Gridsnap starts with three wall presets: Outer 400 mm, Bearing 250 mm and Inner 120 mm. They are editable drawing settings, not building-code rules. Change one wall in the properties panel, change the current project’s values in drawing settings, or use ⚙ Edit wall types… to save defaults for future plans in this browser.
For guidance on choosing a construction thickness, regional variation and the area lost to real walls, read the wall thickness guide. This page documents how Gridsnap stores and applies the value.
The presets
| Type | Panel label | Default | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outer | Outer | 400 mm | Exterior / envelope wall |
| Load-bearing | Bearing | 250 mm | Load-bearing interior wall |
| Inner | Inner | 120 mm | Non-load-bearing partition |
Any thickness between 20 mm and 1000 mm can be typed into the Thickness field instead. Thickness is a property of the whole wall, so a wall that changes section has to be drawn as two walls.
Build-ups replace the preset thickness
A wall’s thickness is the sum of its layers, and Gridsnap’s build-up library holds four worked wall assemblies. Their totals are the honest answer to “how thick, really”:
| Build-up | Layers | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Timber frame wall | 22 cladding · 30 cavity · 12 OSB · 200 insulated frame · 13 plasterboard | 277 mm |
| Brick cavity wall | 102 brick · 100 mineral wool · 100 aerated block · 13 plaster | 315 mm |
| Rendered block wall | 20 render · 150 EPS · 300 aerated block · 10 plaster | 480 mm |
| Stud partition | 13 plasterboard · 95 insulated stud · 13 plasterboard | 121 mm |
Assign a build-up to a wall and Gridsnap uses the stack’s total instead of a generic preset. That same stack provides the U-value used by the heat-loss sheet.
How to set them
- Before you draw, with the wall tool active (W), the properties panel on the right shows New wall defaults with the three presets and a Thickness field. The last thickness you used is remembered.
- For your own default set, click ⚙ Edit wall types… in that panel. The three values become yours, in this browser, for every plan.
- For one project only, the same values can be set in the ⚙ drawing settings; they travel with the file, so a shared or exported plan prints the same everywhere.
The resolution order is built-in defaults → your saved defaults → the document’s own settings. Only values you actually change are stored, so an untouched field keeps following the layer below it.
What this doesn’t do
- The plan check never looks at wall thickness. There is no rule that flags a 60 mm external wall or a 400 mm partition. Thickness is a drafting decision Gridsnap records faithfully and does not second-guess.
- A wall has one thickness end to end. No tapered walls, no walls that change section partway.
- The presets are conventions, not code. Required U-values, fire ratings and acoustic performance are set nationally and none of them are checked here. Use the build-up library and the heat-loss sheet if the U-value is the point.