I've decided to kick off the holiday in style and offer a new mdkBIM promotion for the rest of the month of July:



Note:  There will be no rainchecks on this promotion and there will also be no discounts on subscription  licenses or permanent licenses purchased separately.

Looks like I've got most of the basic Global Settings all put together now. Fairly basic to start with, I'm sure as this progresses it will diverge from the initial template quite a bit:

Tutorial 30 - Double Brick Walls (9:32 min.)

I've finally wrapped up my recent move (Utah -> Missouri) and the dust is beginning to settle some.  The next few weeks I will be working in earnest on the Floor plugin and try to get it put together and released before the end of the summer and prior to the upcoming SketchUp Basecamp. 

Awesome and I am glad to hear you are getting some real world utility out of this plugin.

Version 2.8.9b - 06.06.2022
- Fixed a bug with trimmer studs for garage doors.


!!!! CRITICAL BUG FIX !!!!
Note that if you are using more than two trimmer studs on your garage doors you will get an error and your garage door will not be drawn.  Update to this latest version to fix this bug with the garage door module.

This bug has existed for some time and I was probably not aware of it or made aware of it until today because most garage doors don't use more than two trimmers/jack studs.  However, it is still strange to me how long it was able to slip by unnoticed.

Version 2.8.9 - 06.05.2022
- Added a "resolution" parameter into the General tab of the Global Settings for adjusting the smoothness of annotation text.





By default this parameter is set to 0.5 which may be a bit choppy/pixelated for some.  For maximum smoothness set this parameter to zero (as shown above).

Version 3.1.6 - 06.05.2022
- Enabled ceiling insulation for common trusses: Batt, Blown-in.
- Enabled ceiling insulation for monopitch trusses: Batt, Blown-in.
- Added an insulation layer in the global settings.







I still have a lot of work with regards to insulation and numerous other truss types and rafter roofs.

Version 2.8.8 - 06.02.2022
- Added Simpson Strong-Tie "High Strength" wood shearwalls to the SSW module: 24", 18" and 12".



I don't think the older Simpson wood shearwalls are available for purchase anymore from Simpson but I left them in just in case someone has a need for them.

There entire WSWH Strong-Wall series is now available in the warehouse:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/266431e3-09d5-4859-a61f-9657bc809e9b/WSWH-Simpson-Strong-Walls

Version 2.8.7 - 05.30.2022
- Added the "Wall Framing Material" option to the Draw and Edit menus for all wall types.
- Added "BRICK" as another wall material/texture type.



Previously the wall framing material or texture was set in the global settings, only allowing the user to specify this parameter for the entire model and not on a per wall basis.  Now the global setting will set the default value but each wall can be customized to a specific material.

* Note that this update does not change the way the pressure treated lumber (texture) is applied.  This parameter is still set globally (per the model).

I've also added on additional texture/material for the wall framing and that is brick (red).  I had a number of requests for this material recently so I thought it might be useful to add it as another option.  Unlike the CMU options the way to correctly use the brick would be to set the Wall Framing parameter as "NO" and the Wall Framing Material parameter as "BRICK".  This is really no different than the regular no framing mode other than the brick material gets applied to the wall solid/primitive. 

In all actuality the CMU modes are also very similar to the no framing mode as well however there is a bit more logic required for applying the materials and some minor adjustments for window openings (non-rectangular).

What I've shown in the screenshot above is a "brick" wall with a 1" air gap and brick cladding, effectively giving me a double brick wall.

The current system of setting the wall framing material in the global settings is not flexible enough.  Let's assume you want to have some steel framed walls and also some wood frame walls in the same model/file, the current system really does not allow for this concurrent use of different wall types as it stands now.  The wall framing material needs to be on a per wall basis...  working on it.

Most Common Licensing Question - Why do I have to renew a Permanent License?

I actually get asked this question quite a bit lately and usually it is a very angry or frustrated customer I am dealing with, so I think it is worth my time to clarify this subject and hopefully help everyone better understand what is meant by renewing a permanent license.

At first glance it would seem oxymoronic that one would need to "renew" anything that is "permanent" however it does make more sense when you fully understand how the permanent licensing system of the Medeek plugins work.

When you purchase a permanent license of any of the plugins you are given a serial number and a "License Update Expiration Date".  The expiration date indicates which versions of the plugin you are allowed to operate with your current license/serial number.  One will quickly note that the exp. date is usually one year out from the purchase date.  This means that your license will work with any versions of the plugin that are released up to or prior to this date.

Effectively what this means is that when you purchase a permanent license you have free upgrades for a year from the date of purchase.  Once this date has passed any future updates/versions of the plugins will not work with your license.  To enable your license to work with versions released after your license has "expired" you simply need to "renew" it for another year.  This will then push your "Update Exp. Date" out another year, giving you another full year of potential upgrades.

One can also renew at any interval they choose, there is no requirement to renew as soon as your license exp. date is reached.  You may choose to renew and upgrade two or three or even five years down the road from the date of your original purchase.

There is also no requirement to renew your license(s) or update to the latest version of the plugins if you so choose.  You can download the latest versions of the plugins when you originally purchase them and use them that way forever.  Permanent basically means that the currently license plugins will continue to work forever (unlike a subscription license - which actually stops working once your subscription has ended).

However, to be clear, a permanent license does not mean "free upgrades forever", and I think that is where some confusion exists for some customers and some frustration exists.

I have considered doing a "Lifetime" license which would be a permanent license with "unlimited" upgrades, however I would probably need to charge significantly more for that and the bar might be too high for most SU plugin customers.

If you have any questions with regards to how the licensing system works please feel free to email me specific questions at any time.

Let me see if I can duplicate this error on my end and then figure out what the precise error is.

The codes from the Ruby Console are helpful, thank-you.

Have you tried adding a 9 1/2" custom header in the global settings?