General Plusspec Comments and Suggestions

[Kenny]

I’ve just used PlusSpec on a 7 day trial which has just been introduced. This is great that a trial version is now offered.

I’ve used it to model a house that I’m shortly about to build which I thought would be a great way to get to grips with the software. I’m very familiar with Sketchup so it was fairly easy to pick up. I’ve just had an email from PlusSpec inviting me to post any suggestions to the forum. Well you asked for it! Apologies for the long list but I noted issues as they arose when I was using it. There are a lot. Some may well be down to not being familiar with the software. Some are also down to the Australiacentric focus at the moment. More UK specific and custom abilities are promised however. I am in two minds about buying it at this stage since there are so many shortcomings for UK design in particular. I did however invest in SketchUp version 1 about 15 years ago and as a user I had a lot of influence in the early years providing feedback which I wouldn’t have had if I had waited until it was ‘perfect’, which as you all know, no software is ever perfect.

Here is my list of comments:

General Issues and suggestions
Should have an indexed PDF manual not just a few videos
Should be able to copy attributes from other parts eg walls, windows etc so parameters can be quickly set or changed. I had to set up the same parameters over and over for the bay window sections for example.
Also need the ability to for the Plusspec dialogue to remember the last selection.
There should better control over the appearance of 2d plans/elevations eg colours, hatching etc
I would recommend tool tips
Should be able to add details such as wall ties, movement joists, DPM etc.

Bugs
After installing Plusspec copying from floorplan file (attached) crashes SketchUp
Internal walls crash SketchUp
“There are still uncompleted fields” error message for walls when trying to change the height. That is why I have walls sticking out of the roof!

Walls
Stud timbers are added to walls in the dialogue whether wanted or not. This is not necessary for masonry walls in the UK.
Need an option to create a wall offset for tracing foundations or be able to draw walls on centre line
Walls at right angles in middle of wall don’t join.
Walls don’t join to previous wall if continuing
Adding materials in the dialogue eg plasterboard, doesn’t make the walls physically thicker.
Wall tool should still say live when using the orbit tool. It cuts out and you have to start again if you reposition the model to see the next wall point.
100mm block is only 90mm
Materials should be displayed as constructed and different materials should tie in eg brick above block should be stretcher bond or facing brick above engineering brick etc.
Real answer is custom walls: ability to add custom descriptions and custom materials. Walls should be completely customisable right down to specifying each individual layer of a wall and its thickness which then displays in 2d/3d. Then they should be able to be saved in a library for re-use.
Insert should allow option to realign just the latest section of wall not just the whole connected wall.

Foundation/Slabs
Footings don’t join if not creating all at once
No beam and block floor option.
As with walls should be able to build up layers and set parameters eg beam and block 150mm/insulation 150mm/screed 75mm

Windows/Doors
Should be able to set all the parameters then insert like a normal Sketchup window component. I find it awkward to insert with the two clicks to set the width. The bay window took many attempts on the limited facets it was inserting into.
Why do we need to select a wall before inserting a door/window? I keep forgetting and it takes more time.
Facility to add window sills and headers
Need ability to remember last selection for windows/doors
Need a bay window tool: bay windows very awkward to draw and don’t display correctly
Need a dormer window tool
Also a rooflight tool
Real answer is far more customisations and be able to design windows and doors with different frame proportions, number of glazing bars, different openings etc all with a graphical interface. Then have ability to save them to a library.

Stairs
As with other elements should be able to change far more settings and draw more stair options. I had to draw the stair manually that I wanted.
Codes should only be advisory. In the UK, a stairs minimum stair run can be 220mm not 240mm. It should be up to the designer what size of stairs. In an old house if a renovation was being designed, many building parts don’t meet regulations so should still be able to draw them at any size.
Stairs units don’t match file units eg metres: always in mm
No handrails shown only wireframes
Stairs don’t cut holes in the floor slab above and has to be done manually
Walls don’t mould with stairs above eg under stairs cupboards.

