How To Use Your SketchUp Model
Author: Jonathan C.
Are you ready to use your house design? If so, let me guide you through how to use your SketchUp model. First, open your project on your device and follow along to learn how to use it effectively.
I will walk you quickly through:
- Unlocking and exploring your 3D project.
- Hiding and unhiding components and parts.
- Exploring your floor plan in SketchUp.
Unlock and learn how to use your SketchUp model
- Ensure your model is unlocked; if it's not, go ahead and unlock it. Here’s how:
- Use the Selection Tool to Hightlight the model.
- Then, Unlock and Explode the group to seperate components.
- Now, hold the mouse wheel down while you move the mouse, or use the Orbit and Pan functions to explore your new design. In other words, fly around like a bird until you know every single detail.
- View your house from all angles by panning around or selecting from the Iso, Top, Front, Right, Left, Back, and Bottom views.
A 3D model from us is so easy to use, and I know for a fact that you’ll have learned everything about your new house within a few hours.
Hide and unhide model components
- First, right-click on the model, then select Explode to ungroup the components. It's crucial to ensure your model is exploded into groups; otherwise, the entire model will disappear when you click the Hide button.
- Now, right-click on the components you want to hide and click Hide. In this case, we want to hide the roof sheets to explore the details of the roof construction.
- Now that the roof is hidden, we have a clear view of the construction details. This can be done for all parts of your house, so you know exactly how everything should be assembled.
- Right-click and Hide each group one after another, until only the ground around the house is left. Then press Ctrl + Z to unhide, and you will see the house being built. Now, click Ctrl + Y to hide it again and repeat this process until the construction is fully understood.
Access 3D building plans
- Access all building plans in 2D and 3D in SketchUp. Start by opening the model from which you want the plans.
- First, click on the View button in the upper left corner. Make sure that Hidden Geometry and Hidden Objects are turned off.
- Now, click on the Camera button in the upper left corner and select Parallel Projection view.
- You can choose the view you want by selecting either Iso, Front, Right, Left or Back views. After your selection, you will have you a facade drawing
- Let's move on to your model’s floor plan. To see your floor plan, first, click on the Section Plane button.
- Then, click the arrow-up key and to select the blue axis then click. When the box appears, give your section plane a name and click OK to save it.
- Click on the Move button and drag the section plane down so it cuts through windows and doors. This is important; otherwise, you won’t see the openings on your floor plan.
- Click on the Top button, and you'll now see your plan in 2D. You can continue using this method to access all types of construction drawings, or read our full guide on how to access all your building plans, right below.
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