Development and Updates for the Medeek Wall Plugin

[Medeek]

Started to put the Wall Plugin together in earnest today.  A lot of competing interests so I'm still not sure on the date of first release yet, but at least I'm putting something together now.



For the Imperial Version the First and Second Menu Items (Ext. Wall Type) are currently:

First Menu:

1.)  Wall Mode:  Line, Polyline
2.)  Wall Type:  Exterior, Interior
3.)  Wall Justification:  Front, Center, Back
4.)  Wall Height (in.):  97
5.)  Wall Header Height (in.):  80
6.)  Stud Size:  2x2, 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, 2x10, 2x12
7.)  Stud Spacing (in.):  12,16,19.2,24,32,48
8.)  Stud Direction: Left, Right
9.)  Corner Offset (in.): 0
10.)  Top Plate:  1,2,3
11.)  Top Plate Thickness (in.): 1.5
12.)  Bottom Plate:  1,2,3
13.)  Bottom Plate Thickness (in.): 1.5
14.)  Adv. Wall Options: YES,NO


Second Menu (Adv. Wall Options):

1.)  Wall Sheathing: YES,NO
2.)  Sheathing Thickness:  3/8,7/16,15/32,1/2,19/32,5/8,23/32,3/4
3.)  Wall Cladding:  YES,NO
4.)  Cladding Thickness:  3/8,7/16,15/32,1/2,19/32,5/8,23/32,3/4
5.)  Wall Gypsum:  YES,NO
6.)  Gypsum Thickness:  1/4,3/8,1/2,5/8

I will start with the (single wall) line mode first and then progress to the polyline once I have the basic system working.  Then the addition of doors and windows and advanced options which will automatically insert doors and windows into the openings.

I've been thinking about brick facade and I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to incorporate this into the plugin yet.  Typical air gap is 1":



A 5.5" thick stud wall with 1/2" sheathing and a 1" air gap with 3.5" thick brick fits on a 10" stemwall with a 1/2" overhang of the brick.  Does anyone have any wall details/sections that they would like to see implemented in the plugin?

Here is the same wall but with a 4" x 6" brick ledge:



Notice the APA detail the brick ledge does not project below the structural sheathing, this probably makes more sense since you probably don't want the butt end of the sheathing sitting against the concrete and absorbing moisture, even though there usually will be a foam strip between the sill plate and the concrete.



I've also seen details where the sheathing laps down over the brick ledge about a 1/2", this probably makes sense in helping to keep the bugs out but then it puts the sheathing into more direct contact with the concrete.  More discussion on this subject is warranted.  I've never actually had to provide a wall detail for brick since most of the construction locally is with hardi-plank siding so my experience with brick is theoretical at best.

[Medeek]

Here is the same brick wall but with the sheathing lapping the brick ledge and the foam sill strip shown:

[Medeek]

The initial toolbar:



I may add a couple more icons for editing and deleting openings (windows,doors).

[Medeek]

This toolbar will be for light frame wood walls.  My plan is to have another toolbar (in gray steel blue color) very similar to this one for cold frame steel walls.  This will allow for the user to turn on and turn off which ever tools bars they need without having to clutter just one toolbar up with too many options that may or may not apply to that wall type.  Similarly a separate toolbar for CMU walls as I get to that. 

I'm sure there are other wall types that will come up but initially I plan on focusing on the standard wool wall and perfecting that as much as possible. 

Things will get complicated with the cladding options (ie. siding, brick facade, cultured stone, stucco and river rock) especially where they are partial wall heights and other interesting features like trim, corner treatments (Quoin), lintels, keystones and arched window and doorways.  Even the typical siding products like hardi-plank will have a number of cladding and trim options.

Here is a typical oval window that the plugin should be able to generate:



The there is the interior details (trim) of windows and doors that also should be provided by the plugin as an option:



Most houses I've lived in had only had the GWB surrounding the windows but at the minimum the doors usually has some form of casing or surround.  Integral to this is the baseboard and the optional crown molding and wainscoting.

[Medeek]

I've thought about using the Profile Builder method of pushing assembly along a path but unfortunately that only works well up to a point. When you start throwing complex openings into the mix things become much more complicated. This plugin may shape up to be even more challenging than the Truss Plugin, I guess will see how far I can take it.

