I desperately need to work on the hole tool and the floor covering tool. These two additions will make the plugin truly powerful. At this point it is not much better than the previous floor module in the Truss plugin (other than the ability to create polygon floor outlines).

There will be instances that hangers will be utilized however joists that are cut at diagonals will complicate the matter somewhat, I'm not even sure what hardware is available in that regard, I will have to spend some time researching that one and then coming up with a clever algorithm.

Please email me any feedback directly to nathan@medeek.com, any and all feedback is appreciated.

I've already updated the database so anyone who holds a license for the plugin has now had their license renewed for a full year.

Version 0.9.0 - 09.08.2024
- Created the Medeek Floor Plugin, utilizing SketchUp's Ruby API.
- Added the draw floor tool with the ability to create I-Joist and solid sawn (lumber) polygon shaped floors.

The Floor extension can be downloaded directly here:

http://design.medeek.com/calculator/sketchup/medeek_floor_ext.rbz

Note that this is a BETA release and does not include all of the future planned functionality (ie. openings, beams etc...)  I am only posting this release in a few select locations to allow power users to test it out first and help me further debug and refine it.  After approximately a week I will send out a notification to all users letting them know that the release is now publicly available. Hopefully in that time I can catch the most glaring bugs and issues so that my inbox does not become swamped.

Also all those who have been issued licenses in the last year or so will have their expiration update date of their license automatically renewed so that it will be active for one year starting from tomorrow's date (09/09/2025).

The Move Floor Edge tool is working as it should:

A reverse lapped rim joist with a regular lap on the sill plate:



I think I will forego the "solid" option for the rim and sill for now. If requested I will add it in but I don't consider it a priority right now.

First look at a mitered sill plate (pressure treated).

Notice that I don't have an end grain for LSL or PSL materials yet, not a huge deal but something to add to the todo list when things slow down a bit.

First look at a mitered rim joist:





I know, no one builds it this way but I'm just covering all my bases.

I just need to test the sill plate algorithm tomorrow morning and I think we are ready for an initial BETA release.

I've updated the algorithm for non-orthogonal cut lumber so that even angled cuts will now show an end grain texture:

Goldplating for sure, but I think the proper material helps visualize better what is actually going on within the construction project.

In the Materials tab of the Global Settings you can switch between the more realistic textures/materials for lumber and pressure treated lumber:

Batt and Blown insulation are now enabled:

Added a "Floors" tab to the global settings, I'm sure this tab will get more populated as development progresses.



The tool tip in the draw and edit menu.

How soon should I release the BETA version?  I'm currently checking the floor preset functionality and I will also look at the addition of insulation (bat or fill) tomorrow.  The gypsum (ceiling) seems to be working great, but eventually I will add in battens because I know someone will request it, but it is not top priority right now.

I'm thinking I will push out the opening and beam modules after I release the BETA, they will complicate things and may take a few weeks of tweaking and testing before they are ready for prime time.  The opening module will be the higher priority of the two.

I've created the template for the integration with the estimating module, but this will also require further fleshing out.  In addition there will need to be updates to the cost database and weight database modules that integrate materials for the floor assemblies.

I'm honestly not sure how useful the connection function is as compared to the Truss plugin, but it will be a feature since most of the heavy lifting is already done.

The CUSTOM and SUBTRACT feature will be similar to the Truss plugin, it is in place and appears to be working as it should, further testing would be prudent.

The I-Joist libraries (sizes and types) is much more organized than the previous system and should be easier to maintain and if required more manufacturers can be easily added.  I may also add in a "custom I-Joist" option which would allow one to specify the full set of dimensions for a custom sized I-Joist (depth, flange depth, flange width, web width, web material etc...)

Similar to the Truss and Wall plugins, one can specify a comma deliminated remove list to remove specific joists from an assembly. 

Still lots to do but it is almost close enough to the finish line to think about putting it out there and start garnering feedback and suggestions.

I think what I will do is provide three options for the joint treatment of both sill plates and rimjoists:

1.) Lap
2.) Reverse Lap
3.) Miter

Option #1 will be the default.  When reverse lap is instantiated the long sided boards will run parallel with the joists.  Most floors will be orthogonal and contain an even number of sides, so that makes things fairly straight forward.  However, there is the possibility for odd sided floors (ie. 3, 5, 7, etc...), in such a case you will usually end up with a non-orthogonal corner somewhere along the perimeter of the floor.  Even if option 1 or 2 is selected, if there are non-orthogonal corners I will simply miter those (for now).  In the future I may add an additional global setting which also allows for lapped non-orthogonal corners, but right now I don't want to spend too much time in the weeds on this.

Thoughts?

Here is an example of the three options for handling joints of both sill plates and rimjoists.  Note that they are independent of each other:

I've been pushing the plugin all afternoon trying to find ways to break it and a few things eventually did jump out at me. One of which is the rim board algorithm and the sill plate algorithm (essentially the same algorithm but utilized differently). Other than that the basic joist (framing) algorithm seems very robust at this point no matter what strange configurations I try to attack it with:



My initial framing method for the rim joists was to simply bevel/miter the joints, which makes sense if things are non-orthogonal but in practice when things are orthogonal the joints are usually lapped, at least that is what I've always seen in the field. If they are lapped then the question becomes do you lap the long or short parallel to the joists themselves. What I've always seen is the long rim joists are perpendicular to the joists however the user may want some control over this, so it is probably best to make this user definable (yet another option).

I will put my thinking cap on and start a new day tomorrow...

Just like you can do roof connections in the Truss plugin I am also enabling this feature within the Floor plugin as well as custom subtractions (SUBTRACT and CUSTOM). 

The draw and edit menus are working great (all HTML) but I've decided I might as well add in "floor" presets since I know that request will be coming down pike if I don't add it in initially.

Also after using the current menus and given all the I-joist options (sizes and manufacturers) it seems almost cryptic in many ways unless you are intimately familiar with the various manufacturer's product numbers. I'm not saying now but maybe at a later date (after the initial release) I will add in a small SVG graphic into both of these menus which give a simple preview (cross section) with dimensions of the selected I-joist product. It would certainly make the menus a bit more graphic and exciting and actually be minimal work to implement, thoughts?