Hello All
I would like to create a typical 2x4 framed wall.
I can draw the bottom plate…no problem.
But how do I place Studs on the bottom plate every 16" instead of having to measure one-at-a-time.
I figure if I can get the rectangle that represents the 2x4 studs placed correctly on the bottom plate, then i will simply pull it up the required distance.
Is there an easy way to place evenly spaced 2x4 rectangles all in a line on my long 2x4 10’ rectangle that represents the bottom plate of the wall?
Thank you
See: Copying What You’ve Already Drawn | SketchUp Help
Wouldn’t hurt for you to go through the instructional materials at learn.sketchup.com
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Take a look at this thread from a while back. It covers what I think you are looking for.
https://forums.sketchup.com/t/need-help-with-move-array-divide/22986
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If I understand what you are trying to do:
- Create the stud component: draw a rectangle that is 3.5"x1.5" then pull to the desired length, triple click a line or face to select all the geometry, then right click the selection and find “Create Component”.
- Place the component flush to the starting face of the bottom plate. Then move/copy the stud 15.25" down the bottom plate.
- Now move the copy 16" down the bottom plate, and immediately type in “x20” or “20x”. This is called an array function. It will make 20 copies at 16" OC. If you need more or less copies, type in a higher or lower number, but make sure that you don’t activate any other tools between typing a new number, otherwise you’ll have to restart the function.
If any of these steps are unclear or unfamiliar, I would highly suggest that you visit the learn.sketchup.com link as @DaveR suggested.
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That 15 ¼" first spacing will earn you a Journeyman’s ticket for carpentry, if you’re not careful.
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…I framed houses when I was in High School, a hundred years ago…of course we had to use a hammer back then, couldn’t afford fancy air tools.
Estwing hammer if I remember correctly.
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1
15m
Well…I did it, but not exactly how it was described. But it did work
I finally figured out, I had to create my stud, off the base plate, then move the single stud into position on the base plate.
I then made the single stud into a group, I selected a lower corner with Move, then hit Ctrl. C. I saw a tiny little “+” sign appear, I then moved the selected stud a little in the direction I wanted, and typed 16" into the distance box and hit enter, which placed another stud 16" away, then I immediately hit the “*” and typed in 35, and hit enter, which placed all studs down on the base plate. I could not immediately type in another number of studs to place as Shep stated. If I wanted to put more studs down on the same base plate, then I had to do the whole procedure again, beginning from the last stud in line. So I did something wrong, but it finally worked. I think the trick, for me, is waiting to see the tiny little “+” sign.
Thanks for the help!
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Hit Ctrl after activating the Move tool to see the little “+”. That means it leaves a copy behind where the object was before you move it.
I’m not the quickest, but here you go:
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Yes! I was wondering how I was going to make a top plate!
Thanks
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Slight variation: I often start with the first stud centered on the end, do the array all at 16" O.C., and then come back to fix the first and last ones. That isn’t actually fewer steps, just easier on my brain by not doing math in my head.
I’d swear it’s a common occurrence that SU doesn’t get my key tap for copy, and I have to hit it again.
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I’ve just taken it as a rule of thumb that the first measurement for a stud is 15-1/4". When I started framing my first house last July, that was the first thing that my brother told me. Installing the first sheet of OSB doesn’t work as well as you’d hope if you don’t do it.
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Once you get the hang of it you can choose differing multiples after hitting" * " or “X”+ number. Works for me every time. I don’t like 20 studs, I type 18 and it changes etc.
You should be using components for something like this, not groups. You can later change the size or texture of all at once.
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A great plug in for doing that can be found here
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Click in sequence on the scenes tabs of this SU file for ideas.
2x4 spacing in a wall.skp (112.5 KB)
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Medeek Wall is a SketchUp Extension that provides a simple interface for creating accurate 3D wall framing geometry within SketchUp.
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OK, this is going to sound weird.
No disrespect intended.
Why are you drawing the studs?
An important part of the structure, no doubt – but why do they need to be present in a model of the house?
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The OP didn’t say, but there are a lot of different reasons why someone would. One is just drawing details in 3D like @Sonder does for all his details, in which case, it’s not the whole project, just a small chunk.
Some people are trying to do full BIM with SketchUp, so they want every piece drawn and enumerated. When I built my own house and had to place all the lumber orders, I used CAD to draw and count the studs.
Some of the more important things to work out are not the obvious, every day framing, but the odd exceptions, and to draw those you need the obvious stuff that surrounds it as well. That’s what I’ve felt a lot with Medeek tools. It draws the obvious stuff, and the interesting stuff is where you need to customize something.
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You would be surprised how some of the largest firms with highly trained BIM specialists agree on what to model and it’s intended presentation purpose. The LOD placed in a model should directly reflect the intended presentation of information. I’ve discussed this with several folks that instruct in Revit and most agree it is far more efficient to model individual details opposed to trying to get every last detail in the main model.
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I’ll bet I could give even more reasons why you shouldn’t draw every stud, every beam [and pipe and wire and insulation and every other part that goes into a house or commercial building]. But maybe it’s just my warped perspective. I’m designing custom houses and making a living at it. Not as fancy as the ones Sonder is working on but not shacks either. I can design more cool houses and duplexes each year if I’m not spending time drawing framing. Even if I was the Contractor, I doubt I would draw every stud or even need framing elevations. I would know how to derive the quantities of studs [and other framing] by measuring elevation drawings and sections – and add a little bit to the total to account for warped and split lumber and incorrect cuts. As the designer, it’s enough to say on the plans that the exterior walls will be 2x6 studs 16" o.c. The SketchUp model is mostly done for the sake of the client so they can see what the house looks like if they can’t make sense of flat, 2-D drawings. They generally don’t care about any of the concealed work, unless it experiences failure at some point. So I will concentrate on what can be seen – typically not a whole lot of detail on the interior, although I might spend some time on a kitchen. It’s better as far as staying in your lane for the designer to set criteria and the Contractor to be in charge of means and methods. One of the nightmares of Revit and other BIM software is that it tends to run roughshod over traditional division of work amongst designer, builder [and the various engineering disciplines if we’re talking commercial/institutional work]. An arrangement that developed over hundreds of years and has specific legal and practical implications.
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It’s not so much about even drawing every stud. The problem in my mind is that you really need a parametric house modeling tool. What if you need to move a window or door or add in another intersecting wall into a design? What if you want to change the sheathing, cladding or gypsum or add some exterior wainscoting.
Here is my perspective on the issue of modeling walls in SketchUp:
I understand the SketchUp purists and their need to do everything with native tools, buts lets be honest the native tool set is really just a basic framework for 3D modeling and does not give you the ability to do real BIM in SketchUp, at least not easily in my opinion. There is also no inherent parametric ability with a simple model even though some live components can get you pretty close.
The real power behind SketchUp is its API and the ability to customize SketchUp to do just about anything you can imagine (and I mean anything). I guess that is why I am so drawn to it, and even after almost seven years I am still developing my extensions very actively.