First look at metal bridging (I-joist and Lumber):

Geometrically a lot simpler and more lightweight than the preconfigured component that I made based off of the Simpson IFC model. I'm using my galvanized texture/material but I may change it slightly. There are quite a few parameters that one can adjust to customize the look and feel of these metal bridging straps, hopefully that should make things configurable enough for most power users.

As noted per the Simpson literature the crossing straps should not be in direct contact to avoid screeching noises when they move under load. Hence the default 1/8" gap, but this can be modified as can be seen in the menu.

I've also included a thickness parameter for the straps. The correct thickness for a 20 gauge strap is probably around 0.035" however I've rounded the default value to an even 0.04".

Adding in the advanced floor options into the Global Settings:

I am working on adding in metal bridging with some associated parameters:

P.S.
I was going to combine the metal bridging with the solid blocking however after some thought I realized there might be cases where you might combine both forms of bracing in one floor (solid blocking and metal bridging). Hence I need a separate module for blocking. Unlike the wall blocking floor blocking may be regular lumber or I-Joist blocking so that further complicates the matter slightly.

The parameters for the blocking module will probably be:

1.) Blocking Type: Lumber/I-Joist

If blocking type is Lumber:

Blocking Width: 1.5 in (default)

Blocking Material: Lumber / PT Lumber / LSL / PSL / LVL etc...

If blocking type is I-Joist

Blocking I-Joist Family:

Blocking I-Joist Type:

other general parameters are:

Row Spacing: 96 in. (default)

Stagger Blocking: Yes/No

Remove Row: empty by default

Quite a few more parameters (8) to add into a number of files, this will keep me busy for a couple of days at least.

@gullfo

Post a screenshot or send me some via email (nathan@medeek.com) so I can get a better idea what this looks like. I will give it some consideration.

I am changing up the way in which I do subtractive geometry from the way I've done it with the other plugins in the past.

If you enable Subtractive Geometry in the global settings you can use the SUBTRACT keyword to cut holes through everything as per normal. However you will now also have two other options:

SUBTRACT_SHEATH: This keyword will only subtract through sheathing, flooring and deck boards.

SUBTRACT_GYPSUM: This keyword will only subtract through gypsum

I may add others as the need arises or additional requests are made.

I wasn't paying attention to a realistic header with trimmers, just focusing on the king stud offset, I agree, a few things would need to be beefed up to handle this type of beam configuration. I've only actually engineered one job with this type of beam over window(s).

Version 0.9.6 - 09.19.2024

• Fixed a bug with metric floor presets.
• Fixed a bug with the insulation module.

I have had two requests now for metal bridging or bracing so I took about an hour and modeled up a Simpson TB27 between 2X10 joists @ 16" on center. It actually looks really nice:

However some things immediately jumped out at me:

1.) I based my TB27 off of the ICF file on Simpson's website so it is dimensionally accurate, however to do that takes quite a bit of time. Modeling like this is fun but very time consuming and one thing I never have enough of is time.

2.) This is the TB27 configured for 2X10's on 16" centers, now think of all the other permutations (including I-Joists). To make this look right would require a preconfigured component for each case. The number of permutations is at least 130 or more.

3.) If you also consider custom offsets of specific joists then it gets even more crazy.

My thinking is that if I do want to enable something like this it will need to be less detailed geometrically (just a basic representation) and drawn on the fly using an algorithm that checks joist depth and spacing. Rather than specify the exact part number (ie. TB20, TB27, TB30 etc...), just specify that it is metal bridging.

Version 0.9.5 - 09.18.2024

• Added a joist direction arrow to the draw floor tool.
• Added a "debug mode" parameter to the General tab of the Global Settings.
• Fixed a bug with deck board placement.
• Fixed a bug with the deck board offset parameter.

Version 3.7.1 - 09.17.2024

• Added a vertical offset parameter for in-wall column king studs.

In the case where you have a beam pocket and king studs over top of a door or window this update is critical. Previously the king studs would simply project to the bottom plate in the wall passing through the opening. Now you can utilize this extra parameter to vertically offset these king studs the same way the column itself is offset. Note that the offset can be both positive or negative or zero (default)

Tutorial 2 - Joist Hangers (19:57 min.)

https://youtu.be/9412qMW0YQE

Version 0.9.4 - 09.16.2024

• Added joist hangers to the Draw and Edit menus.
• Added a built-in library of face mount and and top flange hangers.

