Access Your SketchUp Building Plans
Author: Anna K.
Do you need help finding your model’s building and construction plans in SketchUp? Don’t worry! I’ll show you how to access your building plans and views in just minutes. Then you can focus on what really matters: building your house.
No more talk—let me show you how you can:
- View your models elevation plans.
- View your models section plans.
- View your models site- and floor plans.
- View additional building plans and views.
This is how you access you SketchUp building plans
- First, start by opening your SketchUp model. Make sure everything else is hidden except for the 3D model itself, and also ensure that geometry and is turned off.
- Click on the Camera button and switch to Parallel Projection mode.
- Click on the desired View button, such as Right, Left, Front, or Back, to select the specific facade/elevation you want to see. In this example, we want a front elevation view. So, we click on Front, and now we have our front elevation plan.
Access your elevation plans in seconds, and add different styles in SketchUp, whether you prefer color or black and white. Explore and create the exact type of drawings YOU want.
Create section plan
Now, we’d like to have a section plan of our house model. The principle is exactly the same as with the elevation plan, but this time we just need to add a section plane. See here;
- Click on the Section Plane button
- Now, click the left arrow key to select the red axis, then click. In this example, it's the left side of our building we want to cut through.
- Then give your section plane a name + symbols if you want, and click OK.
- Use the Move Tool to adjust your section plane until you reach the desired point you want to showcase (play around). In this example, the position is set at 1200 mm (4 ft).
- Click the View button while in Parallel Projection mode to generate your section plans. Follow the same process for each additional section plan you wish create.
Create site- and floor plan
I think you understand now, but let’s take a few more examples. Let’s see our model’s floor plan.
- Again, follow the same process and click the Top View button while in Parallel Projection mode to generate your floor plan.
- Again, again it's the same process for your site plan - just without a section plane.
Create other SketchUp building plans
You can follow this method to get drawings of all the details you want, no limitations at all. See and explore everything on your new house model and export your documentation in minutes.
- You can also hide parts of the building to focus on specific details and views. Simply right-click on the elements you want to hide and select Hide. This allows you to isolate and view only the parts you need on your plan.
- In the example above, we created a foundation plan, but you can generate any plan you need using the same simple process.
- Here is an example of a construction drawing of one of the exterior walls.
- ...and a plan of the roof rafters. In other words: You can access every plan, detail, and view you need. With a complete 3D model in SketchUp, you can see everything easily and quickly.
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