Medeek Wall

999 installations

Introduction

Welcome to the documentation for the Medeek Wall extension. Medeek Wall is a SketchUp Extension that provides a simple interface for creating accurate 3D wall framing geometry within SketchUp. This extension utilizes the SketchUp Ruby API programming interface and is compatible with the latest SketchUp releases (SketchUp Make 2017 64-bit and SketchUp Pro 2018 64-bit) as well as previous versions (2015, 2016, 2017).

What Can You Do with Medeek Wall

Currently, the extension allows the creation of the following wall types or panels (Metric and US/Imperial):

Door types (Rectangle): Window types (Rectangle, Half Round): Speciality Window types (Segmental Arch, Gothic Arch, Oval/Round): Garage Doors: Pre-Fabricated Shear Panels: Columns (in wall): Beams (US/Imperial): Custom Geometry: Engineering (US/Imperial): All wall types are drawn/designed utilizing industry standard practices. Additional wall types, windows and doors are in the process of being added on a weekly basis. Advanced options and features such as crown moulding, baseboard, chair rails and wainscoting are also under development.

The extension allows the user to create wall panels singularily or in a polyline mode. When the rectangular wall tool is selected and the designer chooses the line mode the wall is then defined by selecting two points which form the start and end of the wall panel. When the polyline mode is chosen each point defines both a wall panel end point and the next wall panels start point. If the auto-corner configuration is enabled within the global settings the wall panels will automatically form inside or outside corners based on the angles between the wall panels.

Once a wall panel is created it can be moved while at the same time remaining "glued" to other adjacent wall panels. Wall framing and other options are automatically re-calculated and re-drawn as required. This level of automation provides a design tool which should eliminate the need for manual modifications to the model, which are both time consuming and can be prone to user error.

Custom layers can be enabled in the global settings which allow various wall, window and door components to be placed on specific layers. Auto assignment of materials (colors and textures) are available as an option within the "Materials" and "Sheathing" tabs of the global settings.



     

The extension currently has three primary design modes: Framing On, Framing Off and 2D. With the 2D option the walls and windows are simply represented as planar faces and lines while still allowing the user to fully manipulate the wall panels and layout of openings. This mode is intended to be a very lightweight design mode and should allow the designer to quickly put together preliminary designs.

The "Framing Off" mode provides a full 3D model with all of the exterior element present however the internal framing of the wall is reduced to a single solid group. Additional elements that are found within the wall such as blocking, insulation and holdowns are not represented in this mode. The "Framing On" mode is the most detailed mode of the extension and includes all the details of the previous mode along with full wall framing, holdowns and insulation.

Advanced wall options allows for the creation of exterior wainscoting, exterior corner trim, cavity insulation and structural holdowns. The default parameters for each of these advanced options can be specificed with the global settings.

With Medeek Wall, you can accurately depict conventional wood frame construction with fully integrated windows and doors within SketchUp and better validate your architectural models.

Engineering

The Medeek Wall extension is in the process of being integrated with a fully automated residential engineering engine. This future feature will provide structural engineering of all typical components of a residential structure and will include both vertical and lateral calculations. For additional engineering tools and site criteria maps please visit our Resources page.

Audience

This document is intended for architects, engineers, designers and homeowners who are using SketchUp as their primary 3D design tool. It provides a basic introduction to using the extension and reference material on the available parameters/options for its use.

License and Limits of Use

Medeek Wall is a proprietary softare developed for use with the SketchUp 3D modeling program. There are currently no limits in its use for both personal and commercial applications.

Design Parameters - Wall Geometry

The following items are typical wall design parameters than can be modified by the user to define the wall geometry during the creation process (Rectangular Wall):

Additional parameters and options are available for windows, doors, exterior trim, insulation, sheathing, cladding, gypsum, holdowns and interior trim.

Download Trial

The trial version of the extension has all the features of the full extension however the height of walls may be limited to a specific range of values as well as other limitations on door and window sizes. The trial version is also time limited to a thirty day period from the date of installation. Once the trial period has expired you will no longer be able to create new walls however you can edit any existing walls and features.

Unlicensed or trial copies of the extension also have strategically placed ads within many of the HTML user menus. The full version of the extension removes all ads. If you are a material supplier or vendor interested in advertising within the extension please contact us at sales@medeek.com, the extension currently uses Google AdSense for all ad placement.

Please download the trial extension at the following link (extension serial number is "TRIAL"):

Purchase

The full version of the extension is an unrestricted, permanent license for both commercial and personal use. Installation on up to (3) separate machines per licensed copy is allowed.

Free upgrades to the latest version of the extension can be downloaded at any time, within two years of the initial purchase date, by logging into the Account Manager. Once the initial two year license period has expired the license can be renewed for ($60.00) on a yearly basis.

Please note, an active license is not required to continue to use the extension. The extension will continue to function even if the license expires. The only reason to renew your license is to gain access to recent upgrades to the extension and also enable unlimited phone and email support.

Please do not redistribute unlicensed copies of the extension. Download of the extension is available immediately after purchase.

Purchase Medeek Wall ($150.00) at the following link:

Please login to the Account Manager to download the most up-to-date version of the extension.

For professors, teachers and students requesting a fully licensed copy of the extension for educational use, please send your request via email to support@medeek.com.

LT Version

The light (LT) version of the extension is also an unrestricted, permanent license for both commercial and personal use. Installation on up to (3) separate machines per licensed copy is allowed.

