Wall Plugin for SketchUp

Started by Medeek, March 05, 2017, 12:03:48 AM

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Medeek

It would be nice if there was a function which created a Shearwall schedule, like I make on my own structural sheets.  I will need to give this some further thought.



Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Working on the shearwall (panel) anchor bolts and sole plate fasteners.

First look at some anchor bolts associated with a shear wall:



When a shearwall rests directly on a slab-on-grade then the anchor bolts are typically connected directly to the sole plate of the shearwall, however when the wall rests on a floor as shown then the anchor bolts will anchor the sill plate below the wall and threaded rods with coupler nuts are utilized to extend the holdown bolts up to the HDU holdowns.  In this situation the engineer will also typically call out the size and spacing of fasteners that connect the sole plate of the shearwall to the rim joist below it.

To facilitate various wall/floor configurations the vertical and horizontal offset parameters for shearwall anchor bolts are made available for each shearwall, and can be adjusted independently.

P.S.
Looking at this image it immediately jumps out at me that a critical component within this shearwall assembly is missing.  Note that I am not showing fasteners, they are too small to model for the most part.  Let's see if anyone can pick it out.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

Version 1.7.7b - 12.28.2020
- Enabled anchor bolts within the shearwall module.
- Enabled sole plate fasteners within the shearwall module.
- Enabled top plate clips within the shearwall module.







All that is left is the specialized blocking for shearwalls.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

I've seen both ways of handling stacked shearwall panels, however the strap method would make more sense from an economic standpoint:





The main point here is that you have either option at your disposal with the new shearwall module.

Notice the inclusion of the top plate clips on the lower shearwall and the 16d Common fasteners in the sole plate of the upper shearwall.  Both of these items are optional however if that degree of detail is required or desired it is also readily available to the designer or engineer.

See model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/3cedfba5-baaf-4e8a-8b36-0357c630b6d3/Shearwalls-2
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

I wouldn't exactly call this a schedule as much as a CSV or spread sheet with all of the shearwall data contained within it.  Regardless here is a first look at the Shearwall Schedule tool (preview menu):



Note that the preview (or HTML menu) only shows limited information.  The CSV output is much more comprehensive, listing all of the parameters for the shearwall (ie. holdowns, anchor bolts, clips, blocking etc...)

I still have not ironed out all of the details I want to show or present within this schedule tool so additional **feedback** will be key as to how this evolves.  I will probably dig into my original shearwall calculator and figure out how to best incorporate some engineering into this tool.  I think it would be useful for the tool to calculate the shear capacity of the SW given its dimensions, sheathing and nail patterns.  I also think additional parameter(s) for the actual applied shear load (wind and seismic) might be useful as well, I will need to give this some more thought.

Note that the tool is smart enough to detect if there are windows or doors within the bounds of a shearwall panel and correctly labels it with a "PERF" designation, which signifies it is a perforated shearwall.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

An example of the CVS output loaded into Excel:



Notice that have switched the order of some of the parameters to a more logical order.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.7.8 - 01.03.2021
- Added the Shearwall Schedule tool to the SW toolbar.

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

First look at shearwall blocking:



Note that in this example the blocking has been rotated 90 degrees.  The rotation parameter allow for zero or 90 deg. rotation.  Also note that any number of rows of blocks can be specified.  In this case I had a 12' wall so I went with blocking at 4' and 8' (48,96).

Each shearwall panel can have its own blocking which is independent from other shearwalls and is also independent of any general wall blocking.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

Version 1.7.9 - 01.05.2021
- Enabled blocking within the shearwall module.



The blocking module algorithm for shearwalls was a bit more of hassle than I had hoped but after about 16 hours of scratching my head I managed to cobble it together.  I'm fairly happy and confident with the results but I am sure there will be a few cases where it may need further refinement.  The true debugging process really only starts now as I had it over to the customer to use in real design situations.

I've beaten the Shearwall "horse" for about a week now (Dec. 27th - Jan. 5th), I do have more engineering work that can be done but I think I will probably give it a rest for a while and move on to other hot items within the Truss plugin.

