I’ve been working on a construction detail for a deck and steps made out of Millboard, with a Plas Pro recycled plastic sub-structure, for a client whose brief has steered me towards a product which will weather predictably, be long lasting and resistant to mildew, algae etc. I use SketchUp for my designing and also for my construction drawings, and it helps me to get my head around the construction detailing if I actually ‘construct’ a virtual reality model of the feature using the appropriate dimensioned components, ie in this case posts, bearers, joists, deck boards, and special fascia boards and step nosings. By fitting these together in the model, I gain a better understanding of the structure than if I simply draw up 2D sections and elevations. By saving different views in SU, I can then export to Layout (part of the SketchUp Pro package)as scaled plan view, section, as well as perspective, and then once in Layout I can add dimensions and annotation, save as a pdf and my construction drawing is ready to issue or print off.
Since I’m fairly new to specifying these particular materials, I wanted to run my detail past the guys at Millboard just to check they were happy with the dimensions, and I was able to quickly email a few screenshots of the model, like the example at the top, over to them. They confirmed that the detail was as it should be, and also commented on how good the SU model was at communicating the information. I am increasingly finding that 3D visualisations are a great help on site, with builders and landscapers relying as much on my ‘artist’s impressions’ (thanks guys!) as my scaled plans and sections. They are a quick and very clear way of understanding how features are put together, and I think being able to offer information in this format is a real bonus for a designer.
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