I would like to get your thoughts on the best way to organise components and groups so that we have a universal way of naming components for estimating.
I have been using Sketchup for design and estimating in domestic construction for several years now. There are many rubies that can be used to take the manual work out of this but I think the main thing that makes it hard to have a universal estimating add on is: we all name & group our components differently. To do a complete house take off it is important to have all necessary model geometry grouped in the order it is required on the job : This way the necessary components (products & labour) can be taken off, ordered or scheduled in job sequence. If the components were layered as well they could be turned off when they have been documented. This way the geometry left on screen will signal items not accounted for....
The main reason for this discussion is:
1 to find out how many people use sketchup to do take offs (BOM)
2. if you have your own methods of doing this. Do you use rubies or do you do it manually?
3. to find out if any one has any suggestions on how to name or number components in such a way that they can be found and recognised easily by all sketchup users. personally i use cost codes to name my components.
4. do you export your quantities to spread sheets (excel) or note pad

Basically I know very little about ruby scripting so if there are any ruby enthusiasts that have any suggestions feel free to make a comment.

Hi all,
I use many rubies but I am yet to see a ruby that adds an extra drop downs or prompts to the entity info box. Is it possible to have another one or 2 option boxes added to entity info? some times I have to write down the values in the entity info box and add them together with a calculator. ( I know I can shift & select another face but some times I need to add up faces from different components).I fthe new box allowed me to export the data to note pad or spead sheet I would save a lot of writting.. . I can also think of a few other helpfull boxes but I guess what I really need to know is if this can be done. Can any one point me to such a ruby? If there is one that is.

My suggestion is much simpler. have 1 extra drop down box inside the entity info box. I think it should be some type of record button that lets you choose wher you want the entity info results placed for later use (spead sheet or note pad etc etc).

thanks Erik I will give it a go. I didnt know thta could be done

@unknownuser said:

I have a scrapbook I created for all different kinds of situations I run into with dimension line extensions. When I run into that situation, I simply sample the dimension, and fill it on to my drawing. It takes seconds, and all my dimensions are hooked onto what they should be.

Thanks Eric for your reply, I agree turning the auto scale off is bad practice, just to be clear you are simply writing the text over the top of the 1:1 from scrap book text template? so your dimension line still moves when you re scale or move in SU. And then I guess you move & update the text to suite the new dimension if changed. I also tried changing the the leader size as per gaieus but as soon as I did this the the dimension no longer related to the modeleven though the dot was still linked to the model??. Its saturday here & also the long week end. I think i will go have a beer or 30 get a good hang over and have another go on tuesday. thanks all

Hi guys! Thanks for all your help. After reading the replies I had another play and realised what I was doing wrong. I had auto scale turned on so when I used the dimension tool it gave me the right reading but as soon as I go to change the dimension it changes the dimensions to paper size (1:1) which I think was what Anssi was saying.

From now on I just have to remember to set the dimension to the right scale and have auto scale turned off so when I move them it should retain the dimensions. The autoscale changes it back to 1:1 which was what was confusing. A silly mistake but one that could be easily made and fixed for that matter!

I also noticed that layout doesn't update the dimensions when the model changes but I guess it will only get better with the next releases!

I was wondering if anyone has yet to come across this problem or am I missing something. When I try to shorten the extension lines of the dimensions it changes the units of the dim. E.g it will change 1500 mm to 15 mm which isn't cm or metres Is the current dimensioning capabilities not supporting the extension lines to be offset from the point at which you're measuring? Or is there something that I am doing wrong I made sure the units box says millimetres in the Dimension style drop down menu.

The new dimensioning tool would be great to dimension plans and if we can change the offset distances then the plans will look much neater and more presentable.

Any advice is appreciated!

1001 bit is definately a big time saver when modeling. I have done some great animations and client think they took me weeks where they only realy took hours. The rafters, battens and hips are fantastic

Well done Didier, I dont know if any one else uses this for dimensioning but it saves so much time. I use guides to dimension so that the leader does not go through the model. It takes hours to dimension this way and now it takes minutes.
One question I read on the sketchucation forum that this plugin lets you assign attributes to faces . I did not see this... Must be a miss print

hi guys sorry to barge in and forgive me if I am off track. I see that you trying to export to web dialog. can I export say out liner, dynamic components ( by layer), groups or scenes? I have been trying for years now to get take offs from sketchup and I am still not there. I can get material quantities and lists to excel from the models. unfortunately they quickly become obsolete when the model is updated. I then have to re export and format the spread sheet to suit my requiremnts. If it where possible to have it update to web continuously I could have my suppliers pricing on the latest take offs when they log in. this would also help with my paperless office attempts

thanks Stan, there are no cars or trees although I am importing contours unfortunatly i do require them for the job. I must say that all the help has got layout to stage where we can use it again with out crashing. Thanks everyone

Thanks for the help. changing the resolution to low has helped a little still a little slower than i hoped. I guess the smaller I keep the Su file the better.
I found putting the section cut on its own layer in SU has worked well and turning off auto update gives a lot more control over updates. The drawing we are working on is coming out nicely. When it is finished I will leave an example for you all to see.