Free upgrades to the latest version of the extension can be downloaded at any time, within two years of the initial purchase date, by logging into the Account Manager. Once the initial two year license period has expired the license can be renewed for ($15.00) on a yearly basis.

The LT version includes only the 2D and 3D (framing off) modes. The LT version does not include the 3D (framing on) mode with all of the associated wall framing. It also does not include estimating and engineering features found in the full extension. This version is intended for designers who are primarily concerned only with the layout (of walls, windows and doors) and exterior aesthetics of a structure.

Purchase Medeek Wall LT ($30.00) at the following link:

Installation

The recent versions of SketchUp allow you to install zipped Ruby files or extensions (.rbz) directly within SketchUp.

To install the Medeek Wall extension (.rbz file format) within SketchUp 2016 or earlier:

  1. Login into your computer as an admin before installing any Ruby scripts. This will make the installation go more smoothly and ensure that files get installed in the proper places.
  2. Within SketchUp select Window > Preferences (Microsoft Windows) or SketchUp > Preferences (Mac OS X). The Preferences dialog box is displayed.
  3. Click on Extensions. The Extensions panel is displayed.
  4. Click on the Install Extension button. The Open dialog box is displayed.
  5. Locate the Ruby zip file to install (.rbz).
  6. Click on the Open button. SketchUp will install the extension and display a security prompt.
  7. The extension will display a prompt for your extension serial number (default value is "TRIAL") if this is a new installation.
  8. The Medeek Wall extension will now appear in the list of available extensions.
  9. Re-start SketchUp to enable the license and serial number and save the settings to the registry or .plist files on Mac.

To install the Medeek Wall extension (.rbz file format) within SketchUp 2017 and 2018:

  1. Login into your computer as an admin before installing any Ruby scripts. This will make the installation go more smoothly and ensure that files get installed in the proper places.
  2. Within SketchUp select Window > Extension Manager (Microsoft Windows) or SketchUp > Extension Manager (Mac OS X). The Extension Manager dialog box is displayed.
  3. Click on the Install Extension button. The Open dialog box is displayed.
  4. Locate the Ruby zip file to install (.rbz).
  5. Click on the Open button. SketchUp will install the extension and display a security prompt.
  6. The extension will display a prompt for your extension serial number (default value is "TRIAL") if this is a new installation.
  7. The Medeek Wall extension will now appear in the list of available extensions.
  8. Re-start SketchUp to enable the license and serial number and save the settings to the registry or .plist files on Mac.

Upgrade

If you are a registered user you can obtain the latest version of the extension, at no additional charge, by logging in to the Account Manager. Click on the extension icon and then on your order number, if your order was placed within the last year or two then you will see a download button which will allow you to obtain the latest version. If your serial has expired since you purchased a license then a upgrade button will appear which will allow you to renew your license at a reduced rate for another year.

Once you have downloaded the new release, completely uninstall the existing extension prior to installing the latest release. Failure to completely remove the existing extension may cause some files to revert to the older version and limit the functionality of the extension.

The current Medeek Wall primary menu has six icons or sub-menus:



The available items are the following:

  1. Draw Wall:
  2. Draw Gable Wall:
  3. Draw Door:
  4. Draw Window:
  5. Engineering Calculations:
  6. Estimating:
  7. Change Global Settings:
Note, some menus may show additional items that are either under construction or planned for future releases.


Medeek Wall Tools is included within the extension and has a menu with eight icons or functions:



The available items are the following:
  1. Move Opening
  2. Edit Opening
  3. Delete Opening
  4. Move Wall
  5. Edit Wall
  6. Split Wall (Under Construction)
  7. Join Wall (Under Construction)
  8. Stretch Wall (Under Construction)

The Shear/Strong-Wall Toolbar has four icons or functions:



The available items are the following:
  1. Draw SSW
  2. Move SSW
  3. Edit SSW
  4. Delete SSW

The Beams/Columns Toolbar has six icons or functions:



The available items are the following:
  1. Draw Column
  2. Move Column
  3. Edit Column
  4. Delete Column
  5. Draw Beam
  6. Edit Beam

Video Tutorials

Previews of the extension during its recent development can be viewed here.

The following video tutorials are currently available on YouTube:

  1. Tutorial 1 - Extension Overview (21:58 min.)

Sample SketchUp models related to these tutorials and previews can be downloaded here.

Support

View the Medeek Wall Manual (Under Construction) for detailed information on the extension and its usage.

Please contact support directly at: support@medeek.com

Language support is planned for the following languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Russian, Swedish, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (Simplified). Translation of the user inteface is currently under development.

Updates

The current BETA version of Medeek Wall is 0.9.0b - revision date: 08.03.2018.

View the Medeek Wall Changlog for more information on updates to this extension.

The extension will automatically check for an updated version once a month. The frequency of the "check for updates" can be set in the global settings or disabled entirely.

For a more in depth look at the development of the extension and related discussions please visit the Medeek Forum.

Download previous versions of the extension here.

WARNING: Medeek Wall is currently under development and is in a BETA stage. The user may encounter unintended behavior due to the addition of new features on a daily basis. Always backup your data to separate file names to provide redundancy in case of file corruption or other data loss scenarios.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Medeek Wall extension please call us at 1-425-652-4188.


Copyright © 2017-2018 Medeek Design Inc.