Has anyone tried Google Sketch-up yet? And did you know it was free?

http://sketchup.google.com/

"Google SketchUp (free) is an easy-to-learn 3D modeling program that enables you to explore the world in 3D. With just a few simple tools, you can create 3D models of houses, sheds, decks, home additions, woodworking projects - even space ships."



Mike...

I think I'll try to download it sometime when I'm at a free WI-FI.  I need to take a computer down to Florence soon to download an audio book or two anyway.  For some reason it didn't work last night.

Google Sketchup is a very cool tool.
I played with the demo a while back and was impressed. I'm glad it's now free for us to tinker with.

I did and thought it was super!  If all it did was show you where the sun and shadows would land during the day/seasons it would be worth the download, but it's so much more.  It's not precise like a CAD program, but for quick stuff, it is super!  I did the tutorial in about 15 minutes and whipped up a model of the buildings on my land.  

This is a must have for site planning unless you have something $$ that does it better.

I really like it, it's amazingly intuitive. Go through the quick tutorials, watch the short videos on the Sketchup web page, and you're ready to make some impressive looking 3d models. The animated Instructor feature is also well done and very helpful when starting out. I tried Design Workshop Lite before but found it a bit frustrating to use even though I'm not new to CAD.

I think Sketchup will give adequate precision because you can specify the exact dimensions you want in feet or inches, or both. Draw a rectangle, type in: 20',12'8" and hit enter. It would be nice if there were an on-screen grid with snapping (or if I could find it). You can draw construction lines though. Export capabilities are pretty limited, no CAD formats, but I guess they have to save something for the pro version.

Mike, you're a modeling guru, what are your thoughts?

If we get some interesting and usable models that people are willing to share I'll build a download section for access.

There's a very useful window tool available. Download the Window-maker and Parametric files from http://www.sketchup.com/?sid=79, unzip them and copy the scripts to the Plugins directory under where you have Sketchup installed. The next time you start Sketchup there is a Windows item on the Tools menu. You specify length and width, choose doublehung or slider, and you get a window to drop into your model.

Ok, Here's what I came up with after a few hours. It's my future FirstDay home:

Neat stuff all of you have come up with.

I'm having trouble getting my drawing saved as a jpeg so I can display it here.  Any help out there?

thanks

Download Gadwin Printscreen - a free utility that will capture your screen view and make it into a J-PEG that is postable here.

http://www.gadwin.com/printscreen/

Look - I posted my drawing.

Thanks Glenn for the Gadwin tip:

The house I'm building (30' x 57'); up is North; drawn with Sketch-Up (took about 1 hour)

Thanks to Daddymem for the original Gadwin tip too.

bartholomew:

I've tried downloading the window builder rb file and installed (copied) it to the subdirectory.

Opps, you say to also download the parmetric.rb file too. Maybe I should try that  

Now it works! Very cool  

To export, make sure your screen is at the position you want to view your drawing. Then do a File -- Export --- 2D Graphic. This wil bring up a Save As dialog, and you want to put the "Export Type" drop down as .JPG  or .BMP. Then you can save it as a .JPG graphic file and post it here.
I think it would be cool to find a way to host some space somewhere to post countryplans-created sketchup models  for people to play with. Anyone got some server space?

Thanks Dustin; that is one slick way to get a jpeg out of the program.

Right now I use photobucket.com to store my pics, but it won't be long before I exceed the 100 meg capacity.  Anybody got any other free storage alternatives they use?

If anyone has a sketch up model file they can share and let others work with just send it as an attachment to an email addressed to sketchup@countryplans.com. In the email tell me a bit about the design and when we have a few I'll put together a download page where we can see an image and description. For now let's stick to skp files and keep them in the theme of the smaller designs most of our members are planning.

Also, if you have tips about how to use sketch up for our purposes give us those as well.

(For instance, I'm having trouble getting things such as a 20' x 30' scaled floorplan with 6" walls.)

One thing about that window tool is it doesn't actually put glass in the frame! I tried to add a sky reflection and ended up turning the back wall transparent.

I'm not sure I see the advantage of having a separate CountryPlans download area for SketchUp models when Google already provides one... http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/
If we upload models there we can tag them with "CountryPlans" so they'd be easy for us to find. And if we tag them with "cabin cottage" and add the CountryPlans.com url, then others can find them and might follow the link to join us here. Here's a nice staircase that could be stretched / flipped to fit a plan...
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=45d9f4344c41e2ef55cf2c361543f528

I was also wondering about the easiest way to build a house model. With Design Workshop you would draw a large block representing the house and then use the "wallify" command to get real walls. SketchUp doesn't seem to have an equivalent command. Instead would you build the floor then draw the walls on top and stretch them up, repeat for the second floor, and then do the roof? Would it be easier to draw the roof in profile and stretch it out to length rather than trying to pull it up? Would leaving one wall off make it easier to finish off the inside?

Oh yeah, was going to add that sizing stuff is easy once you get used to typing in the dimensions. Just draw a line and then type the length you want. You don't have to click anywhere, just type. A number by itself is taken as inches. To enter feet or feet and inches use the ticks: 6'8". For a rectangle, enter the dimensions separated by a comma: 9',12'6"

good review:

http://reviews.cnet.com/Google_SketchUp/4505-3633_7-31861341.html?tag=cnetfd.sd

I have been fooling around with SketchUp and enjoying it.  Here are some pics of what I did.  The cabins are variations on John's Little House - the red cabin has a 6 ft extension along the long side for a covered front porch and a small foyer and storage.  The blue little house is my interpretation of a shingle stlye cottage - its still basically Johns little house with a different roof and a 6 ft extension along the short side.  I need to add real windows and draw up the floor plans.

Neat! I particularily like the Red Cabin and the saltbox roof extension.

Thanks John.  I prefer the red one also mainly because I think it would be easier to build and the style fits in more for a country house than the other.  I was inspired by the little houses on Bearskin Neck in  Rockport, Mass for the little shingle style house and it would prob look better at the beach.
I think I should be able to use your plans for the 14 x 24 little house and add the saltbox addition to it.
But I still have other designs floating around in my head - like my idea for a pole house.  Oh well, commitment is so difficult  :-/    But it would be nice to have a cabin on my land.  Every time I camp up there I imagine a party of black bears dancing around my campfire while I am sleeping in my tent!  

Jim

I finally got to give shetchup a try and I'm delighted with it! Thanks for pointing it out!

Cross sections made easy.

Impressive!