Roofs
Walls don’t mould with roofs automatically
Roofs don’t move with walls, the roof has to be redrawn.
No flat roof options in the roof tool

Quantities
Should calculate numbers of bricks, blocks, roof tiles etc rather than just an area.

[Kenny]

By the way here is a link to the floorplan file that crashes when copying it to try and paste it into another file. Now that my trial has expired SketchUp no longer crashes!

mediafire.com/download/owx3e … opying.zip

[Dean]

Hi Kenny,

Thank you for trialing PlusSpec and giving us your feedback.

We have taken everything you have said onboard and I have also answered a few of your suggestions/comments below.

General Issues and suggestions.

K - “Should be able to copy attributes from other parts eg walls, windows etc so parameters can be quickly set or changed. I had to set up the same parameters over and over for the bay window sections for example.
Also need the ability to for the Plusspec dialogue to remember the last selection.”
D - This can already be done and is a feature that PlusSpec offers, it is explained in our PlusSpec tutorials. You can do this by (right-click > Create Similar Wall). Most of PlusSpecs dialogue boxes remember the last selection that you have drawn. There are only a few dialogue boxes that do not have this feature and this is due to users not wanting it on these dialogue boxes.

K - “There should better control over the appearance of 2d plans/elevations eg colours, hatching etc”
D - This is all done in SketchUps Layout. The hatching, colours, appearance etc are all editable in Layout and that is the best way to produce 2D working drawings.

K - "Should be able to add details such as wall ties, movement joists, DPM etc. "
D - Certain details like these can be added by drawing them quickly and then by using our ‘BIM Tool’ so that they will estimate and have BIM.

Bugs

K - “After installing Plusspec copying from floorplan file (attached) crashes SketchUp”
D - This is to do with the actual file. I have tested this and when you try copy one of the 2d plans the whole file crashes. In SKP8 the file will freeze and you lose all control. This has nothing to do with PlusSpec. SketchUp also picks this up as a file that needs to be fixed.

K - “Internal walls crash SketchUp”
D - There should be no issue with the internal walls, Please send over a screen capture if possible. I have also tested the internal walls with the model you sent over and they are working fine.

K - ““There are still uncompleted fields” error message for walls when trying to change the height. That is why I have walls sticking out of the roof!”
D - This is because you have made your wall height lower than your header height, PlusSpec does not allow you to draw a wall with a header height that is higher than the wall height as this is not possible in real life.

Walls

K - “Stud timbers are added to walls in the dialogue whether wanted or not. This is not necessary for masonry walls in the UK.”
D - For wall types that do not have timber framing, the timber will show in the dialogue box but will not be drawn or estimated inside of the model. The timber is only added for wall types that include timber studs.

“Need an option to create a wall offset for tracing foundations or be able to draw walls on centre line”
When drawing a wall press your right arrow on the keyboard. By pressing the right arrow you can draw from different parts of the wall.

K - “Walls at right angles in middle of wall don’t join.”
D - This is because they are different walls. This is something for the future of PlusSpec but thank you for the suggestion.

K - “Walls don’t join to previous wall if continuing”
D - Users can right-click > Meld Walls if they are touching or project and join if they aren’t touching. This will meld the walls together and join them. Understanding certain things like this is just from not knowing the software well enough.

“Adding materials in the dialogue eg plasterboard, doesn’t make the walls physically thicker.”
This will be released with the next coming releases

K - “Wall tool should still say live when using the orbit tool. It cuts out and you have to start again if you reposition the model to see the next wall point.”
D - The wall tool should stay live unless you select the select tool.

K - “100mm block is only 90mm”
D - This is because PlusSpec uses real product sizes. We have bigger plans for this in the future.

K - “Real answer is custom walls: ability to add custom descriptions and custom materials. Walls should be completely customisable right down to specifying each individual layer of a wall and its thickness which then displays in 2d/3d. Then they should be able to be saved in a library for re-use.”
D - We have 2 features coming soon that will solve this for you.

