LESSON B8

Elevation profiles & structure

What you'll learn: giving the flat plan its third dimension — modeling the structure and elevating the piping to follow it.

Video coming soon — the written steps below cover everything.

The structure workflow

Work the sequence: columns → beams → roof. Each step builds on the last, and the plan stays the familiar top-down view while the model gains height.
With structure in place, elevate the system: mains and branch lines take their heights from what they hang under.
Drop sprigs and drops where heads need to leave the branch line plane.

Elevation profiles

Cut an elevation profile through the system to see the vertical story: pipe under beam, head below deck, the dimensions a fitter needs.
Profiles stay live — move the pipe and the profile follows.

Why bother with structure: hydraulics (lesson B7) and fabrication both live or die on real elevations. Model the steel once and every downstream number gets honest.

That's the whole course (for now). New lessons land as features ship.

All lessons