and a host level. But the two differences are exactly where beginners trip.
First, a ceiling sits above its level, the opposite of a floor. Second, a ceiling must be drawn in a ceiling plan; run the command from a floor plan and it still draws, but you see nothing and assume the command is broken.
This article works through ceilings in Revit, ordered the way you actually work. Screenshots come from Revit 2027, English interface. Floors have their own article, how to create a floor in Revit. To learn the documentation stage in full, see the Revit Architecture course.
Five steps to place the ceiling of a room
Before starting, be clear about where ceilings differ from floors. The next five sections set out how to create a ceiling in Revit in the order you click.
Autodesk documents the command on its Create a Ceiling page.
Step 1 — create and open a Revit reflected ceiling plan
In the Project Browser, ceiling plans sit under Ceiling Plans, separate from Floor Plans. A file started from the Metric template has one ceiling plan per level. For a level without one, use the View tab, Create panel, Plan Views button.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Floor Plan | Creates a new floor plan at a level |
| Reflected Ceiling Plan | Creates a new ceiling plan — the one you need here |
| Structural Plan | A structural plan. Rarely used for architecture |
| Plan Region | A zone with its own view range inside a plan |
A ceiling plan is the view from below, then mirrored, as if the ceiling were reflected in a mirror lying on the floor. So grids and walls sit exactly where they do on the floor plan, and the two drawings overlay. This is an international convention, and the local one too. Name it something like RCP-1F so the name says what it is.
Step 2 — a Revit plasterboard ceiling: type and layers
In the ceiling plan, run Architecture › Ceiling and open the Type Selector at the top of Properties.
| Type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Basic Ceiling: Generic | A single-layer ceiling with no build-up, for plastered soffits or quick modelling |
| 16mm GWB on Metal Stud | Plasterboard on a steel stud frame |
| 16mm GWB on Wood Furring | Plasterboard on timber battens |
| 600mm x 600mm ACT System | A suspended mineral-fibre tile grid at 600 by 600 |
| 600mm x 1200mm ACT System | A suspended grid at 600 by 1200. It sits at the end of the list; scroll down to see it |
For your office's own plasterboard ceiling, pick the nearest Compound Ceiling type and click Edit Type.
| No. | Part | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family and Type | System Family: Compound Ceiling. Ceilings are system families, like floors and walls |
| 2 | Greyed Thickness | The 56 is the sum of the layers, derived not typed. Change it in the layer dialog |
Click Duplicate first, name it something like CT-THACH-CAO-2600, then click Edit on the Structure row.
| No. | Part | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Summary row | Total thickness 56. Unlike the floor, this has real thermal figures: Resistance 0.2807, Thermal Mass 6.22, because the face layer has a material |
| 2 | Four layers | Structure 40 thick in Default, Finish 2 16 thick in acoustic tile. The two Core Boundary rows stay at 0 |
Change the face layer to plasterboard and you have a plasterboard ceiling. Click the Material cell of the Finish 2 row, then the small browse button at its end. The Material Browser opens: type the plasterboard material in the search box, select it and click OK. Compared with a floor, the ceiling table has only five columns — no Structural Material, no Variable. A ceiling carries no load. It has no shape editing tools either; for a sloped ceiling, use a slope arrow while sketching the outline.
Step 3 — place it with Automatic or Sketch Ceiling
Click OK. The ribbon shows the Ceiling panel with exactly two buttons.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Automatic Ceiling | On by default. Hover inside a closed room, Revit highlights the boundary, and one click places the ceiling |
| Sketch Ceiling | Switches to an outline sketch exactly like a floor. For ceilings that do not follow the walls |
Automatic Ceiling is quick but fussy. It only recognises a room whose walls genuinely close. A gap of a few millimetres at a corner and it highlights nothing; switch to Sketch Ceiling or fix the wall.
A dropped ceiling is built with Sketch Ceiling: sketch the dropped zone as its own ceiling, then give it a lower Height Offset From Level than the ceiling around it. For a lighting cove, sketch the outline about 200 in from the walls. Finish with the green tick — Esc does not leave this mode. A Revit dropped ceiling is therefore two ceilings at two heights, not one ceiling with a step.
Step 4 — set the ceiling height and check in section
Select the new ceiling. The deciding parameter is Height Offset From Level in Properties. For a ceiling hosted on its own level, this value is positive.
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Level | The level the ceiling belongs to |
| Height Offset From Level | The ceiling height above that level's floor. Set it right from the start, because every ceiling-hosted fitting follows it |
| Room Bounding | Whether the ceiling bounds rooms. On by default, and it affects room volumes |
The test ceiling has Level L1 and Height Offset From Level 2600 — its underside is 2600 above the floor, a typical clear height for housing. Do not confuse ceiling height with wall height: walls go up to the slab above, while the ceiling hangs lower to hide pipes and cables.
