I'm trying to figure out the correct way to frame the stairwell as it joins up with the floor diaphragm above. 



It's hard to show exactly what I mean with sectional views, the best thing is to view the 3D model and you will see what I am talking about.


https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/c44b3423-611d-4dac-be93-4cf1cc072891/Stairs-1

I am working on the polygon and hole tool for I-Joist and Solid Sawn floors.  When you actually frame out this opening would you just use rimboard around the perimeter as I have shown?

I have increased the limits of the top and bottom chord loads.

Starting to think about the parameters of the Medeek RC Plugin starting with columns. 

Here is an example of a typical rebar cage.  Given the longitudinal bar spacing this column would require additional ties for the middle bars.



View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/8cd4dea1-701b-42c6-baa0-2f3fd958de2d/RC-Column

The icon or logo for this plugin will be.

Medeek RC Plugin Icon:

Some common configurations of concrete columns:

Version 1.1.2 - 05.06.2017
- Added "Circle Segments" option within the global settings, rebar and mesh polygon counts can now be controlled.



In this example I set the segment number to "5".

The global setting circle segment number will default to 24.

Recently I've received a number of requests for concrete columns to be added to the foundation plugin:



I'm still trying to figure out how to best add a concrete column module, I think it could gain some serious traction.  This would cater more to the industrial rather than the residential side.

I'll use ASDIP Concrete Software as a guide in establishing the various options to include:

Version 1.8.9 - 05.01.2017
- Added energy/raised heels for triple fink truss (3 variant: wedge, slider and vertical w/ strut).
- Metal plate connectors now enabled for triple fink trusses.

The hip truss portion is about 60%.  Between being busy at work and recuperating from my surgery I'm still not 100%, but I do plan on working on the hip truss module next.  That is definitely high on the priority list.

**Fun with Roofs - Episode 1**

My 9 year old son took one look at this roof and then said "Don't build this in Florida, you'll create a sink hole".











View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/2032fed3-cb9b-40c4-80b1-be1009b3f022/Residence-8

Version 1.8.8 - 04.28.2017
- Added energy/raised heels for mod fan truss (3 variant: wedge, slider and vertical w/ strut).
- Metal plate connectors now enabled for mod fan trusses.

The trim tool in the Truss Plugin comes in quite handy when dealing with more complex foundation geometry:



For this foundation I used the stemwall (rectangle and polygon) function and the slab (polygon) function.  I had to trim the garage stemwall and also manually create the smaller interior post/beam assemblies.  I also adjusted the position of some of anchor bolts once I cut the doors into the garage stemwall.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/4ed9f28d-11e4-4166-b698-b3cd734cd2a1/Foundation-7

Throwing a roof onto this foundation is fairly straightforward:



View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/7d17b0c7-8cfb-461b-a4a6-127fafe0ece6/Residence-7

Using the rectangular floor primitives I was able to manually create the floor on the previous foundation in about 30 minutes:



If I create the polygon floor tool I will be able to accomplish the same thing in under 10 seconds.  The polygon floor tool in the truss plugin is next...

Version 1.1.1 - 04.23.2017
- Added polygon outline tool for stemwall foundation.
- Enabled perimeter rebar, anchor bolts, vents, and internal footings for (polygon) stemwall foundations.





View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/d8dec962-1fb4-4637-adcd-7406fef4e9df/Stemwall-Foundation-POLYGON

The next improvement would be a web_diaolog input so that more than one internal footing can be specified at a time.

Then of course to further complicate matters there is the double bobtail truss which is really nothing more than a raised heel truss with unequal heel heights



So rather than add in a completely new category of trusses I suppose I could just allow the user to specify a heel height for both the left and right side of the common truss.  Currently the first menu has the option for a raised heel which is then applied to both sides of the truss.  I think I could just update to be:

Raised Heel Left: YES/NO "Defaults to NO"
Height Height Left (in.): "Defaults to 12" if no user entry"
Raised Heel Right: YES/NO "Defaults to NO"
Heel Height Right (in.):  "Defaults to SAME AS LEFT"

Recently I've had a couple requests for bobtail/stub end trusses.



When specifying how to truncate the truss, what lengths are typically used to control the location of the stub end(s)?

1.)  Stub or heel height.
2.)  Nominal span minus stub length