Hi,
I am looking for some alternate wall types, specifically lightweight frame walls for pole homes, traditionally a frame with sacking and corrugated steel. Is this presently available in the Wall Tool ( have had a good look and can’t find it ) or is this something that we can add in? The James Hardie product range would be of great use, colour bond etc.
Cheers,
Tony
Hi Tony we plan on getting every manufacturer in Australia in the next 6 months, unfortunately this is in the hands of the manufacturer or the companies marketing persons ability to see the advantages. I personally receive 30 requests a week from users looking for more brand specific content. You could help us out by contacting the companies that you need and cc us in and I will organise one of our guys to chase it up for you. info@rubysketch.com
I cannot talk too much about what is coming in the next couple of releases but we have been working hard on making the specification process even easier and a lot more comprehensive. You may have read on the end of my posts that this is just the beginning. I actually mean this literally, we have some COOL features coming that are included in your purchase for the first 12 months.
I can talk about the hand rail tool and it is a beauty, expect to see it shortly!
I gather you are a builder? If so there are some strategies that you can use to help you sell jobs and charge for a quote. I can start another topic about this if you are interested.
Thanks Andrew,
The upcoming features sound very exciting, look forward to them. I can understand that the library of materials is a great deal of work, and I will certainly contact suppliers for the relevant details. Do you have a pro-forma that we could use to aid us getting the best information for you?
Am flattered you think I am a builder, am actually a recording engineer. I am a future owner builder who is presently in the scoping and feasibility phase of design for our home, its a steep and difficult block and we have a limited budget so tools like Sketchup and now PlusSpec are wonderful in helping us save money by doing as much work and planning ourselves. I have experience in CAD and various trades so am taking to this part quickly. Being able to come up with design ideas, model them, and then get a ball park cost is fantastic!
The PlusSpec BIM Tool is a great stop gap, where I can make my own components and then assign a size, cost and other BIM metadata to it, then it shows up in the TakeOff.
Cheers
In 2 weeks we should have a full set up of materials for several countries. A list of what we need and a list of what is being requested.
TIP
Did you know you can write over the top of the take off data?
Yes this way you can write in exactly what you want as everyone has different terminology in every country.
Hope that helps.
If you can think of products that you would like to see in PlusSpec that we do not have feel free to post them here & or contact the office via email and we will do our best to get them for you.
Thanks for the reply.
Hi Andrew, do you mean in the browser version of the Take Off? Yes, can see this is possible, but that means terminology changes for regions need to be done each and every time a Take Off is done.
Perhaps a better way would be to allow users the ability to edit their material collection and layering methodology?
hello,
I agree with this essential function.
plusspec is a revolution for using Sketchup but today the app is developed based on brand products.
I think it lacks a parametric function for each designer to customize the following components constructive habits of his country.
could find generic and configurable materials, for example:
concrete blocks x cm
Interior/exterior insulation: x cm
wooden bearing structure: x cm
I think it is less difficult to develop this parametric function, than trying to get all the construction products for each continent?
I am European, and in its current version is unusable pluspec professionally.
it would be wonderful if I could build my own library of components. Other users have already done this request.
What is the position of Team plusspec on this point?
I too would love to be able to add user defined wall types…
I agree. Customisation would make this plug-in unstoppable!
Regards,
dp
This is coming Gabby64!
Could you all provide some more examples ?
Thanks
Dan
Hi,
Great plug in, is it possible yet to generate individual wall construction details? I would love to be able to put this plug in into full use in my business (we design and build sustainable houses in modular volumetric form and have developed our own construction system for this). We use Fermacell as our internal wall lining and STEICOuniversal woodfibre sheathing board externally with a blown-in STEICOzell wood fibre insulation. Can I create these products myself in a library or do you require the manufacturers to provide you with the relevant information?
I can see that you are developing your product and there must be numerous fronts on which to develop, the existing function is great, but this would be a key strength from my perspective.
Thanks
Hi Matt,
Thank you for your Feedback and suggestions!
This is a feature we are currently working on!
If you’d like to send me an email at daniel@rubysketch.com - When it’s available i’ll get you to test it in your own environment for some feedback?
