YASN - Yet Another SketchUp Newbie

[NineMinuteNap]

Greetings. I recently discovered SketchUp and have been slowly learning my way around the interface & 'toolbox'. I'm and engineering student - started off thinking I wanted to study mechanical engineering, but am currently leaning toward renewable energy. I've used SolidWorks at school and played around with Blender, but neither feels as 'comfortable' as SketchUp.

I just picked up a copy of SketchUp for Dummies and am working my way through it with the help of the author's YouTube videos. So far, so good, but I've got a couple newbie questions.

First, which axis is north? Or more specifically, if I want to orient something like a solar panel so it gets the most sun, how should I align it in relation to the red & green axes?

Second, is there a website or book that has a collection of home design thumbrules for things like thickness of walls, size of doors, height of windows above floors, etc. that will help a beginner lay out something that looks more like a real house than something from a Dr. Seuss book?

Thanks in advance for help with these questions and the many more that will follow.

--Michael

[Gaieus]

First of all, welcome to the board, Michael!

Regarding your questions

@nineminutenap said:

First, which axis is north? Or more specifically, if I want to orient something like a solar panel so it gets the most sun, how should I align it in relation to the red & green axes?

The green axis is north by default. But axes are more for modelling purposes (for axis inference and such) and in the Model info dialogue box there is a "Location" tab where you can set the north direction to something different from the global axes. Note however that this is only a Pro feature in the Windows version while it is available in the Free version for Mac (don't ask the reason).
To have a workaround, you can visit Jim Foltz' website to download and install his Location ruby script (LatLong.rb or something). Start from here.

@unknownuser said:

Second, is there a website or book that has a collection of home design thumbrules for things like thickness of walls, size of doors, height of windows above floors, etc. that will help a beginner lay out something that looks more like a real house than something from a Dr. Seuss book?

Well, I'd say that as many countries, as many standards. Why don't you just make some basic measurements in your own home or in any building to get a basic idea?

In my country the minimun hight of a room is 165 cm as I remember. Wall thickness can depend on the material and structure of the building.
Well, some architects around here will surely be able to give you a couple of hints though...