Sketchup For Builders

The only comprehensive SketchUp guide written for builders and contractors SketchUp is a 3D modeling application used in areas ranging from civil and mechanical engineering to motion picture and video game design. Three-dimensional modeling is of obvious value to the building industry—yet resources for transforming architectural designs into reality is surprisingly limited. SketchUp for Builders is the first comprehensive guide designed specifically for builders and contractors, providing step-by-step instructions on incorporating 3D modeling into all phases of the construction process. Author John Brock draws from his 30 years of experience as a custom home designer and builder to provide practical advice on how to understand what you are building before it is built. This valuable guide demonstrates how to eliminate cost overruns, construction delays, and design flaws by integrating SketchUp modeling into your workflow. Emphasizing real-world practicality, this book covers all of the essential components of modeling a 3D construction project, from SketchUp fundamentals and object basics to importing construction drawings and increasing project efficiency with extensions and plugins. All phases of construction are clearly explained, including foundations, walls and floor systems, roof and mechanical systems, and exterior and interior finishes. Supplies a constructability process for efficient and cost-effective build projects Offers step-by-step guidance for creating construction documents, renderings, animations, virtual reality tours, and more Integrates SketchUp into all stages of the construction process Provides access to resources such as web tutorials, blogs, and the online SketchUp community Demonstrates how to generate construction documents with accompanying Layout software SketchUp for Builders: A Comprehensive Guide for Creating 3D Building Models Using SketchUp in an indispensable source of information for contractors and builders, architects, interior designers, landscape architects, construction professionals, and anyone seeking to create 3D models of the design and construction process.

The only comprehensive SketchUp guide written for builders and contractors SketchUp is a 3D modeling application used in areas ranging from civil and mechanical engineering to motion picture and video game design. Three-dimensional modeling is of obvious value to the building industry—yet resources for transforming architectural designs into reality is surprisingly limited. SketchUp for Builders is the first comprehensive guide designed specifically for builders and contractors, providing step-by-step instructions on incorporating 3D modeling into all phases of the construction process. Author John Brock draws from his 30 years of experience as a custom home designer and builder to provide practical advice on how to understand what you are building before it is built. This valuable guide demonstrates how to eliminate cost overruns, construction delays, and design flaws by integrating SketchUp modeling into your workflow. Emphasizing real-world practicality, this book covers all of the essential components of modeling a 3D construction project, from SketchUp fundamentals and object basics to importing construction drawings and increasing project efficiency with extensions and plugins. All phases of construction are clearly explained, including foundations, walls and floor systems, roof and mechanical systems, and exterior and interior finishes. Supplies a constructability process for efficient and cost-effective build projects Offers step-by-step guidance for creating construction documents, renderings, animations, virtual reality tours, and more Integrates SketchUp into all stages of the construction process Provides access to resources such as web tutorials, blogs, and the online SketchUp community Demonstrates how to generate construction documents with accompanying Layout software SketchUp for Builders: A Comprehensive Guide for Creating 3D Building Models Using SketchUp in an indispensable source of information for contractors and builders, architects, interior designers, landscape architects, construction professionals, and anyone seeking to create 3D models of the design and construction process.

A guide for leveraging SketchUp for any project size, type, or style. New construction or renovation. The revised and updated second edition of The SketchUp Workflow for Architecture offers guidelines for taking SketchUp to the next level in order to incorporate it into every phase of the architectural design process. The text walks through each step of the SketchUp process from the early stages of schematic design and model organization for both renovation and new construction projects to final documentation and shows how to maximize the LayOut toolset for drafting and presentations. Written by a noted expert in the field, the text is filled with tips and techniques to access the power of SketchUp and its related suite of tools. The book presents a flexible workflow method that helps to make common design tasks easier and gives users the information needed to incorporate varying degrees of SketchUp into their design process. Filled with best practices for organizing projects and drafting schematics, this resource also includes suggestions for working with LayOut, an underused but valuable component of SketchUp Pro. In addition, tutorial videos compliment the text and clearly demonstrate more advanced methods. This important text: Presents intermediate and advanced techniques for architects who want to use SketchUp in all stages of the design process Includes in-depth explanations on using the LayOut tool set that contains example plans, details, sections, presentations, and other information Updates the first edition to reflect the changes to SketchUp 2018 and the core functionalities, menus, tools, inferences, arc tools, reporting, and much more Written by a SketchUp authorized trainer who has an active online platform and extensive connections within the SketchUp community Contains accompanying tutorial videos that demonstrate some of the more advanced SketchUp tips and tricks Written for professional architects, as well as professionals in interior design and landscape architecture, The SketchUp Workflow for Architecture offers a revised and updated resource for using SketchUp in all aspects of the architectural design process.

The site designer's guide to SketchUp's powerful modeling capabilities SketchUp for Site Design is the definitive guide to SketchUp for landscape architects and other site design professionals. Step-by-step tutorials walk you through basic to advanced processes, with expert guidance toward best practices, customization, organization, and presentation. This new second edition has been revised to align with the latest software updates, with detailed instruction on using the newest terrain modeling tools and the newly available extensions and plug-ins. All graphics have been updated to reflect the current SketchUp interface and menus, and the third part of the book includes all-new content featuring the use of new grade and terrain extensions. Developed around the needs of intermediate professional users and their workflows, this book provides practical all-around coaching on using SketchUp specifically for modeling site plans. SketchUp was designed for usability, with the needs of the architect, industrial designer, and engineers at center stage. This book shows you how the software's powerful terrain and grade functions make it an ideal tool for site designers, and how to seamlessly integrate it into your workflow for more efficient design and comprehensive planning. Master the SketchUp basics, navigation, components, and scripts Turn 2D sketches into 3D models with volume, color, and material Create detailed site plans, custom furnishings, gradings, and architecture Learn sandbox tools, organization strategies, and model presentation tips SketchUp has undergone major changes since the publication of this guide's first edition, with its sale to Trimble Navigation bringing about a number of revisions and the availability of more immediately useful features. SketchUp for Site Design shows you how to harness the power of this newly expanded feature set to smooth and optimize the site design workflow.

