Once the columns stand, the beams come next. On a CAD drawing a beam is two dashed lines and a size note. In a model it is a real member with a section, sitting on its supports, cut back where it meets them and carrying its own elevation.
How to draw beams in Revit starts with the Beam command on the Structure tab, Structure panel, shortcut BM. This article walks one floor in Revit 2027: choosing a section, chaining beams across the column heads, placing along grids, filling a bay with a beam system, fixing the level relative to the slab, then sloping a beam and adding a brace. The whole structural workflow is in the Institute's Revit Structure course.
Beams belong to the Structural Framing category
A beam is not a category of its own. Select one and the category line in Properties reads Structural Framing (Other) — the word in brackets is the Structural Usage parameter, not the member type. Braces and truss members share the same category.
A beam is a loadable family, unlike floors and walls which are system families. Beam marks in local documentation are usually written by direction and floor: DX2.1 is an X-direction beam on the second floor, DY2.1 a Y-direction beam on the same floor.
Revit does three things for you on those two clicks. It joins the beam to its supports, so it catches columns and other beams without manual trimming. It cuts the ends back to the face of the support, which is why the scheduled length differs from the centre-to-centre span. And it keeps the beam tied to the grid: move a grid line and the framing follows, exactly as columns do, which is covered in grids and levels in Revit.
What to prepare before drawing
Autodesk's About Placing Beams opens with one sentence worth remembering: "It is good practice to first add grids and columns before creating beams". Grids give the snaps, columns give the supports, and a beam drawn afterwards trims itself to the column face.
So three things: a grid, a set of columns placed as in structural columns in Revit, and a Structural Plan of the floor. The model used here is a four-storey reinforced concrete house on grids 1 to 4 and A, B.
The Revit beam command: calling it and picking a section
Step 1 — Open the structural plan of the floor
Double-click the plan in the Project Browser and zoom to the bay you are about to frame. Beams can be drawn in sections and 3D views too, but a plan is still the easiest place to snap.
Step 2 — Start the Beam command
Go to Structure › Structure › Beam, or type BM.
Step 3 — Read the five panels of the contextual tab
The ribbon switches to Modify | Place Beam with five panels.
| No. | Panel | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mode | Load Family brings in another beam family |
| 2 | Draw | Lines, arcs and pick lines, plus the Chain tick box |
| 3 | Multiple | On Grids places beams along the selected grid lines |
| 4 | Tag | Tag on Placement labels the beam as it lands |
| 5 | Positioning | 3D Snapping catches members at other levels |
Release 2027 has no Options Bar. Everything older tutorials tell you to set "on the Options Bar" now lives in two places: the buttons on these five panels, and the numbers in the Properties palette.
Step 4 — Pick the family and the section
Open the Type Selector at the top of Properties. The Search box filters by name, which matters once a project carries dozens of beam sizes.
Step 5 — Duplicate a type to get the section you need
Click Edit Type, click Duplicate, name the type after the section and edit the two dimensions.
Leaving Section Shape as Not Defined is right for a rectangular concrete beam; it only carries a real value in rolled steel families. The material is not in this dialog: it is a parameter of each beam, as the next step shows.
Concrete beams in Revit: chains and grid lines
Step 6 — Set three boxes in Properties before drawing
Three boxes decide where the beam sits and how it is scheduled.
z Justification decides which face of the beam meets the level. Top is the right choice for a monolithic concrete beam: the top of the beam lines up with the top of the slab, exactly as it is poured. Any other value floats the beam above or below, and every section goes wrong with it.
Structural Usage takes Girder, Joist, Purlin, Other or Automatic. The value feeds filters and schedules, so a wrong entry breaks any attempt to sort beams by role.
Step 7 — Tick Chain and draw a run of beams
Tick Chain on the Draw panel and click through the column heads: Revit builds one continuous run. With Chain off, every beam needs two clicks.
Step 8 — Place along grids with On Grids
Click On Grids. The contextual tab renames itself to Modify | Place Beam > On Grid Lines and the status bar asks for grid lines. Drag a crossing selection from right to left to catch both directions, then click Finish.
Unlike columns, On Grids does not place at intersections. It places along the grid line, and only on the stretch between two supporting members.
Filling a bay with a Revit beam system
Step 9 — Start the Beam System command
Go to Structure › Structure › Beam System, shortcut BS. The Modify | Place Structural Beam System tab has three panels.
Automatic Beam System is active by default. The status bar asks you to select a support so the system runs parallel to it: hover a perimeter beam, click, and Revit fills the bay.
Step 10 — Change the layout in Properties
Every layout parameter sits in the Pattern group of the Properties palette.
