Legislation varies from place to place and country to country, granted. However, consider that in most countries any building works require to be under the signature/seal of an accredited professional (and approved by the local authorities). So, unless the owner is an accredited professional (in which case they can’t use PlusSpec Lite for commercial purposes, and I doubt that they will purchase this for a once-off personal use if they already have a number of tools they use on a daily basis) this product does not make much sense? Except for hobby use, but then why would you want to provide the information to a contractor?
Hey Julian_Smith,
Homeowners struggle to express their ideas in ways that are meaningful to Design & Construction professionals. Sketching thoughts for their new home or renovation is super difficult and normally just get thrown in the bin. And they often feel completely left out of the process althogether.
PlusSpec Lite allows the average joe to communicate with their Architect, Designer or Builder/Contractor in a more meaningful way (because they are drawing with actual building components) - and can be used from the start of a project, to on site.
PlusSpec Lite does not replace the need for professionals - and it has never been created for that. It’s a communication tool that allows customers to be included in the design and construction of their home. As AndrewRubySketch mentioned, if everyone starts the BIM process early it can break the communication disconnect between everyone involved in a project, reduce waste, and lead to better built outcomes.
PlusSpec Lite is also for 3d renderers - as it can drastically improve modelling efficiency!
I’m also interested in using Plusspec (Vanilla or Lite} to take projects from inception to completion, something not easily or satisfactorily possible using just SketchUp without many quirky work arounds (Nik Sonder, Mike Brightman).
Having used AutoCAD for 25yrs (and SketchUp for 10+) I’ve attempted the transition to Revit two or three times, each time committing weeks and weeks to get there, each time hitting a brickwall of frustration at its frankly idiotic over complex methods to achieve the seemingly simple, and that’s often with an experienced Revit user sat next to me. There’s no way round it, Revit is an unfriendly beast.
Looking around for more friendly alternatives that allowed some of the parametric advantages of Revit I noticed Plusspec a year or so back but was put off by the cost. The Lite version interests me (and I don’t need estimation or quantities take offs) but I’d like to see a comparison table of Vanilla vs Lite Plusspec (as provided for AutoCAD, Revit etc) so I can see what compromises I’d be making going for lite. I can’t find one on your website, I’d appreciate a link if such a thing exists.
I have a few other Q’s on Plusspec:
- does it offer any improvements in Layout, other than better templates
- is there live hatch functionality such as Skalp within Sketch itself, rather just in Layout
- is there detailing 2D functionality (the greatest advantage of AutoCAD over SketchUp). Layout ‘detailing’ is not close to being good enough in standard form.
- does it provide a view lock feature for detailing to keep a view fixed in 2D orientation (as per AutoCAD conventionally) to ease the detailing process
- is there an ‘align’ command as in Revit? This is my most used go-to Revit command.
- are door/window insertions parametrically moveable and do they also link to parametric dimensioning?
Thanks
Hi Drew,
I did buy PLUSSPEC on initial release but quite frankly the cost of continuing was way out of my budget and so never pursued it.
This is a much more reasonable cost and at at $10/month I can afford to invest time and money into trialing it again… I am glad you revisited your business model.
thanks
Hey gsharp,
Thanks for reaching out. You’ll see that a lot has changed since first release! We normally release 3-4 major updates each year, with a lot of minor updates in between.
We hope you enjoy the Lite version. Don’t forget to work your way through the Tutorials.
Hello All,
We wanted to announce that the Pre-Release (early-bird) period is coming to an end on November 6th!
To celebrate, we’re also giving away 3 PlusSpec Pro licenses (valued at $773 USD each)! So, sign up to Lite before the 6th to be in the chance to win.
Everyone who joins before November 6th will earn the title of ‘Grandfather’ - because we love rewarding trendsetters, and people who love to give new technology a shot right off the bat.
What does Grandfather mean? It means that you will never pay more than the Pre-Release price (if there ever is a price change. And no, there isn’t one planned). It also means that you will be entitled to promo’s, beta-release trials, upgrade discounts and more!
So, if you’re interested in PlusSpec Lite, but have been hesitating (or just waiting) - now is the time to sign up.
Click HERE to get started. It’s only $10, and is a no lock-in contract. Don’t miss out!
Drew, thanks.
Hey JuJitsoup,
Totally agree about other BIM software. In our opinion, they are really only super-charged drafting boards, and not something that you can really design with or communicate effectively with clients. They can also struggle with custom shapes (which is why most companies need to hire BIM Managers!).
That’s why PlusSpec is inside of SketchUp. It’s the best of both worlds. If you can’t do something with a PlusSpec tool - you just use the SketchUp tools (and then BIM your custom shapes so that you can add information and quantify them).
We posted the comparison table in the 3rd comment of this post. See HERE. There are a lot of tools/features in the Pro version that you won’t be able to access in the Lite version - but for the small cost of Lite, you will still be able to design and model faster and smarter.
Answers to your questions below (PlusSpec in general):
- Layout improvements: Yes. PlusSpec comes with a scene tool that automates the vast majority of plans/views that you would need for your 2D drawings. PlusSpec also has a smart layering system, which ties into these scenes and allows you to simply customize to suit your style, and what components you want visible.