Hi all, I could use some help. I have been working with layout since it was first introduced. It is so much better than it ever was and I am looking forward to the day its perfect. I find layout 2 easy to use and the line quality to be as good as any CAD Software. In our business we design and build residential extensions, renovations and new homes. Layout works great when the file size that is imported from Sketchup to be under 5 meg (except sections). When the models become more complex Layout can not handle it. I have a 9 meg file that we have drawn in sketchup that is so difficult to use in Layout that we have decided the that the time it is taking is unreasonable. We have now committed too much time to this job in Layout and have decided to copy the SU file and export different scenes to different layout files just so we can finish the job and submit it to council.
Is anyone else getting this problem?

Also section planes are interecting elevations even when the section planes is turned off in the SU scene ( the scenes have been updated and saved). This has happend many times in many models does anyone have a work around or fix

Hi all. I gave syncro trial a crack, at the time i also had very little time to look into it properly. From what I could get out of it it didnt realy suit my particualr type of construction. An aquaintence & I have been in the process of getting a ruby together that calculates sqm from materials and lineal measures from components. Yes it does work but it is still incomplete. As far as sheduling I think it can be easily done by managing layers correctly. We will work on a ruby eventually for this as well. I hope to get a low cost BIM estimating and sheduling package together eventually but my building business takes first priority so it may take some time... take alook at our you tube models and you can see how much detail we are trying to capture for estimating purposes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6QXBlsVLhs&feature=channel_page

I would like to hear more on syncro thanks Mike. May save me a lot of time.

@thomthom said:

no worries. I'm glad for all the ideas.

Hi thomthom, did you ever get around to making the ruby. I too have been trying to acheive the same result.

Hi all I downloaded the professional version. I imported the model and a Microsoft project sheet. I can see some real potential in the program and I am looking forward to the latest version which comes out in 2 weeks. The current versions don't appear to take all the components in individually from SU 7 but the update is rectifying this. When I get it up and going I will post my results. If anyone else is using Synchro and has some quick start tips they would be much appreciated. A tip for any one who does download Synchro before the update. when you install push on custom install and you will find the SU install details there. Good luck I look forward to hearing from fellow users

HI all I was wondering if any one has tried or is using Scncro 4d?
Basically syncro 4d is an add on that uses a 3d model and syncronises it with Microsoft project style gant chart etc.
I downloaded it and installed it. It is suposed to have plug in that auto loads into SU6. but for some reason it didnt. I was able to import the SU6 model with several components but I could not assign them to resources. Basically I need the Ruby.
Q has any one given it a try?
Q does any one have the ruby?
Q is it worth a crack?

just a guess were the operative words. I could be way off.... Take a cold shower... I though I was sad but you guys are saddererererer than me.

This is just a guess, but I am pretty sure Aidan has a new Sketchup book coming out in the next couple of months, and if history repeats than SU7 comes out within a week of its launch.

Hi all, I have been working on getting complete construction takeoffs from models for some time now and i have come to the conclusion that it can be done accurately but the time taken to draw the model up is sometimes greater than the time it would take to do a manual (computerised) take off. so at the moment I am at a point where I need to rethink my approach. I have a few good ides of an easier way but I need to learn a little ruby first.
I must say that the cutlist5 ruby is by far the best for carpenters and I hope that Chris's Namesets can come up with something a little more polished. For me and I guess a lot of other sketchupers who are in construction a total package more simple yet more comprehensive than rp reports ($1500 are they kidding?) and more versatile than cutlist5 would be ideal. I am going to have to dig out my geek glasses and build it from scratch.
I will keep you all posted.
P.S has any one tried cutlist6, I have it loaded but every time i try to open it I get a URL link error. Am i just a gumby or do you all have this problem? If any one could shed some light on its new features, please post them here. Cutlist 6 may have what cutlist 5 is lacking... and then I may be able to put my geek glasses back in my pocket! Or even better sketchup 7 will come out with a varation of all the above and we can all estimate easily.