One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a technique for joining meshes of primitives. The technique involves receiving a first mesh boundary and a second mesh boundary, removing a first surface associated with the first mesh boundary, and removing a second surface associated with the second mesh boundary. The technique further involves joining a first vertex associated with the first mesh boundary to a first plurality of vertices associated with the second mesh boundary to form a joined surface. Finally, the technique involves performing one or more mesh refinement passes on the joined surface to generate a refined mesh surface.