Version 1.8.5 - 02.18.2017
- Enabled roof cladding for dutch gable and TJI rafter roofs.
- Added TJI rafter roofs with dual glulam beams.
- Added Soffit Cut within Advanced Options for TJI Roof w/ GLB.



View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=82a033b2-acc6-4216-a04c-f3707c68a49e

First new roof type in added in quite a while.  Lately I have been focusing most of my effort on cleaning things up and making sure all the options are working correctly for each roof type and configuration.

Soffit cuts with TJI (I-Joist) rafters gets a bit interesting but I've finally implemented it:

To create this roof was not an entirely automated process but I'm slowly getting there.  The trim tool comes in really handy for creating valley and jack rafters but ultimately it would be nice to auto create L-Shaped, T-Shaped and U-Shaped roofs.



View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=28c0e0f9-a245-4ff9-a923-f8c268bc9828

Version 1.8.4 - 02.14.2017
- Enabled roof cladding for gable and hip rafter roofs.
- Roof slope can be toggled between Pitch or Degrees (input) for gable and hip rafter roofs in the global settings.

Version 1.8.3 - 02.12.2017
- Enabled metal plate connectors, materials and custom layers for Fan trusses.
- Added energy/raised heels for Fan truss (3 variants: wedge, slider and vertical w/ strut).
- Roof slope can be toggled between Pitch or Degrees (input) for common trusses in the global settings.



Currently the metric template forces the roof slope to degrees however in the imperial templates (inches, feet) the user can select between Pitch or Angle for common truss types.  I will need to update all of the truss types with this global setting option.

The common fan truss now has raised heels, plates, materials and layers:



I apologize for the slow progress.  I've had some 12 hour work days last week so I didn't have much left in the tank once I got home, usually just eat and then went straight to bed.

Actually I would change the name of the Fan Fink to Double Fan.

The next size up would be:

Quad Fan 10/5
Double Mod Fan 10/6
Triple Fan 10/7
Quad Queen 10/8
Quad Fink 10/9
Quad Howe 10/10

As the number of panels increase in the top chord the number of potential variations increases.  So for a four panel top chord truss the number of variations is three, the general pattern is:

(2/x) truss = 1 possible configuration
(4/x) truss = 3 possible configurations
(6/x) truss = 4 possible configurations
(8/x) truss = 5 possible configurations
(10/x) truss = 6 possible configurations
(12/x) truss = 7 possible configurations
...

I'm quite familiar with all of the industry names for various configurations of roof trusses (ie. Fink, Howe, Mod Queen, King Post, Queen Post, Double Fink etc...)  What distinguishes these trusses from each other is the configuration of the webs of the truss which is dictated by the number of panels of the top chords and bottom chords.  For example the Howe truss is four top chord panels and four bottom chord panels (4/4).  Most diagrams show up to a Triple Howe truss (8/8).  What is not typically shown is an (8/6) and (8/7) truss, is there any reason for this?  These two configurations seem perfectly valid to me, I would call them a Triple Queen and Fan Fink truss respectively.  Has anyone come across either of these two configurations?

I've been working on the polygon slab-on-grade this weekend and by extension the polygon stemwall foundation as well.  The interactive "tool" portion has been difficult mostly because I don't understand a lot of that portion of the code (blackbox to me), but I'm almost there with it. 

I would like to be able to create a foundation with any shape or size simply by drawing a polygon, point by point.

A simple example would be something like this:



Note, the interior floor beams at 12' on center.  Using an Web dialog I should be able to allow the user to easily add in as many floor beams or bearing walls as required. 

Once I have the foundation working correctly then I need to extend the floor truss/ floor joist module so that it can also handle polygon shaped structures within the Truss Plugin, then we will have a full package.

In response to a recent request about gable ends of the roof assembly I have created an additional option in the "Gable End Trusses" option when creating common trusses.  The new "Front" option only creates the gable end truss and gable end geometry on one side of the truss assembly and leaves the other side open as shown below:



This should come in handy when creating roof assemblies that butt up against walls and other complex configurations (ie. T-shaped buildings requiring Valley Sets etc...)

I've also been slowly working away at bringing all of the common truss types up to speed.  The Modified Qeen Truss (Mod Queen) now has plates, raised heels, structural outlookers, layers and materials:



Most of the non-common truss types still need me to go through and integrate plates, layers, raised heels and materials, the amount of work needing to be done is staggering.  This plugin is far from a polished, finished product, even after more than a year's worth of time and effort.

When combining different roofs on complex structures I often find myself having to delete the outlookers, overhang and gable end truss on one end of the roof assembly. Then today I had a request from a user to enable the ability to limit the gable geometry to only one end. Based on this I will try to set up another option for the gable end truss option which allows for only the creation of one side with the gable end geometry. This means I will have to rework some of the advanced options to make sure it is compatible but I think I can make it happen fairly quickly.

The 18.5' highbay/garage only needs to be 16' in height and the 2nd floor of the office space needs 9 ft ceilings:



https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=cb53d8ed-8174-4cb1-a4cb-f2cff60679ff

Note the valley truss set, and how I was able to easily tie these two roofs together.  For simple roof lines I'm pretty happy with what the plugin can do.

So far I have not really had the opportunity to use my own plugin on a real job, other than some minor conceptual structural models. 

Last night I had the opportunity to model a garage/office as part of a real world study for a building design.



This further re-emphasized how much I need to put together my own Wall Plugin, something I might seriously wade into this weekend.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=0241721f-e85e-4d72-9245-9488a99d3e13

Its 25Mb because of the vehicles I inserted from the 3D Warehouse, it would be nice to have more lightweight test vehicles to use as space fillers and sizers, does anyone have any suggestions?

Can you also assign a cost value to groups as well as components?  I am curious how you are doing this with ProfileBuilder2.  Is there anything with the Truss Plugin that I should do differently to make it easier to integrate with ProfileBuilder2?

I am seriously considering starting on the Wall Plugin.  I've realized that the new sheathing and cladding options I've added in recently need a similar Wall Plugin to mesh with.  Housebuilder is pretty good but doesn't quite do enough in my opinion.  It need more advanced options.  I also would like to see better treatment of the wall framing at corners, I think a lot can be done in this regard.