- Live Hatch: Yes. PlusSpec comes with a live hatch feature. You can even load your own hatching styles if you want to add more.
- Detailing: No. We still rely on 2D detailing in Layout, or using 3D details (which we believe are the future).
- Lock feature: Not at this stage, but it is something that we are playing with.
- Align feature: Yes and no. Take the wall tool: It has a push/pull feature. It has an project and join feature (so you can automatically have two separate walls come together). It also has a re-define feature so that you can change the length of walls with a click.
- Doors/Windows: Yes. Doors and Windows cut through every layer in a wall. You can move them, delete them, re-configure them with a click of a button (and everything updates live - including structure).
Check out the GIFs at the bottom of the Lite page (link provided in the first post). They give a pretty good overview on the primary tools.
Hope it helps!
Lovely detailed answers. I’ll be giving full version a trial.
If you (or Trimble) can nail 2D drafting and locking of the view then SketchUp moves to the front of the queue and AutoCAD can probably take a back seat. How I’d love to stop staring at that black screen!
Thanks again and keep up the innovation.
Pleasure!
As I’ve mentioned a few times in this post, just take your time to work through the Tutorials. Like SketchUp, there is a small learning curve, and there are multiple ways to do things with each tool (even if it’s not super apparent at the start).
We also hold live weekly webinars (for free) every Thursday, 9AM (AEST) / Wednesday, 3PM PST. Anyone can come along, and if you can’t make it to the live session, as long as you register for a webinar, you’ll get sent out a recording to watch in your own time. They are a great way to learn about PlusSpec.
Check out our Webinar Page HERE. You can even sign up to our mailing list so you can stay in the loop and see what webinar topics are coming, rather than going back to the web page all the time.
I want to draw roof trusses in my model, but the truss tool isn’t available in lite. How can I do this without having to upgrade to the Pro version?
have you tried searching the Extension Warehouse with the term “truss”?
Hey littletwood,
Sounds like you are new to SketchUp too.
As Julian_Smith wrote, you can search the Extension Warehouse with the term ‘truss’ and see if any extensions catch your eye. However, PlusSpec Lite is meant to be used more in conjunction with the SketchUp tools compared to PlusSpec Pro. So, if you need to show the trusses, you can just model them with the SketchUp tools. For new users, this can be a bit of a learning curve though.
I know you asked how you could avoid upgrading to Pro, but our plans are super flexible. You could upgrade to the Pro version for 1 month so that you can create a full BIM, Virtual Design & Construction model with full access to the Pro tools, and then downgrade back down to Lite before the end of the month. This is a very economical solution, and would allow you to take your project to that next level.
PM me if you’d like to know more.
I don’t want to sound too cheesy (bit late?), but don’t forget that our Pre-Release period will close on November 6th.
Sign up to PlusSpec Lite before this date and be in the chance to win a 12 month PlusSpec Pro license! Also, you’ll earn the title ‘Grandfather’, which gives you a bunch of ongoing benefits.
For $10, you can try Lite for yourself. If you love it, brilliant! If you don’t, just cancel. Either way, you’ll know - and you’ll be in the chance to win the Pro version, valued at $773 USD.
We’ve extended our Pre-Release until November 10 - so everyone has a couple more days to become a ‘Grandfather’ and be in the chance to win a PlusSpec Pro license!
See the Lite page link at the top of the page.
The team at RubySketch (makers of PlusSpec) are passionate about sharing knowledge. After all, knowledge is power.
We hold weekly webinars that discuss PlusSpec modeling, SketchUp Tips & Tricks, as well as Design/Construction/Estimating insights. And the best part is that they are FREE. Sign up to our Webinar Newsletter (look for the pop-up) so you can watch any subject that interests you. You don’t have to join the live session. Everyone who registers will receive a recording of the webinar. And we won’t harass you about a sale!
Take a look at our latest PlusSpec Tips & Tricks Webinar HERE. It’s a simple overview session (and PlusSpec focused), but it should still give you an idea of the benefits for coming along or watching in your own time.
We hope you’ll join us sometime.
Can you transfer your licence from a PC to a laptop at anytime?
Also do you have a trial
Hi RemiBlaz,
I see that you are a student. We actually have a Edu license also. However, you will need to submit proof of enrolment/teaching and for it to be approved by our team.
We also have a 30 day trial HERE.
However, if you want to be in the chance to win a PlusSpec Pro license, I’d just sign up to Lite before November 10! It will be like doing the trial anyway, but you will still have the chance to win Pro (for only $10).
You can also transfer your license from PC to laptop, but there are certain restrictions. However, this can be discussed on a need-by-need basis.
Thanks Drew,
I’m going to give the trial a go first and if I like it I will look into the student licence.
The PlusSpec Lite Pre-Release ‘Grandfather’ period has closed. Congratulations to our 3 winners who received a 12 month PlusSpec Pro License!
We’ve had a huge amount of support and interest in PlusSpec Lite. Although the ‘Grandfather’ period is over, nothing has changed. We hope to see many more SketchUppers using Lite in the coming months and years.
We also have a massive Black Friday PlusSpec Pro sale, ending on November 27! Info in the site popup.