If you have additional items that you would like to see added to this module please feel free to send me an email.  I am much more likely to address follow up items when the programming is still fresh on my mind.  A month from now it will take more effort to dig back into the shearwall module and add or improve existing features.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.7.9b - 01.05.2021
- Added the following Simpson Strong-Tie holdowns to the shearwall module: HTT4, HTT5, HDQ8.



Added per customer request.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.7.9c - 01.09.2021
- Added the following Simpson Strong-Tie holdowns to the shearwall module: HHDQ11, HHDQ14.



Another customer request.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.8.0 - 01.16.2021
- Added a "Remove Cladding Lines" option within the global settings.

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

I've been meaning to add the sliding glass door type for a while but it always seems to get pushed back due to some other priority.  So tonight I hammered out the final details and I will work on adding it as an additional door type.

I am using Andersen's 100 series (no flange) sliding glass door as the template.  This should provide a fairly universal option for a sliding glass door.  More exotic options can always be inserted by the user.

Initially I will disable sidelites and transoms for this door type however I will probably add those options in at a later date as they are requested.

My quick and dirty diagram outlining the dimensions for this door type:

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

First look at a sliding glass door:



Note that sliding glass doors are quite a bit different from regular swing doors, obviously they slide when opened (not rotate).  However, there are also other parameters in the draw and edit menu that are not applicable.

The SLD can be specified as a left or right hand door.

I have not yet enabled sidelites or transoms for this door type.  Additionally, only rectangular door geometry is allowed for this door type.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.8.1 - 01.18.2021
- Added sliding glass doors to the door module.





This item has been on the todo list for far too long.  I'm excited to finally get it out the door, no pun intended.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/ba03e59c-cc03-4824-819f-f792f05a2943/Sliding-Glass-Door-1
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.8.1b - 01.19.2021
- Added an "Animation" parameter to the General tab of the Global Settings.
- Enabled "animated" opening and closing of sliding glass doors.



Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.8.1c - 01.20.2021
- Enabled "animated" opening and closing of single and double man doors.
- Enabled "animated" opening and closing of garage doors.



Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

I will work on adding in a second sheathing layer and organizing the draw and edit menus a bit better:



Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer


Medeek

First look at an exterior wall with the second layer of sheathing material installed. In this case I have chosen foam insulation as the material:

Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.8.2 - 01.26.2021
- Enabled a second layer of sheathing for exterior rectangular walls.
- Added four additional parameters to the Sheathing tab of the Global Settings.

!!! CAUTION !!!
Upgrading from all previous versions of the wall plugin to this version (1.8.2) will require that all rectangular wall presets be deleted and recreated.  Please do not upgrade to this latest version until you understand the implications of this upgrade.  Also note that the 2nd layer of sheathing has not been implemented for gable, shed or hip wall types, only for rectangular walls.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

As I was wrapping things up today with the new release (Version 1.8.2) I got yet another email requesting steel studs be incorporated into the plugin.

With a bit of clever manipulations of some basic materials applied to certain faces you can create a fairly realistic looking steel stud (also one face is hidden):



View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/967d7267-f6c3-4838-974b-85070e19629f/Steel-Studs-Study-1

The problem I see with this is that the stud lengths are really not the correct lengths that the steel studs would be.  The other major issue is that the around openings the configuration of steel studs with steel headers is a bit more complex than a standard wood framed wall.

So barring major changes to the code the best I can probably do right now is a "cosmetic" steel framed wall.  To do this properly would require entirely new algorithms for bottom and top channels, steel headers and the proper configuration of the king stud to header connections.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.8.2b - 01.27.2021
- Enabled a second layer of sheathing for exterior gable walls.



I only have the hip and shed walls left to update.

!!! CAUTION !!!
Installing this update will require that you delete and recreate any GABLE wall presets that you have previously configured.  This update will not affect any rectangular, shed or hip wall presets.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer

Medeek

Version 1.8.2c - 01.28.2021
- Enabled a second layer of sheathing for exterior shed and hip walls.



!!! CAUTION !!!
Installing this update will require that you delete and recreate any HIP or SHED wall presets that you have previously configured.  This update will not affect any rectangular or gable wall presets.
Nathaniel P. Wilkerson, P.E.
Designer, Programmer and Engineer