Thanks,
Dan
Thanks Daniel, I’ll send you an e-mail just now.
Is there a way I can set up to receive a notification if a reply has been added to one of y posts or to a post that I have submitted a reply to? I hadn’t realised that there was a reply to this post till just now.
Thanks again
Hi Matt,
When viewing a thread - Down in the bottom left you can click Subscribe to thread - That should send you an email alert ? (I’m about to test it now)
Thanks,
Dan
Thanks Dan
Hey guys, you’ll be happy to know we have been working on getting you customisable wall types… Hoooray
The next release will have the option to add your own material and in most cases associate a thickness with that material. We will keep you posted.
Hi,
this is a very important advanced,
so far I do not see how to use plusspec with the construction techniques used in Europe.
if the walls become customizable, it’s great!
Give us some news!
thanks
Hi Laurent,
We will keep you updated on our customisable walls.
What country in Europe do you live in?
Kind Regards
Dean
Hi Dean,
I left the forum after a Relocation professional premises and busy year …!
I am an architect in France and I like to know if you have advanced to the libraries of materials used couremment in europe. I have not yet bought pluspec, I plan to do, like many architects using Sketchup, if the following conditions are operational:
the most important is: parametric walls with generics materials:
it is very important to adapt to the Standard European plusspec, I saw that there was little user in Europe, I think this is due to a lack of ability to customize the building materials used.
for information europeans need the following materials:
Construction Standard hollow masonry block (generic and parametric there are a lot of models used and hugely manufacturer)
reinforced concrete construction; Standard thickness 16cm / 18cm and parametric
floor joists under construction + concrete slab concrete slab +: thickness 16 cm / 20 cm
Aerated concrete block construction: YTONG XELLA or generic
construction hollow or solid brick: IMERYS / or generic WIENERBERGER
Standard wood frame construction with amount: 145mmx45 mm / 175mmx45mm, it would be interesting to develop a timber frame walls parametric module, habits are different from one country to another in Europe.
Wood wool STEICO or manufacturer HOMATHERM
wooden beam shape I: Manufacturer STEICO
wall insulation from the inside (see the manufacturer Saint Gobain plasterboard)
wall insulation from the outside (see the manufacturer: knauf gold Saint Gobain)
So much for the basics, I remain at your disposal for any information.
best regards
Laurent
Hello,
I have not tried PlusSpec yet. It looks impressive, but I don 't know whether it would be the right choise for my practice as a Belgian architect. Do you have clients in Belgium and the Netherlands? Anyone on this forum?
I do al lot of renovation-projects. In those projects the excisting walls are extremely different: all types, all materials, differtent sizes,… Can I create those Wall Types myself in Plusspec? Same with floors, roofs,…
Another thing. Existing walls, floors, roofs ,… that stay unchanged in the renovation: can I import them as a named group or component in the workflow Plusspec uses in Sketchup? It is not realistic to redraw all the different items using PlusSpec; it would take to much time to do so.
Kind regards,
Veerle
Hello Everyone,
We are very excited to announce that PlusSpec 2015 has been officially launched, and is available for download.
PlusSpec 2015 has incorporated many improvements - but for all of you following this post - you will be very excited to know that you can now create and customize your own wall-types/materials and structural framing. Any new wall-types/materials or framing that you create will be saved in your personal library, and available for you to select, at the click of a button. You can also edit your custom materials at any time. With PlusSpec 2015, you have total design freedom. You can design with parametric modelling, which you can customize - or you can use the free-form 3D sketching with the native SketchUP tools.
Therefore, PlusSpec is now ready and suitable for any country - and you can adapt it to whatever materials or construction methods that you use in your country/region/practice. With PlusSpec 2015, your imagination is your only boundary!
We will be putting up some more detailed tutorials about customization/creation of wall-types, framing, and materials in the coming weeks. Please keep an eye on our Tutorials: youtube.com/user/rubysketch
We are still in the process of incorporating real products from real suppliers around the world - so, if you have any suppliers that you would like to see added to our standard library - please do not hesitate to provide us with their details.
A full list of improvements in our first official release: PlusSpec 2015, will be posted in our Blog.