A Revit wall sweep is not a loose object parked against a wall. It is a profile attached to the wall that runs with it and disappears with it. Reveals, a stone-clad panel or the top of a gable wall work the same way: they are all edits on the wall itself.
This article follows how to create walls in Revit in the order you work: shape the wall first, then decorate it. Screenshots are from Revit 2027 in English. To learn modelling in full, see the Revit Architecture course.
Step 1 — edit a wall profile to cut a wall in Revit
Select a wall and the ribbon shows Modify | Walls with tools that reshape it without deleting and redrawing.
| No. | Item | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edit Profile | Enter sketch mode to edit the wall outline. Reset Profile next to it restores the rectangle |
| 2 | Wall Opening | A rectangular hole through the wall without a door |
| 3 | Attach Top | Attach the top or base to another element; the menu has Attach Top and Attach Base |
| 4 | Detach Top/Base | Remove the attachment and return to the height in the parameters |
Edit Profile only works in an elevation or section, where you can see the wall face. Start it in a plan and Revit shows Go To View: pick a view and click Open View.
| No. | Item | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red X | Cancel Edit Mode: discard changes and exit |
| 2 | Green check | Finish: accept the new profile |
| 3 | Draw panel | Tools to edit or add boundary lines |
| No. | Item | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magenta boundary | The edges of the wall being edited. Drag, trim, join or add lines, as long as the loop stays closed |
| 2 | Greyed-out model | Shows you are in sketch mode, and warns you forgot to click the check mark |
A profile has one rule: the lines must be closed and must not cross. That gives three uses:
- A wall cut to a roof slope: delete the top edge and draw two sloping lines.
- An irregular opening: draw another closed loop inside the main boundary.
- Back to a rectangle: select the wall and click Reset Profile.
The profile belongs to that wall only, not to its type. Autodesk's Edit a Wall Profile page notes that walls curved in plan cannot have their profile edited.
Step 2 — wall openings and attaching walls to a roof
For a plain rectangular hole, use Wall Opening rather than editing the profile: draw it, then adjust its size with temporary dimensions. It also works on curved walls. The steps for openings are in how to add doors in Revit.
A gable wall under a pitched roof has a faster route: let Revit cut it. Select the wall, click Attach Top, then click the roof.
Once attached, Top is Attached and Base is Attached are checked and the height is greyed out. To take control back, click Detach Top/Base and pick the element to detach from.
Attaching walls to roofs, with an exercise, is covered in how to create a roof in Revit.
Step 3 — place a Revit wall sweep
Crown mouldings, baseboards and string courses all use one tool, Wall Sweep: a 2D profile swept along the wall. Open a 3D view or an elevation and run Architecture › Build › Wall › Wall: Sweep.
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Horizontal | A horizontal band: cornices, baseboards, string courses |
| Vertical | A vertical band: corner trims, decorative pilaster lines |
| Restart Wall Sweep | End the current sweep and start a new one |
- Pick the sweep type in the Type Selector.
- Choose Horizontal or Vertical on the Placement panel.
- Hover over the wall face and click. The sweep runs the full length of the wall.
- Move to the next wall and click again: the sweep continues and mitres at the corner.
- To start another sweep, click Restart Wall Sweep. When done, click Modify.
The sweep follows its wall: delete the wall and the sweep goes, move the wall and it moves too. Change the wall height and the sweep stays at the height you set.
Step 4 — sweep height, type and profile
Select the sweep and Properties shows its position. On the test model we measured Offset From Wall 0, Level L1, Offset From Level 1700 and a read-only Length of 12500. Editing Offset From Level is the precise way to set the height.
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Profile | The profile of the sweep. For a custom moulding, load a profile family and pick it here |
| Material | The sweep's own material, independent of the wall |
| Cuts Wall | Whether the sweep cuts the wall where they overlap. Clearing it helps large models |
| Cut by Inserts | Whether doors and windows cut the sweep or it runs across them |
| Default Setback | How far the sweep sets back from each door or window it meets |
| Subcategory of Walls | A subcategory for its own line weight and colour, here Wall Sweeps - Cornice |
Tip. Local moulding profiles are rarely in the library. Draw the shape in a Profile family, load it, duplicate the Cornice type and point its Profile parameter to the new shape. Building families is covered in how to create a Revit family.
Houses usually use three bands: a 100 to 150 baseboard, a string course at floor level and a cornice under the roof. All three are horizontal wall sweeps that differ only in profile and Offset From Level. Autodesk's Wall Sweeps page notes that placed sweeps can be scheduled.
