Has anyone tried Google Sketch-up yet? And did you

Started by mikeschn, April 28, 2006, 06:19:43 PM

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speedfunk

yeah this program ....FREAKIN rocks!   8-)

jraabe

#26
Wow!! You guys are pickin' this stuff up pretty fast.  :D

I think my older brain isn't as tech savy as I sometimes like to think.  :-?


n74tg

John:
Take some time and just PLAY with the program.  My first drawings were pretty crude, but now after playing for a couple of hours they have gotten much better.  Now, I have no hesitation about using SketchUp to help me visualize any 3d problem.  Most recent example; how I'm gonna get all my plumbing in the crawlspace and not interfere with the hvac ducting or the tornado shelter or the basement workshop; all of which are in conditioned air space.

Jeff(Guest)

Just wanted to show what i've done ...this is my floorplan ( I didn't want to create the roof and such quite yet b/c I have found with walls and roof very tough to work on interior...I'll post the exterior soon too......





I'm sorry if the pics are to big ... next time I'll try to resize... at least it shows detail? :)

also wanted to note that this program has a fast learning curve..it's quite amazing the detial you can get so quickly....

speedfunk

one more of outside....  the boxes are just rough idea's of the northside berm


Amanda_931

Kitchens tend to get hot, especially in the summertime.

(on the other hand, solar heat is nice too, in the winter)

If that's a big plate-glass window in the kitchen, it might be a good idea to prepare accordingly.

(and the cook may not want all the kitchen visible to, say, the UPS guy or the visiting missionaries, through a very large window, which would mean that all the trouble you went through for daylighting in the kitchen may be wasted)

When you go to buy, might check to see if the dishwasher is going to be intolerable with a refrigerator that most likely extends past it a couple of inches--of course you could move the dishwasher a few inches--since the counter top will probably extend over it--put space for trays or something between that and the fridge.

jraabe

#31
Nice layout Jeff. I think the little kitchen works quite well. Amanda is probably right about the window sizes (depending on orientation and climate) but you could also do a trellis or exterior shades to control the heat in summer. You will probably end up changing that big window anyway as the design evolves.

What are your dimensions for that floorplan?

speedfunk

thanks for the suggestions guys (& girl  8-) ). The windows do face true south.  The windows are sized much larger then a conventional passive solar house, being that this house will have ALOT more mass then conventional solar homes.  Also I will most likley come up with a insulating curtin for the large windows , mostly for the winter nights. I'm using the concepts listed in john haits PaHs http://www.earthshelters.com/Tour.html.  The whole floor will be concrete with no insulation under it.  The insulation is setup like an skirt around the house, going 20 ft horizontially out in all directions and about 2 ' under the ground.  The insulation (2" sytro ) is alternated with plasitc and pitched so that water will not go near the heat storage area.....(next to the home ) & will not wick away my stored heat...bad water!!  So basically all the dry earth will act as a heat sink, i'm acutally counting on the summer sun to heat up the slab (recharging the earth battery) and in turn the heat sink under it so that come winter that stored energy will be drawn back out of the earth to heat my home.  Here's from rocky mountin institute's web page , i suck at explaining things lol :)

What is Passive Annual Heat Storage?
It is a proven method of producing a stable temperature within a building by controlling the natural heat flow on an annual basis by means of materials placement and building design. As a result, the home can maintain a nearly constant comfortable temperature. In the summertime heat is extracted naturally from the home and stored in the earth about the home. In the winter that stored heat comes back out, also by natural heat flow, to keep the home warm. Essentially, PAHS, when properly applied, produces a home with a built-in temperature.


Amanda the great part about our home site is it sits on top of a south facing mountin and we are in the middle of a wooded 15 acre plot.  Privacy :)  as far as the dishwasher good ideas...I'll prob just burry it under the counter top  like u mentioned.  

John:  The dimensions are 30x22.... with the loft being 10x12'6" (10x10) subtracting the stair way up for a total of 760 sq. ft

Amanda_931

#33
Several of us have at least thought about PAHS.

Probably not hard enough to buy the second edition of the book, though--there is a copy of the first edition in my truck.  Even though I've concluded that I don't have the right shape to my land to do it right, and not the earth-moving skills either (and the best of the back-hoe guys stays backed up several months).

One person here has put cool tubes under his property (it's hot where he lives).
I have a couple of friends on other lists who are playing with either PAHS or AGS.  One is on his second house built that way.  I've shamelessly stolen ideas from him.  The other is trying to make lemonade with a high seasonal water table.  She thinks it may work.


speedfunk

Yeah it's not for every site.   Good southern exposure, can't have high water table and need enough room for umbrella.   Got the backhoe lined up though  ;D 2nd week of july I'll be able to make big holes

oh btw amanda ...I loved to e-mail your friend that's built the pahs or if they have a website to gain some of his experiences...
pm if they wouln't mind at all..

Jeff

didn't mean to stray from topic... :)  maybe b/c i havn't really used a cad type program that didn't baffle me complelty that i think the sketch up is so cool.  The limited expore to home programs were frustrating unless your building a cookie cutter ranch ( for me anyway).  

tjm73

Now available for MAC!!  WOO HOO now I can play with it too!!!  ;D