The problem with traditional 2D CAD is that you sometimes lose touch with the overall design because you are forced to think from the perspective of flat construction documents. The restrictions of the documentation requirements and the technical limitations of the software take priority over the design itself.Designing in 3D gives you the freedom to visualize how the project will look in real life. The design becomes the primary focus, and the construction documents become a by-product of the design. That is the way it should be.There are plenty of 3D design programs out there that automate much of the process of designing a building, but you sacrifice the design once again because you are forced to learn and abide by complicated technical processes in order to get the software to do what you want. Creating anything custom further complicates the process, or is simply not possible.Where SketchUp shines is in its ability to create accurate 3D models quickly in an easy-to-use interface without forcing users to learn complicated tools or workflows. SketchUp has a unique way of prioritizing the design, and LayOut provides the conduit to communicate your design on paper.In SketchUp & LayOut for Architecture, you'll learn a step-by-step workflow that will enable you to eliminate CAD from your workflow, focus on your design, and produce beautiful construction documents for each phase of design, including Schematic Design, Design Development, and Construction Documentation.

“... the book is wonderfully illustrated with full color and descriptive images that complement each tutorial or exercise. Alex’s teaching background really rings through as every item is nicely structured and very informative. Overall Alex’s book is a winner. Well structured, illustrated and most of all easy to read and understand. While the overall theme is based in architecture, the techniques can be applied to any discipline and the wide range of topics covered are excellently delivered.” -Richard O’Brien, CatchUp Editor, the official SketchUcation newsletter The one-stop guide to SketchUp for architects, designers, and builders SketchUp is the tool of choice for architects, interior designers, and construction professionals. Though the basics are simple to understand, getting the most out of it requires deeper instruction and guidance. Architectural Design with Google SketchUp uses easy-to-understand tutorials to describe both common and advanced process, illustrated throughout with full-color renderings. Handy sidebars throughout the book cover fundamentals and background information End-of-chapter exercises help readers master new skills and techniques A robust companion website includes helpful videos, sample files, and plug-ins

This book, and interactive video CD, is a learner centered graphic narrative teaching Sketch Up 4.0 3D modeling software for design and construction professionals: architects, contractors and students. Uses experiential learning in project based illustrations for a hands on feel of basic construction techniques in sequence animations, process presentations and collaborative analysis.

The SketchUp to LayOut book is the essential guide for woodworkers, carpenters, architects, contractors, builders, and designers who already know the basics on how to use SketchUp, but are looking to create stunning presentations to visualize their ideas with their clients using LayOut. Learn the workflow for creating models specifically for LayOut Before you even begin modeling that first rectangle, you'll need to fully understand which type of model you should be building for LayOut. Don't make the mistake of creating twice the amount of work for yourself because you didn't properly organize your model ahead of time. I'll teach you how to save time and frustration by organizing your model so YOU are in control of how your model viewports look. The entire first half of the book is dedicated to preparing your model for LayOut. From organizational workflow, to scenes and styles. I share with you my 5 point method I use to visualize and prepare every scene I create for LayOut. Not only will you understand exactly what those five points are, you'll learn multiple ways to control them. Using these methods, you will gain complete control over the look of your viewports in LayOut. You will master every aspect of a SketchUp scene and style, to enable you to create impressive presentations and drawings in the least amount of time possible. Is this too advanced for me? This book is designed for construction professionals who don't have any prior experience in LayOut at all. But it's also structured in a way that lets you look up specific tasks or methods without having to read the book cover to cover. I’ll save you all the time and frustration that I went through when I first learned LayOut by quickly orienting you with the workspace, then jumping right in to creating your own titleblock, inserting SketchUp models, and adding dimensions. You should have some basic knowledge on how to use SketchUp. But if you're just starting out, you'll have complete access to my entire library of tutorials and videos for free on my website to bring you up to speed quickly. Every important aspect of LayOut is explained in the book, with step by step instructions for you to follow along. Learn exactly what you need to know and skip over all the little details you don’t need to worry about. The book has been updated for 2014 so you'll even learn about the new Auto-Text tag feature, saving you a ton of time on those redundant text edits. You’ll see REAL examples The sample projects in the book are real projects, not hypothetical meaningless shapes and boxes, so you can see exactly how to apply the concepts you learn in context with the real world. Plus, the SketchUp and LayOut files are included with each book download so you’ll be able to follow along and discover for yourself how to organize a similar project of your own. The sample projects include a woodworking table project, akitchen project, and a three story house project. At the same time, each step by step instruction can be read and followed independently from the project. So if you need to go back and reference a certain part of the book to learn how to do something specific, you'll be able to do that too. Advanced Techniques I’ve consulted with many of the best SketchUp gurus in the world! I’ve hung out with Nick Sonder at the SketchUp basecamp conference. I’ve interviewed Aidan Chopra, SketchUp evangelist and author of “Google SketchUp for Dummies”, Eric Schimelpfenig from SketchThis.net, and Alexander Schreyer, author of “Architectural Design with SketchUp”. I’ve also consulted with Mike Brightman, author of “The SketchUp Workflow for Architecture”, Daniel Tal, author of “Rendering In SketchUp”, and many other great SketchUp experts.