Please help, I’ve just completed my first 2D floorplan but when I went to change the colour of my internal walls I found it was grouped with the floor and other items in the house. How do I fix this?
You need to learn the basics, among them groups and components. Start here:The Learning Center and The SketchUp You Tube Channel. Pay attention to the Square One series. Both are sponsored by the SketchUp Crew and well worth the time spent there.
You could explode the group(s) and then select individual lines and try to group them into whatever sub-divisions you want but it will take some time.
Depends on what you have. You can carefully select collections of geometry, then right click on the selection and choose make component or make group to isolate that selection. Selecting discrete assemblies within your large collection of connected geometry may be more or less complicated depending on what you have. Upload your .skp model so we can see what you are working with.
If it’s just walls and the floor that need to be separated,
- Set the view to a side view
- Right to left select all the walls stopping before you select the floor.
- Right click on the selection and group.
- Now select the remaining floor geometry with triple click.
- Right click on the selection and group.
- Select and enter the wall group and repair the bottom of the walls as they will have no bottom face.
- Assign appropriate layer to each group.
I typically keep the floor and walls in the same group as it is quicker for editing changes.
It’s still in flat 2D format. I haven’t raised the walls yet. I’ve completed the entire 2D plan (flat) and when I went to add colour to indicate the internal walls I noticed that I can’t just select the internal wall to fill with paint colour because it highlights the floor and some of the furniture items as well. I need to find out how to rectify this. Do I need to redo the 2D plan from scratch?
It’s still in flat 2D format. I haven’t raised the walls yet. I’ve completed the entire 2D plan (flat) and when I went to add colour to indicate the internal walls I noticed that I can’t just select the internal wall to fill with paint colour because it highlights the floor and some of the furniture items as well. I need to find out how to rectify this. Do I need to redo the 2D plan from scratch?
Drag and drop the .skp file into a response window.
Make your 2D drawing a group. Then copy it, so you have 2 groups. Select one group and erase .everything except the walls. Repeat this for the floor. Then you’d have the two isolated and ready for 3D.
You could also simply extrude the walls then follow my first suggestion.
Module 4 floorplan 1.skp (6.8 MB)
I extruded the stairs wall and that seemed to break the grouping however lines have now popped up over the refrigerator on the right hand wall and next to the window. When I try delete those it goes grey and leaves a hole (no color) and can’t be changed.
You are lumping too much geometry together. You should model just the walls and group that geometry before you add in cabinets, appliances, windows, doors, and furniture.
Are you talking about layering?
Can I fix this or do I need to start from scratch?
Not layers. There are no layers in SketchUp. There are tags which are placed on objects (groups and components) mainly to control their visibility. Tags do not create separation of geometry.
Draw the floor plan without anything else. Just the walls. Extrude those walls up to 3D, select all of the geometry and create a group. Then start filling things in.
Although you could fix what you’ve got, I think you’d find it’s just faster to restart and do it correctly. You can use your existing 2D drawing as a guide but group ALL of the existing model first so that none of your new geometry sticks to it. Then you can trace edges. Make continuous edges for the walls with windows. Don’t stop and a window opening. Draw from corner to corner.
By the way, in your model as it exists you have lots of geometry (edges and faces) that have been given tags. ALL edges and faces should be untagged. Only the groups and components should get tags.
There’s also quite a lot of unused stuff bloating the model file.
Maybe something along these lines. I set the Face Style to X-ray so when faces are created they don’t obscure the 2D drawing. Rectangle, Offset, and Line tools for drawing. Select and Delete to eliminate the unwanted edges. I wasn’t sure if this GIF would be too large to upload so I did not show making the group of the 3D walls. I had already grouped your 2D plan, though.
Once the walls are pulled up to full height add the windows using the 2D drawing as a reference. After you’ve got everything modeled in 3D you can delete the 2D drawing because it’s no longer needed.
I will start from scratch. Are you able to send me a link to a video to show me what you mean? I need a 2D floor plan not 3D.
What part of it do you need a video for?
The model you uploaded shows you’d already started to go 3D which made me think you need 3D. Why are you using a 3D modeling application if all you want is 2D? Will you want 3D at some point? You can create 2D output from the 3D model and if you need elevations as well as the plan view, they can all come out of the same 3D model.
Here’s a bit more of an example. I’ve added the opening for windows and the lintels over the doors. I’ve grouped all the walls and to show this is separated from your 2D drawing, I moved the 2D drawing group down below the ground plane.
In preparation for the 2D plan view, I’ve added a section cut through the walls.
And with the Camera set to Parallel Projection and the standard Top view, I have a 2D plan view.
Similarly, I’ve added a section cut for an elevation of the kitchen wall.
And back to Parallel Projection and the standard Left view:
One of the powerful features of modeling in 3D even though you want 2D plan and elevations is that changes to the design will automatically be reflected anywhere they can be seen. So if the size or position of the kitchen window changes, for example, you only have to make that change in one place and it will show in both the plan and elevation views. No worry about conflicting views.
I’m studying interior design and need to design a 2D floorplan. I’m not sure if I will be required to make a 3D model down the line. I assume I will. So not sure what to do now.
See my previous post. My suggestion is to start thinking 3D now because it’s easier to get the 2D out of the 3D than it is to get the 3D out later.
Playing around while avoiding work I should be doing…
I’ve added some cabinets and stuff in the 3D model
And the 2 D plan view.
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Wish I could start over and have Dave help me like this… Or really I wish he were there to help me years ago. 
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