Sq. Ft. of a Mass

[esilvis]

Trying to calculate the square footage of a Mass.

The surface area seen in plan.

The mass tag label calulates all mass surfaces.

So, I tried applying a floor area surface to the mass to calculate

square footage. It works and I can use this information for scheduling.

The problem I run into is when the mass is irregular shape.

Solid void applied. See attached image.

I cannot get an accurate square footage because the Floor Area Face will not

adjust any closer then 2". If I move Floor Area Face Level less then 2" the

plane cut for the floor face disappears. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

 

Eric

[jonrempel]

Do you have a larger view of the mass you are trying to create? It is not clear from the image what exactly is happening or what you are trying to create.

[esilvis]

Jon,

 

Thanks for replying.

I'll try to clarify my question. I want to calculation the top surface area of a mass. I know no easy way of doing this, so I am using the Floor Area Faces command to calculate the area. In the attached images the red face is the floor area face of the mass. The floor area face on the right mass does not matter where the floor face area is calculated because the "shape" of the floor area face matches the "shape" of the top surface of the mass.

 

The mass on the left is a different story. I can create a floor area face, but it does not match the "shape" of the top surface of the mass. This is because, when I move the floor area face level to the top of mass level the floor area face become invalid...is deleted. Thats hard to explain...Hope somebody understands...

 

Eric

[jonrempel]

Try using ROOF BY FACE and select the top plane of the mass shape. I used this instead of the Floor by Face and was able to place a slab at the top of the mass and find its area in the element properties.

Jon

[esilvis]

Jon,

 

I am using floor area faces command because I can use the sq. ft. information that is applied to the mass on a schedule.

 

What I am doing is water calculations. The floor area faces command seems to not allow me to adjust the area face any closer then 2" to the top of the mass face...I loose sq. ft. because on a mass shaped like the image on the left, the floor area face does not match the top shape of the mass.

 

I could use roof by face or a room to calculate the area but it would not be asssociated with the mass I am using for my water calculations table.

 

If my mass is square the schedule works well.

 

Thanks

 

Eric

[jonrempel]

If you do have a floor area face at the top of your mass, it will show up if click on your mass and just alter the height slightly. I'm not sure why it works that way, or how that will affect your calculations. The floor plane remains invisible until there is more mass on top.

Not sure if that helps you out at all.

Jon

[esilvis]

Jon,

 

appeciate your time on this question.

Top of mass is the top of my water level, I need to hold thqat level. If floor area face level equals top of mass level then the floor area face disappears and does not calculated sq. ft. By dragging the top of the mass up slowly you can see when the floor area face appears, seems to be in the range of 1/2" or so.

 

Thanks

 

Eric