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Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
Green Building Bible, fourth edition (both books)
These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

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General: SketchUp or equivalent?

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    Looking for some basic (possibly free??) Software just to put a few ideas together on a house my wife and I are interested in?

    It's a 2 bedroom bungalow with hipped roof, looking at adding a dormer and possibly double extension if possible.

    Something I've always been interested in (architecture design) but never really persued it

    Thanks
    • CommentAuthorrevor
    • CommentTimeApr 15th 2023
     
    I use Turbo Cad have done since windows 3.1 so a long time. It is a full Architectural software not that I am proficient in its use from that point of view. I use it more as a calculator of angles etc came very useful when we did our house things like joinery angles mitre bevel cuts etc. Distributed by IMSI who do a number of different design software for the homeowner. Google them see if they have something simple to offer. Not free but simple software start quite cheaply. Whatever you choose you will need to spend quite a bit of time to learn to use it. I have just googled "architectural software" and a whole load of products came up some free.
  3.  
    If SketchUp is recommended, any idea which version is best?

    And can it be used to design kitchens for example?

    Upload photos and edit/amend etc?
  4.  
    Since they were sold to Trimble, the free version of SketchUp has become increasingly limited. I think it is web-based only now, rather than something you install locally on a PC.

    That said, it is still the most intuitive and straightforward to pick-up software I have ever used (in architecture) and the pro version remains a staple part of my output for all sorts of reasons.

    For the purposes you describe above, I think it will serve you well. Have a go with the free version and see if you encounter any obstacles would be my advice. Then you can start to investigate what the various paid-versions can offer.

    I designed my kitchen in it, but that was because someone else had already modelled all the Ikea units so I could just download them and move around.

    There are also loads of plugins and tutorials that expand the basic capabilities once you've got to grips with it.

    NB. One thing it's not so good for is good old-fashioned 2D scale drawings. There is a related program they offer called LayOut but I don't think it's that great for the price you pay. If screenshots are enough, then its fine, but you'll need to look at the options if you want something more formal.
    • CommentAuthorMike1
    • CommentTimeApr 17th 2023 edited
     
    Posted By: revorI use Turbo Cad have done since windows 3.1 so a long time.
    Me too, since DOS (and I'm still annoyed that I had to throw out my Epson printer when they went to Windows).

    TurboCAD is pretty good but, like most full CAD software, it has a huge learning curve. I'd guess that IMSI's Floorplan product would be easier to use, but haven't tried it https://www.imsidesign.com/products/floorplan

    I have played with SketchUp in the past, but never found a big use for it because, as Thomas says, it's 3D-oriented.

    For a lower-tech way of experimenting, I suggest drawing up the existing floor plans & elevations to scale (by hand is fine), make multiple prints / photocopies, and draw different ideas on them. And, if you want to go 3D, invest in some Lego.
    • CommentAuthorbhommels
    • CommentTimeApr 17th 2023
     
    Posted By: Mike1
    And, if you want to go 3D, invest in some Lego.

    +1
    A 4 pins/metre LEGO scale model gave me lots of insight on where the doors & windows should go, lines of sight etc. Very much recommended!
    • CommentAuthorneelpeel
    • CommentTimeApr 17th 2023
     
    For visualisation and kicking around ideas I think you can't beat Sketchup. You can model the exterior, grounds, etc, apply materials to get the right look and then view from various angles in perspective.
    For interiors you can drop in furniture and people and also view from the inside.
    • CommentAuthorcjard
    • CommentTimeApr 19th 2023
     
    "One thing it's not so good for is good old-fashioned 2D scale drawings"

    Worked well for me to just take a slice through the model at an appropriate height. I also used layers so I could turn off furniture, piping, electrics, turn on labels etc
    • CommentAuthorcjard
    • CommentTimeApr 19th 2023
     