Step 5 — Revit wall reveals
A reveal is a recessed groove along the wall, used to divide a facade or hide a movement joint. The tool is Wall: Reveal, just below Wall: Sweep in the Wall menu.
| Compared with a sweep | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Same | Placed the same way, Horizontal or Vertical, and set by Offset From Level |
| Different | A reveal always cuts in. Its type has a profile only, no material, because it is empty space |
| No. | Item | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vertical reveals on the pier | Three grooves, type named CHỈ CỘT. They cut into the pier and read as dark lines |
| 2 | Reveals on the right pier | The same type repeated. Place once, then copy |
| 3 | Horizontal sweep | The projecting band at the top of the pier, placed with Wall: Sweep |
A reveal can also fake a movement joint: keep the wall continuous and place a vertical reveal at the joint. The model stays simple, quantities stay right and the drawing still shows the joint.
A reveal eats into the finish, and a deep profile reaches the core. On a thin wall, check depth in a section, since an elevation will not show whether it goes through. Autodesk notes that a reveal cannot be added to a slanted wall.
Step 6 — paint a wall with Split Face and Paint
Sometimes only part of a wall needs another material, such as a stone panel in a lobby, while the build-up stays the same. Revit uses tools on the Geometry panel of the Modify tab.
| Tool | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Split Face (SF) | Divide a face into regions with a boundary sketched in sketch mode |
| Paint (PT) | Apply a material to a face or a split region |
| Remove Paint | Remove an applied material from a face |
- Run Split Face and pick the wall face. Press Tab if the wrong face highlights.
- Sketch the region: a closed loop inside the face, or an open line whose ends touch the face edge. Click the check mark.
- Run Paint, type a few letters into Search in the Material Browser and pick the cladding material.
- Hover over the new region and click. Click Done to exit.
Note. Remove paint with the separate Remove Paint tool, not with Paint. Deleting the Split Face boundary also removes the paint on it. Autodesk's Split Faces page says the tool does not work on walls drawn as arcs or ellipses.
Paint changes only how a face looks, not the layer structure. In a material takeoff, painted materials are reported apart by face area. That is how to count cladding area without creating more wall types.
Try it: sweeps, reveals and paint on a facade
Facade decoration. Continue in the project where you built the ground-floor walls in the walls article.
- Duplicate the exterior wall type as
AR-Wall-mat-tien. In Edit Assembly, change the outer layer material to a cladding material in the project. - Assign the new type to the facade walls with the Type Selector.
- Open the facade elevation. Run Architecture › Wall › Wall: Sweep and choose Horizontal.
- Place a sweep on the wall. Select it and set Offset From Level to 3600 so it sits at the second floor level.
- Run Wall: Reveal and place a reveal 200 below the sweep. Compare the Offset From Level of the sweep and the reveal.
- Select the sweep and click Edit Type. Note the values of Profile, Cuts Wall and Cut by Inserts.
- Use Split Face on a ground-floor panel, then Paint it with another cladding material. Check it in a 3D view set to Shaded.
- Save the project for placing doors next.
Common mistakes with sweeps, reveals and wall shapes
| Mistake | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Edit Profile opens Go To View | You are in a plan. Pick an elevation or section and click Open View |
| The model is greyed out and nothing selects | Still in sketch mode. Click the green check or the red X |
| A curved wall cannot be profiled | Revit does not edit profiles of walls curved in plan. Use Wall Opening |
| A door cuts the sweep, or the sweep runs over a door | That is Cut by Inserts on the sweep type. Change it in Edit Type |
| A reveal cuts through a thin wall | The reveal profile is deeper than the finish. Check in a section and use a shallower profile |
| Cannot add a sweep to a stacked wall | Stacked walls do not take sweeps the usual way. Use a basic wall |
| Paint will not come off | You are using Paint. Use Remove Paint |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a sweep and a reveal?
A sweep projects and has its own material; a reveal cuts in and is empty space. Both are set by Offset From Level.
How do I make a custom moulding?
Draw the shape in a Profile family, load it, duplicate a sweep type and set its Profile parameter to the new shape.
Should a stone plinth be paint or a new wall type?
If only one area changes appearance, use Split Face and Paint. If the whole wall really has a different build-up, create a new type.
For a gable wall, Edit Profile or Attach Top?
Attach Top, because the wall top updates when the roof pitch changes. Use Edit Profile for free shapes or odd openings.
Related articles
- How to create walls in Revit — wall types, Location Line, layers and wall joins
- How to create a roof in Revit — attaching wall tops to the roof
- How to add doors in Revit — wall openings and doors in walls with sweeps
- How to create a Revit family — profile families for mouldings