Foundation/slabs

K - “Footings don’t join if not creating all at once”
D - We will take this onboard

K - “No beam and block floor option. As with walls should be able to build up layers and set parameters eg beam and block 150mm/insulation 150mm/screed 75mm”
D - These are good suggestions and we have taken them on board.

Windows/Doors

K - “Should be able to set all the parameters then insert like a normal Sketchup window component. I find it awkward to insert with the two clicks to set the width. The bay window took many attempts on the limited facets it was inserting into.”
D - From user feedback, they prefer our way of inserting doors. Thank you for your suggestion.

K - “Facility to add window sills and headers”
D - You can add in window sills from the component tool. Headers are automatically drawn when a window or door is drawn inside of a wall.

K - “Need ability to remember last selection for windows/doors”
D - This already happens with the software. If this does stop happening it is best to do a factory reset.

K - “Need a bay window tool: bay windows very awkward to draw and don’t display correctly”
D - We have plans for a bay window in the future.

K - “Need a dormer window tool”
D - This can already be done, There is a bit of manual editing though. We have plans to create a tutorial on this.

K - “Also a rooflight tool”
D - Thank you for the suggestion.

K - “Real answer is far more customisations and be able to design windows and doors with different frame proportions, number of glazing bars, different openings etc all with a graphical interface. Then have ability to save them to a library.”
D - This has all been talked about. For now our users will have to manually make changes and draw to suit.

Stairs

K - “As with other elements should be able to change far more settings and draw more stair options. I had to draw the stair manually that I wanted.
Codes should only be advisory. In the UK, a stairs minimum stair run can be 220mm not 240mm. It should be up to the designer what size of stairs. In an old house if a renovation was being designed, many building parts don’t meet regulations so should still be able to draw them at any size.”
D - In future versions of PlusSpec this will all be customisable and/or set to a certain countries standards.

K - “No handrails shown only wireframes”
D - This is due to saving geometry and file size. The handrails are only shown for basic BIM use. A user can go and draw their own designed handrails that will fit the stairs.

K - “Stairs don’t cut holes in the floor slab above and has to be done manually.”
D - This is due to stairs being there own component and not always is the void going to be exactly the same when you build. What we do have is that you can select the slab and then right-click> Add void/staircase. You can then go and draw your own voids.

K - “Walls don’t mould with stairs above eg under stairs cupboards.”
D - For now the stairs and walls do not read each other. In the future this can be done, thank you for the suggestion.

Roofs

K - “Roofs don’t move with walls, the roof has to be redrawn”
D - Yes this is correct. Creating a roof in PlusSpec is very simple and can be done with only a few clicks of a button.

K - “No flat roof options in the roof tool”
D - In our standard roof tool, you can create a skillion roof with a 1 pitch. I will bring the flat roof option up with the other guys.

Quantities
K - “Should calculate numbers of bricks, blocks, roof tiles etc rather than just an area.”
D - This is something for the future of PlusSpec.

Hopefully this was the response you were after. As you stated early in your post, there are many comments that are just down to knowing the software and becoming experienced with PlusSpec.

Kind Regards
Dean

[Kenny]

Dean, thanks for the comprehensive reply.

I agree that a lot of the issues concern inexperience in using the software. There are however a number of issues which could be improved but it looks like you are on to a lot of them. Some however look like they won’t be addressed for a while.

I’m going to give it some consideration as to whether to purchase it. The main issues are more customisations for walls, floor slabs and stairs. These are essential for UK design. Is there a time-frame for these as well as the other improvements that you mentioned?

[Drew]

Hi Kenny,

Our upcoming releases will begin addressing the issues that you raised. Also, the creator of PlusSpec will be attending the SketchUp 3D Basecamp 2015 in London. He will be showcasing how PlusSpec is making major advancements to suit international regions - including the UK.

We are pushing very hard to make PlusSpec more suitable for the International market - and these improvements will be released over the coming months.