This was a family many people were asking for and as with all families on RevitHQ heavy consideration was given to its operation. Specifically, should it be face-based, wall-based or level-based. A wall-based family would seem like the obvious choice given downpipes go on walls. But that would make it very inconvenient when you decide you to have concealed downpipes. A face-based family would cause similar headaches, but not only that, wall hosted elements have a tendency to be deleted quite easily when changes to its hosting element are made. Ultimately a dual-level based family would allow the downpipe to automatically flex with changes in level height, and offered much greater control.
Some have asked why this family isn't categorised under Plumbing Fixtures, it just makes sense. Well, unfortunately, Plumbing Fixtures are one of Revit's many categories that can't be cut in plan. We could have used detail lines to represent the downpipe being cut, but this became difficult when trying to represent the kick if it was cut instead. The Generic Models category was the answer, that combined with some selective object style naming, meant flexibility with its general visibility and graphic appearance.
Operation
The best way to place this family is in plan. Select its top and bottom level constraint, allow for any offsets you may like, and from there head to your 3D view and start customising.
To account for the fact this family isn't wall-based a lockable reference plane, in line with the walls edge, allows you to lock the downpipe to the wall. All other functionality will be immediately obvious in its type properties. The ability to switch between circular and rectangle, the visibility of wall straps, adjustments in its angle, and more. Check out its product page through the button below for more information and updates.
Version 2.2 Update: The Downpipe and Rainwater Head family has been updated with the ability to have negative kick offset and to include a half-circle RWH.
Version 3 Update: This family has now advanced to version 3.0! This was a major update to the family that gives it the possibility to articulate the pipe around 3 different wall offset amounts, as well as the option for a straight spreader or T-spreader at the outlet. It has even undergone improvements in it usability with the drag sliders now visible in 3D, making it much faster to implement.
Check out more of the update notes on the product page in the link below.