Version 0.9.3b - 09.12.2024

• Fixed a HTML/Javascript bug in the Draw Floor menu.

I was thinking about hanger hardware for the joists but then I realized that things are quite a bit more complicated with these polygon floors. For example look at this floor:

The situation gets interesting for the first six joists in the array, they would require four hangers each rather than just the normal two. I'm going to have to really put on my thinking cap for this one.

And then you have the additional complication of non-orthogonal edges which may require special skewed hangers... Fortunately those are probably not as common so I can probably ignore that case for now.

P.S.

At first glance I think I can examine each joist individually once they've been trimmed/cut and count the number of edges that run parallel to the joist (x-axis or y-axis). For a regular lumber joist the total number of pieces will be the number of horizontal (long edges) divided by four. That will tell me how many hangers I actually need.

I can then cycle through this collection of edges finding all of the terminal vertices/locations and assign to each one a direction (left facing or right facing). From there it is simply a matter of running a for loop and placing the hangers. I think this will work but it may not be optimized yet.

P.P.S

I also just realized that there is the possibility for some joists to be doubled, which will naturally require a different hanger, so the hanger selection will require two parameters, one for single ply an one for two ply. However, there may be a situation where you want there to be hangers only on one side of the floor (ie. a deck with a ledger and beam supported on the other end) so four parameters for hanger selection:

1.) Start Hanger (1X Ply)
2.) Start Hanger (2X Ply)
3.) End Hanger (1X Ply)
4.) End Hanger (2X Ply)

Version 0.9.3 - 09.12.2024

• Fixed a critical bug in the Draw Floor menu.
• Added a status icon (Draw Mode: Polyline or Face) in upper right corner of the Draw Floor menu.
• Added the Draw Mode parameter to Floors tab of the Global Settings.

Version 0.9.2 - 09.11.2024

• Enabled a overhang for deck boards.
• Enabled a global offset for deck boards.
• Fixed a bug with floor presets.

Tutorial 1 - Extension Overview (19:43 min.)

https://youtu.be/ZCUr08o-M24

Version 0.9.1 - 09.10.2024

• Enabled doubling of individual joists.
• Enabled offsetting of individual joists.
• Enabled global offsetting of joists.
• Added a duplicate floor check to the regen module for all floor types.
• Updated the javascript logic within the License tab of the Global Settings.

The current todo list in no specific order:

1.) Floor Coverings: Tile, Carpet, Hardwood etc…
2.) Floor Openings: Stairwell and Crawlspace or ladder access
3.) In Floor Beams
4.) Blocking: Mid-span blocking, custom blocking, edge blocking
5.) Ledgers: customize each edge or side of an assembly with a custom ledger or rim joist setting.
6.) Hardware: Joist Hangers, Beam Hangers, diagonal bracing, deck holdowns

7.) Railing: for decks
8.) Custom Joist Doubling: ability to double any number of joists in the array
9.) Custom Joist Offset: ability to offset any number of joists independently.
10) Global Joist Offset
11.) Max. Joist Span Indicator: Engineering related
12.) Diagonal deck boards
13.) MPC Wood Floor Trusses
14.) Steel Trusses (not high priority)

Feel free to help me add to this list.

Version 0.9.0 - 09.08.2024

• Created the Medeek Floor Plugin, utilizing SketchUp's Ruby API.
• Added the draw floor tool with the ability to create I-Joist and solid sawn (lumber) polygon shaped floors.

The Floor extension can be downloaded directly here:

http://design.medeek.com/calculator/sketchup/medeek_floor_ext.rbz

Note that this is a BETA release and does not include all of the future planned functionality (ie. openings, beams etc...) I am only posting this release in a few select locations to allow power users to test it out first and help me further debug and refine it. After approximately a week I will send out a notification to all users letting them know that the release is now publicly available. Hopefully in that time I can catch the most glaring bugs and issues so that my inbox does not become swamped.

Also all those who have been issued licenses in the last year or so will have their expiration update date of their license automatically renewed so that it will be active for one year starting from tomorrow's date (09/09/2025).

The Move Floor Edge tool is working as it should:

This tool is very similar to the tool in the complex roof module with some minor adjustments.