Layout Rule offers four values: Fixed Distance, Fixed Number, Maximum Spacing and Clear Spacing. Pick Fixed Number to give a count instead of a spacing; Beam Type changes the section of the whole system at once. Autodesk notes on About Beam Systems that beam system parameters adapt to the design: move a column and the system follows.
Beam elevation, sloped beams in Revit and braces
Step 11 — Read the elevation of a placed beam
Select a beam and Properties tells you where it sits vertically.
The beam shown has Reference Level 2F, z Justification Top and z Offset Value −50. The Dimensions group below reads Elevation at Top 3850 and Elevation at Bottom 3450: a 400 deep beam whose top sits 50 mm under the storey level.
Step 12 — Drop one end to slope the beam
A sloped beam needs no special command. Give Start Level Offset and End Level Offset two different values and the beam tilts, which is how a stair stringer or a pitched roof beam is built. The other way is to switch on 3D Snapping and click two points at different levels.
To change which face the beam hangs from after placement, use the Justification panel of the contextual tab.
Step 13 — Add a brace with the Brace command
Braces share the Structural Framing category with beams and have their own button next door.
The tooltip is explicit: a brace is a diagonal member connected to beams and columns, and it can only be placed in a plan or a framing elevation. The button greys out in a 3D view.
Showing beams in plan, and how Revit cuts them
Step 14 — Make the beams appear in the plan
Drawing beams and seeing nothing is normal, and release 2027 says so out loud.
The reason is the view range. A beam hangs below the level it belongs to, so it drops under the bottom of that range. Autodesk puts it the same way: set the bottom clip plane below the current level or the beam will not show. Those four planes are covered in hiding and isolating objects in Revit.
A trap shows up on real projects: the View Range Edit button is greyed and nothing opens. That happens when the view is driven by a View Template that owns the view range. Either edit the template, or set View Template to None for this view alone.
As for cutting, Revit does most of it. Two boxes in the Dimensions group show it: the example beam has System Length 14465 but Cut Length 14370. The difference is the material trimmed at both ends to meet the supports, so the length that reaches a schedule is the cut length.
When the beam will not behave
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing appears in the plan after drawing | The beam sits below the bottom of the view range | Lower Bottom or View Depth below the storey level |
| The View Range Edit button is greyed | A view template owns the view range | Edit the template, or set View Template to None |
| The beam floats above the slab | z Justification is Bottom or Center | Set it to Top for a monolithic concrete beam |
| On Grids finishes but no beam appears | The selected stretch is not between two supports | Place the columns first, then pick the grids |
| The beam system leaves gaps | The boundary is open, or the wrong support was picked | Use Sketch Beam System and redraw the boundary |
| The Brace button is greyed | You are in a 3D view | Open a plan or a framing elevation |
| Filtering beams by role returns nothing | Structural Usage is still Automatic or Other | Set Structural Usage per group of beams |
| The scheduled length is shorter than the span | That is Cut Length, already trimmed at both supports | Use System Length for centre-to-centre lengths |
Four things you often hear that are wrong
| What you often hear | What release 2027 actually does |
|---|---|
| Chain and beam elevation are set on the Options Bar | 2027 has no Options Bar; Chain is on the Draw panel, elevation in Properties |
| On Grids drops beams at intersections like columns | It places them along the grid, only between two supports |
| A sloped beam needs a different command | Still the Beam command; two different Start and End Level Offsets are enough |
| Beams vanish because they are under the cut plane | Elements under the cut plane still draw as thin lines; what disappears is what falls below the bottom |
In short, how to draw beams in revit follows a familiar loop: pick the section, set z Justification and Structural Usage, chain across the columns, sweep the grids with On Grids, fill the bay with a beam system, then deal with elevation and display. Labelling them is covered in tags in Revit.
Frequently asked questions
Where should I start when framing a floor?
With the main beams. Tick Chain and run them across the column heads, then sweep the grids with On Grids and fill the secondary framing with a beam system.
Why do my beams not show in the plan?
They hang below the storey level and fall outside the view range. Lower Bottom or View Depth below the level and they appear.
Which z Justification should I use?
Top for monolithic concrete, because the beam top meets the slab top. Bottom suits steel beams bearing on a column face.
Can I change the count in an existing beam system?
Yes. Select the system and change Layout Rule, Fixed Spacing or Fixed Number in the Pattern group; the whole system rebuilds.
The scheduled beam is shorter than the span, is that wrong?
No. Revit trims beams into the support face, so Cut Length is less than System Length; use System Length for centre-to-centre.
Do concrete beams in revit need their own family?
One rectangular beam family covers most framed buildings, because every section is duplicated from it. T-beams, upstand beams and steel sections need other families.