Not enough room for conduit fittings in Revit

Why it happens

In Revit a bend isn't a corner in a line. It's a separate fitting with a length of its own, set by the elbow family and the conduit size. That length comes out of the conduit on either side. If what's left of a segment is shorter than the fitting needs, there's nowhere to put it.

It shows up most on short jogs: a small offset under a beam, two bends close together, or a run that turns right next to a box.

How to fix it

• Make the short segment longer. Drag its end out, or start the bend further from the box.
• Space the bends out. Two elbows back to back need room for both, and a little straight conduit between them.
• Draw the straight runs first, then join them with Trim/Extend. Revit places the elbow where they meet.
• If two runs won't join, their centrelines may be slightly off. Align them and try again.

Check the conduit type

If no bend works anywhere, the type is usually the problem, not the length. Open the conduit's Type Properties and look at the fittings. A type with no bend fitting assigned has nothing to place at a corner. Projects often have more than one conduit type, and it's easy to draw with the wrong one.

Check the elbow family

Elbow families take their sizes from a lookup table, usually based on a manufacturer's data. If the table has been edited, or the family is for a different product than the one you'll install, the elbow can need more room than you'd expect. Compare it with the real fitting.