I am looking for an app to scan a house exterior and than import it into SU.
Our company does renovations that primarily focus on the back of the home: additions, sunrooms, pergolas, pools, patios, etrc…
TKS!
Hi Dave.
It depends on the accuracy you require. For something a bit cheap & cheerful you can download a variety of free apps straight onto your phone that will enable you to use your phone to scan a house yourself. Some of the apps will allow you to upload the resulting file which the app company will then convert to a .skp file for a fee.
Have a look at the ‘canvas’ app for starters.
At the other end of the scale you can get a 3D Digital Laser scan, and import the resulting point cloud into SketchUp using either the Undet or the Scan Essentials plugin.
Cheers
There are a few good ones for compatible iDevices
Polycam and 3D scanner app are ones I like.
Really great for visual reference, but I’d be apprehensive about using one to rely on for actual measurements.
Unless you are using one that generates plans for larger surfaces, most meshes will be very messy and heavy and will be unweildy to work with - Scan Essentials will let you bring in the actual point cloud and use that as a reference.
Thanks for replying to my LiDAR question. I am looking into canvas now, do
you know of any others?
I think for phone apps - Canvas is as good as any other.
I do similar work to you but fortunately I have my own 3D laser scanner which is millimetre accurate but ridiculously expensive. I currently use it with the Undet plugin which is amazing.
Where are you based?
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Thanks for the feedback, We started to use SU this year and are looking to see how we can get more efficient with modeling the host structure.
We are in SC.
What do you estimate the cost for a laser scanner like yours? Can you send me an image of something you’ve done withthe scanner?
TKS,
Dave.
I think the combination of SketchUp and a decent scanner makes the perfect tool for modelling the host structure. This is what a scan looks like after processing with the scanners own software:
and this is the same scan after cropping and importing to SketchUp using the Undet plugin:
I then use Undet to create whatever surface meshes I need:
Then I create sections from those meshes for accurate modelling:
I can then draw the necessary metalwork to millimetre accuracy:
and then its easy to make the glass fit the metalwork:
and of course you can create whichever views you need to impress your clients 
I assume SC is South Carolina which is a shame as we could have done a deal. The scanner I use cost just over £40,000 
but having said that it has paid for itself many times over.
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Hello, Im thinking of buying a scanner myself. Is there any way to get one cheaper than 40,000? Im just a small company. I’m hoping technology gets cheaper. thanks
Faro do various models but they are all a lot of money although some are less than £40,000. You can also buy second hand. When I was starting off I was able to hire a scanner . It was the same model I have now and it cost £250 + VAT per day. After a year I had spent about £14,000 on hire charges and I was getting tired of collecting it and rushing to get it back to the hire shop before 5pm every day to avoid another days charge. Sometimes the scans were hours away so I had to pay for 2 days anyway. It obviously made sense for me to buy one and it has paid for itself over and over. Maybe you could find somewhere to hire one near you to start with to see how you get on with it?
If you are seeking precise solutions, 3D laser scanning is a recommended option. Applications such as Canvas, Polycam, or SiteScape, which rely on LiDAR technology, can effectively record exterior structures and transfer the data to SketchUp (SU). Nevertheless, if you require intricate and accurate as-built models, utilizing professional 3D laser scanning services can supply you with high-definition point clouds and models ready for Building Information Modeling (BIM) integration for your remodeling endeavors. Feel free to reach out if you require assistance with dependable Scan-to-BIM solutions!
Wow, very impressive work here. I just looked on your site and the extensions look very nice. Do you have any more example the scanning use in your workflow.
Let me know what you want to know and I will help if I can.
Basically I just do a scan with my Faro scanner, create a Point Cloud using the Faro software, import the Point Cloud into SketchUp using the Undet plugin and then model everything from that.
Its uncanny just how accurate SketchUp draws everything. The glass units often weigh around 350KG each and they always fit to perfection, which is just as well as they cannot be altered once manufactured.
The project below had very uneven walls and every angle was way off 90 degrees, but everything fit perfectly. I tend to judge a project by the gaps between the roof panels (which should always be 6mm) and as you can see these were exactly that (the red packers are 6mm).
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Wow, that looks incredible! It must be amazing to live there. I’m currently exploring ways to get my hands on a scanner to test it out. Is the learning curve steep for using one?
I work in construction as a Project Engineer and do a lot of modeling for my projects. I might be able to hire a scanner to test it out, but it depends on how complex it is to learn.
Right now, I use my iPhone 15 for scanning and have managed to create some basic scans and project designs (you can see my results form my posts). They’ve been good enough for illustration purposes, but I’m looking to take things to the next level.
The learning curve for using the scanner isn’t very steep at all - and if you are anything like me you will be scanning in no time and experimenting with the various settings. I can set my scanner to do a single scan in anything from just under a minute to just over an hour, and I have now settled on just over 6 minutes which gives me all the accuracy I need. At the end of the day you are just capturing surfaces to mesh in SketchUp and to take sections through, and I find 6 minutes gives me all the resolution I need. Most surveys only need a few scans, sometimes even just a single scan, although I think 3 or 4 is my average and it can get a bit boring waiting any longer than 6 minutes between scans. I did a survey recently over a couple of days that required 64 individual scans so that 6 minute setting was very welcome.
Of course, getting the scan and producing the Point Cloud is the easy bit. Learning a workflow within SketchUp is the hard part but just ask away and I will help if I can.
One thing I thoroughly recommend is to use the Undet Plugin rather than Scan Essentials so you’ll need to factor the cost of that in as well, although you can download a free 14 day trial from undet.com.
Best of luck with it 
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