We can all use more tips to help us improve.

BTW, timber also is the way for the future of building industry. Great work!

@@steedlei1 Thanks, feel free to get in contact with the Sydney office on 0296792429 I've no doubt this technology will deliver a significant efficiency boost to your current workflow of Revit Blue beam, etc. It's also significantly cheaper. plusspec.com/plusdesignbuild/

Yes. Battens are available on both sides of all wall types; you can choose spacing, type, size and direction. E.g. verticle and horizontal to work with the selected cladding/direction. plusspec.com/plusdesignbuild/

@@PlusSpeca counter batten on a passive house is typically battened out twice with the stud followed by a vertical batten and then a horizontal batten. I know you can do one batten externally but is it possible to do 2?

@@danielperrem 2 external battens? Hmm, I would have to think about that one. The double internal wall may be the answer. Dan, it is probably best to ask this question on the forum, as I know there are a lot of passive home designers there that ar coming up with some amazing solutions. Here is the link to the wall tool on the forum: forum.plusspec.com/c/plusspec-community/wall-tools/43

Hi @steedlei1, thank you for your comment - yes we have builders in Sydney and across Australia who use it for estimating. Would you be interested in a demonstration of the software? Feel free to reach out to us at [email protected] if you would like any further info.

Hello Lei Feng, I'm a builder, I built PlusSpec and yes there are many builders in Sydney and across the world that is this for estimating, design, detailing and building.

Do you use Sketchup?

@@PlusSpecwell I use SketchUp and I wish it had the features built in

@@kobusthomas903 Yes, Sketchup would be great for architects, consultants, estimators and builders if PlusSpec features were built in. The issue is that many Sketchup users design spaceships, movie sets, or dollhouses, so they don't need VDC or BIM. Thomas, if Sketchup had a version called Sketchup Construction, would you pay more for it?

@@PlusSpec Absolutely would. I use revit and Sketchup vir Vray. Imagine how much money I would save if I just needed SketchUp and Vray. My current workflow is using revit to model the building and landscape then move to SketchUp to do the final interior modelling, then render in vray. Alsoi do all layouts in revit as it is easier

Yes, it would be ideal if @PlusSpec tools were inside @Sketchup

No problemo thanks for commenting.

Pretty cool right.

Glad you enjoyed it Dave, it can also be doen with Rafters and underpurlins.

Thanks! Tommy just so you know, this can be done with rafters and floor joists in metric and imperial.

The video shows one aspect of what one architect has created with PlusArchitect; the model generates the 2D plans, yet I suspect the model was utilised to walk the client through the home before generating the 2D plans. I could see if Andrew can create a video on this model showing how to generate the plans if you like?

That would be good. It would be nice to see what sort of working drawings can be generated from a model.

@@stephens2850 that's an easy one. Here is a link to * drawings from different levels of user plusspec.com/2d-drawings/

It's PlusSpecs PlusDesignBuild, here is the link plusspec.com/plusdesignbuild/

plusspec.com/plusdesignbuild/

PlusDesignBuild or Plus Architect can deliver this functionality

You can add battens to just about every wall type, which is typically the way i eliminate conductivity through the slab/floor. Could you add a post on the forum with a screenshot of what you're trying to do? Click the forum button at the top of the wall tool to get you to the right spot, or here's the link forum.plusspec.com/

@@PlusSpec Thanks for the reply! Yes, I will make a forum post with an explanation and screenshot.

Best practice for creating a secondary stud without to and bottle plates is to tick bridle battens and create a batten material that's on edge. Eg. A 2x4 material can be made as 4x2 . This way the batten doesn't sit flat on the wall. I'd recommend using the lightweight multiskin wall inside the PlusSpec wall tool.

Yep one of the best we have seen as far as LOD

Yes, the design is incredible, and the materials and textures are second to none. These guys are setting the bar in residential architecture. I'll do a tutorial on how to add 3D cladding from PlusSpec-created geometry when I get a moment. The key is to remember you're inside Sketchup so you can add as much geometry and resolution as your computer can handle and fee proposal allows... The benefit of the recent performance upgrades to SketchUp 2024 is that you can add more detail to your 3D model.

Thanks we look forward to seeing your work. If you have any BIM models or plans you'd like Andrew to review let us know. 👍

Glad it was helpful!

Thank you! Cheers!

It's also a good idea to geo-locate your model by using the functionality in the scene tool. Customers like to see the street and the terrain, but for you, as a builder, it helps with existing versus new estimating. I look forward to seeing more of your design and construction work. 👍

NSW residential builders get taught our Virtual Construction and estimating in TAFE which is a big benefit for the design and construction industry.

Hi Roy, PlusArchitect and PlusDesignBuild are the same, except PlusDesignBuild has an advanced estimating and purchase order package. If you like, you can talk to Tyler in the office in Sydney on +61 02 96792429 or email him. We look forward to having you on board.

This is BIM on steroids; we call it Virtual Construction as it is ten steps further forward than "Traditional BIM". Revit and ArchiCad cannot do what PlusDesignBUild or PlusArchitect do, and if you are already a Sketchup user you'll hit the ground runing

Thanks, Just purchased a new Mic, I hope it fixes it.

Hi Dave, in this case, it is super easy. I used the post/column tool in Plusspec and added a guideline to the roof. Draw a triangle in Sketchup from the post to the guideline, make it a group, and use the arc tool on each edge of the triangle to offset the straight lines then delete the straight lines. I then applied material and used the "BIM tool" to associate tags and pricing information. I used recipes, cost codes and suppliers for the BOQ, takeoff, purchase orders and ancillary items. It took 2 minutes. You may want to play with the post heights to get your preferred look or shading. In this case, you will need to redraw the triangles as it will be quicker and easier than editing the original geometry. I hope that helps.

Thanks Pembo, you cna creat material just like every other tool. Do you mean you'd liek to add profiles to battens or purlins?

Yes the tick button in scene manager in SketchUp is so easily missed and to move and align viewports in Layout can be cumbersome.

The live version should have the bugs rectified. Go plusspec.com/ login and download. There is another update coming very soon

Hi Dan, yep, could you add a post on the forum? If you could add small screenshots to explain, I'll see if I can get Andrew to squeeze it in. 😉 Note, if you go to the roof tool and click forum at the top, you'll be in the right place to ask a roof question. All tools take you to the correct position on the forum to ask questions about each tool. Tip2. Put in the PlusSpec version you're using and Mac or PC.

Thanks Pembo; this should fixed in the next release.

We considered adding the top hat section; however all we found was we added extra geometry that had little to no impact on the result. Can I suggest creating a material called "top hat_size" in the steel batten section? You could make it a texture to still look like a top hat.

Batten width may need be varied

Ok, thanks, that's good advice. Since our PlusSpec user base is all over the world, it is tough to add specifics as each area has different requirements. If you've got a few special requests, could you ask them on the forum? Note you can access the forum from inside each PlusSpec tool. Also we just about to update the forum to make it easier to use so maybe hold on for a week or two. Thanks for commenting. 👍

Yes it's in the latest release of PlusDesignBuild plusspec.com/plusdesignbuild/ and PlusArchitect plusspec.com/plusarchitect-4/

James, you need to see how good the features are for reno/extension work and replacing materials. You can head to the website and book a demo kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZ-smaisqMxrpaM

100% Sketchup always draws in 1:1, which takes out the confusion of setting scale; however, when importing DWGs, PDF or anything, it's essential to ensure it is 1:1 before referencing it.

At least you dont do it while making a tutorial

A curved wall is stronger but it takes longer to build