Open a section to see that relationship; placing the cut line is covered in how to create a section in Revit.
| No. | Part | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upper floor | The dark grey slab. Its top sits on the upper level and the whole thickness hangs below it |
| 2 | Ceiling | The thin line below the upper slab. The gap between ceiling and slab is the service void for pipes and cables |
| 3 | Lower floor | Its top is the level the ceiling belongs to. Ceiling height is measured from this floor up to the underside of the ceiling |
Step 5 — centre the Revit ceiling grid, place Revit ceiling lights, add it to a sheet
A suspended ceiling has a visible grid, and the drawing only looks right when the grid is balanced. The grid is generated automatically but almost always sits off-centre: a full tile at one wall, a sliver at the other.
Centring it takes four steps:
- Hover over a grid line in the ceiling plan, press Tab until that grid line alone highlights, and click. If the whole ceiling outline highlights, you are on the ceiling itself; press Tab again.
- Use Move to shift the whole grid. It moves as one, never line by line. Alternatively, use Align: click the room centre line first, then the grid line.
- Use Rotate if the room is not square to the default grid.
- Check the opposite walls: the leftover strips should match and be no narrower than a third of a tile.
The professional habit is to work from the room centre line: put a grid line or a tile centre on it and both edges balance.
| No. | Part | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First dropped zone | Hatching marks a ceiling lower than its surroundings, with a level marker for its height |
| 2 | Second dropped zone | The same type in the other room. Same type, same symbol |
| 3 | Bathroom ceiling | The small grid is a different ceiling type used only in bathrooms |
Lights and ceiling fittings are usually hosted families, like doors in walls. A ceiling-based light can only be placed once a ceiling exists, and it follows the ceiling when its height changes. So place the ceiling first, then the lights. A non-hosted light family sits on the level instead, right on the floor; its symbol still shows in the ceiling plan, which makes it hard to spot. To check, open a section, or select the light and read Level and Offset.
Finally, a ceiling plan goes on a sheet like any other drawing. The second sample project has a full set of ceiling plan sheets, one per level.
| No. | Part | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ceiling plan | At 1:100, showing ceiling zones, lights and ceiling fittings for all nine apartments |
| 2 | Three legends | Ceiling finishes CL-01 to CL-03, light fittings, and ceiling-mounted devices such as smoke detectors, sprinklers and access hatches |
| 3 | Level table | Finished floor levels of every storey sharing this sheet. A sheet shared by several levels needs one |
A ceiling drawing is more than the ceiling: it is where architecture, electrical and fire services meet, so all three legends must be there for the builder to read it.
Try it: ceilings and a ceiling grid
Build ceilings both ways, and centre the grid in the living room.
- In the Project Browser, open the 1F ceiling plan under Ceiling Plans. If there is none, create it with View › Plan Views › Reflected Ceiling Plan.
- Run Ceiling, choose Basic Ceiling: Generic, keep Automatic Ceiling and click each bedroom. Note any room that fails and find the gap in its walls.
- Set Height Offset From Level to 2600 for those ceilings.
- For the living room, choose 600mm x 600mm ACT System, click Sketch Ceiling and draw the outline 200 in from the walls for a lighting cove.
- Select the living room grid and Move it until the strips at opposite walls match.
- Duplicate the ceiling type as
CT-THACH-CAO-2600and change the face layer to plasterboard. Note the new total thickness. - Open a section and measure from the underside of the ceiling to the slab above. Note the figure.
- Save the project.
Common ceiling problems
| Problem | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Ceiling command shows nothing | You are in a floor plan. Open the ceiling plan under Ceiling Plans and place it again |
| Automatic Ceiling highlights nothing | The room is open at a wall corner. Close it, or use Sketch Ceiling and draw the outline |
| Lights sitting on the floor | The light is a non-hosted family, so it sits on the level. Place the ceiling first, then use a ceiling-based light |
| Ceiling exists but does not show | Check three causes: hidden individually, category off in Visibility/Graphics, or outside the view range. The light bulb button rules out the first |
Frequently asked questions
Is the ceiling plan mirrored left to right against the floor plan?
No. Revit mirrors the view from below, so the ceiling plan faces the same way as the floor plan.
How do I draw a plasterboard ceiling in Revit?
Choose a Compound Ceiling type such as 16mm GWB on Metal Stud, or duplicate a type and change its face layer to plasterboard in Edit Assembly.
Can a ceiling take falls with Add Point like a floor?
No. Ceilings have no shape editing tools. For a sloped ceiling, use a Slope Arrow in Sketch Ceiling mode.
Where is a 2600 ceiling height measured from?
From the floor of the level set in the Level field up to the underside of the ceiling.
Related articles
- How to create a floor in Revit — the previous step, floors hang below the level
- How to create a Revit family — lights and ceiling fittings
- Export Revit drawings to CAD and PDF — take the ceiling plan sheet into the set