    Like DT I also avoid the web versions. Sites like https://designerhacks.com/skp-download-all/ have old versions available, and I tend to use 2017 still though I don't know if the components warehouse (a library of pre made things like sofas and kitchen units) still works in the older versions. You can access it on th web and download/import to an old version of the built in downloader doesn't work

    One thing I would say if youre planning on using it, is take a few tutorials first - it has a brilliant system for drawing but it's not necessarily intuitive if you're used to basic concepts in 2D drawing and paint packages

    It looks like there is sufficient skill on here that you can get help with using it too
    •  
      CommentAuthorfostertom
    • CommentTimeApr 20th 2023 edited
     
    Bricscad is fully Autocad-compatible and interface-familiar, but far more capable, therefore is industry-standard for 2D accurate drawing. Plus full-functioned for 3D, unlike Autocad. It's far cheaper than Autocad but Bricscad Lite (includes full 3D unlike Autocad Lite) is no longer such a fantastic bargain as it was, at £545 for perpetual license or £290/yr. But there's a free Sketchup-like version - Shape - which is free and is 100% compatible with Bricscad (and Autocad).
  11.  
    cjard I can't get any of the links to work for older versions

    I'll have a look at a few of the other products suggested

    I want something the wife could almost say 'I want a window by there'. And then within a few clicks I can just add a window etc

    2d drawings would be good

    We'd probably engage with an architect on this project if our purchase offer gets accepted but we want to play around with some basic ideas ourselves
  12.  
    Posted By: VictorianecoI want something the wife could almost say 'I want a window by there'. And then within a few clicks I can just add a window etc


    Seriously, give SketchUp a go. Even the free website version will be enough for that kind of design exercise and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how user friendly it is.
    • CommentAuthorcjard
    • CommentTimeApr 24th 2023 edited
     
    > I want something the wife could almost say 'I want a window by there'. And then within a few clicks I can just add a window etc

    OK so at its most very basic that would look like this set of operations, assuming you wanted a 2000 wide x1000 high window, 800mm off the floor and 1m in from the room edge of a 4m x 5m room that hs 300mm thick walls:

    Press R to Select the rectangle tool
    Click to start drawing a rectangle on the floor, move the mouse a bit
    Type 4000,5000 and hit enter
    Press F to select the offset tool (it clones shapes larger or smaller than an existing shape)
    Click the rectangle to start offsetting it, move the mouse outside the rectangle, type 300 enter
    You now have a rectangle pair, one inside the other
    Press P for pull up tool
    Point to the space between the two rectangles, click and move the mouse up to pull the walls up out of the "ground"
    You now have 4 walls sticking out of the floor
    Press T tape measure
    Point to a line (not a corner where 3 lines meet) at the base of a wall, click, move up the wall, type 800, press return
    Point to the room corner where two walls meet (again, not a bottom or top corner) and again click, move, type 1000 return

    You should now have two dotted lines intersecting on the inner face of the wall

    R for rectangle, point to the intersection of the two lines and click
    Move the mouse to drag an obvious rectangle eg one that is 1m wide and 20 mm high, look in the bottom right to find out if sketchup is saying this rectangle you drew is 1000,20 or is it 20,1000. This informs you what order to write the actual size in to get a rectangle rotated how you want. Type your desired size in the same order

    You now have a rectangle "on the wall" of the house

    Press P for pull up, point to the rectangle centre and "push" it through the wall to cut a rectangular hole. The pullup tool will auto-stop when it reaches the other side of the wall, and the look of the face you're pushing goes "shimmery" to indicate it is lying exactly coincident with the opposing face and will disappear when you click to finish the drawing

    That's a "window", though if you want it to actually look like a double glazed pane and frame you can either draw or download one and scale it to fit the opening

    ---

    SketchUp doesn't (shouldn't) be used to draw like every paint program you ever used. In those other tools, you choose e.g. pencil, you point to the start place, you click and hold the mouse down, you drag to the end place, you release the mouse. That's a terrible way of drawing for accuracy and distance

    In sketchup, you should go to Tools..Preferences and set the drawing mode to click-move-click so it doesn't allow you to draw like that old way (click-drag-release) because it's awful

    With click move click you point to the start place, click(release) the mouse, move to the end place, and click again. This is much more accurate and allows easy zooming and panning to find the end place while you're still performing a drawing operation (click-move-zoom-pan-move-unzoom-click - try doing that in click-drag-release mode)
    • CommentAuthorcjard
    • CommentTimeApr 24th 2023 edited
     
    Here's a link to a 1 minute video of me doing that process above and more (moving the window, shrinking it by 500 mm, measuring it to show it's now 1500mm). Keep an eye on the box in the bottom right where all the typing goes. It outlines how it's possible to adjust or correct mistakes just by typing a new value over again

    https://ufile.io/8ikmh4c5

    SU Make 2017 can be obtained from:
    https://download.cnet.com/SketchUp-Make-2017/3055-6677_4-10257337.html

    Attached is a zip containing a quick model; it is 4 walls,a window and a door, a section plane cuts the model at a height that shows the window and door, and accessory drawing items on a dedicated layer show measurements and door swings; these can be turned off. Two scenes are present; one that orients the camera to top-down and flicks to plan mode (2D, enabled dims and doors etc) and one that is normal 3D
    • CommentAuthorCWatters
    • CommentTimeMay 12th 2023
     
    I'm quite liking Fusion 360. There is a free reduced functionality version for non-commercial use.

    I've used that quite a lot for designing things for 3D printing but not house design. Recently did electronic and PCB design using it.

    This vid shows what you can do without using any house specific libraries..

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TWobsxGZ_Q
    more
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs_dNm1a9Ew

    I havent looked to see if there is a library of useful stuff for house design.
  16.  
    I never got round to sorting this.

    Any up to date recommendations? Looking at something that could perhaps do a walkabout, 3d visualisation etc.

    Anything that can then tie in with kitchen layouts, bathroom designs etc.

    Maybe even something that can take into account position and orientation of sun on window positions etc?

    Cheers
  17.  
    I've enjoyed using 'homebyme' which is a very simple to use system, although it doesn't deal well with things like complex roof structures. It seems to use the same underlying system as the IKEA kitchen planner tool.
    • CommentAuthorwookey
    • CommentTimeAug 18th 2024
     
    Amazed no-one has mentioned FreeCad. https://www.freecad.org/ Very capable 3d parametric CAD. Free, open, works on Linux, Windows and Mac. Loads of plugins, and gets better every year. It's not the easiest program to learn to drive (like most good CAD) but there are a lot of good tutorials online. e.g. https://wiki.freecad.org/Arch_tutorial and v0.22 (aka v1.0) is due to be released any day now with a _lot_ of UI improvements fixing some long-standing annoyances.
    I used LibreCAD (2D CAD) for many years but have switched to FreeCAD now.
    If you like FreeCAD but find the UI hard work, then https://ondsel.com/ is the FreeCAD backend with a nicer UI and a cloud storage system (and there is a subscription for more than basic usage).

    Sketchup is much easier to get started with, but there is no Linux version so has to be run under WINE. I tried it some years ago but this was not really much use to me. Whilst the UI is really good for getting started quickly I found it a huge pain for doing accurate drawings and not accidentally making things all twisted when it guesses wrong which way you wanted to move something. And of course it's proprietary (now Trimble, not Google).
    • CommentAuthorsgt_woulds
    • CommentTimeAug 19th 2024
     
    If anyone has used AutoCAD and is looking for a free substitute I can recommend NanoCAD

    https://nanocad.com/products/nanocad-free/

    The free version is an older iteration but fully functional. The interface is very AutoCAD and unlike all the other 'Free' CAD programs I've tried it can actually open all versions of AutoCAD DWG format, (I've got files dating back to AutoCAD 2000 when I was running windows 95!).

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