As part of the door openings module there will also be interior vs. exterior as well as garage door openings. The framing aspect of the plugin should also be able to create portal frames with solid sawn and glulam headers.

[Itworx4me]

Any updates on the wall plugin?

[Medeek]

I've decided to refocus onto the layout portion of the plugin first.  Once I have that functional I will bring the framing and other details into it.  If I can pull this off its going to be really cool.

[Medeek]

Lightweight version of a Simpson Strong-Tie HDU8 Holdown.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/ce77385b-5873-48b1-ba1a-a37c2ac58294/HDU8

Its about 1/10th the weight of the official holdown in the 3D Warehouse and 118 polygons vs. 3,109 polygons. 

I will plan on using these lightweight versions in the upcoming wall and structural plugin.

If you overlay the simplified version on top of the official version you will see how closely they match up.  The critical dimensions are primarily accounted for.

[Medeek]

I've slowly been formulating my plan of attack for this plugin.  Rather than jump right into it as I did with the truss plugin I've decided to take a step back and fully explore all the suggestions I have received.

I'm firmly convinced that I need to start with a 2D layout tool first that allows one to layout the floor plan (location of walls, door and windows) before I extrude/generate it into its final 3D shape.

One will be able to add, modify and delete doors and windows in each wall segment. 

Essentially each wall segment will have its own database associated with it that stores all of the wall properties as well as all of the opening properties.

I've been putting together the algorithms for the studs and for adding in openings.  Corner treatment is of importance to me and making sure that the studs are framed properly (as one would build it) is also of prime importance.

[Medeek]

Each wall segment (Ext/Int wall) will have two ends or corners.  The possible configurations for the wall ends/corners will be:



The ability to easily switch from 1A to 1B or 2A to 2B should be integrated into the plugin, at least from a framing standpoint.

[Medeek]

My idea is to have a specific layer which the layout tool places all of its 2D layout geometry, something like the image shown below:



It will probably take a while to fine tune the layout tool so that it is robust and has enough flexibility to handle 99% of most wall framing situations.

View model here:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model/2acdeae0-8358-47c5-9b9b-c45a3a0460ba/Wall-Plugin-Layout-Prototype

My idea is color code openings (windows, doors, garage doors) for easy identification.  The same holds true for wall types (Ext./Int., Int./Int.).  With the walls I am thinking about providing a 1 inch strip on the exterior and interior to indicate the "normal vector" of the wall and provide a visual representation for the sheathing and gypsum.

When using the door or window tool to insert a new opening if you key in a dimension it will place the opening that dimension from the start point of the wall (the wall segment currently hovering over), hopefully speeding up the process of adding openings.

I would also like to provide dimensions from the "start point" of the wall to any openings which update dynamically when the opening is moved by the user.

Inside each opening I would like to indicate the opening size and door or window type (ie. 4050XO, 2020PIC, 3068, etc...) but I don't see an easy way to insert simple text into the model.

Once you have the floor plan put together with the layout tool, you simply hit the "Generate" icon and the plugin will then automatically generate all of the walls (framing, openings, insulation, sheathing, siding, gypsum, baseboard and moulding) and optionally insert doors and windows into all of the openings. 

As the plugin matures, the plan is to provide more options for window and door options (mullions, wood vs. vinyl, dynamic components etc...) as well as increased options for wall cladding (siding, brick, cultured stone, stucco , wainscoting, pre-cast concrete accents, quoins, etc...)

Perhaps my vision is too ambitious?

[Medeek]

I've been thinking about the First and Second Menu and here is my latest revision:

First Menu:

1.)  Wall Mode:  Line, Polyline
2.)  Wall Type:  Exterior, Interior
3.)  Wall Justification:  Front, Center, Back
4.)  Wall Height (in.):  97
5.)  Wall Header Height (in.):  80
6.)  Stud Size:  2x2, 2x3, 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, 2x10, 2x12, CUSTOM
7.)  Stud Spacing (in.):  12,16,19.2,24,32,48, CUSTOM
8.)  Stud Direction: Left, Right
9.)  Start Corner:  End, Outside Corner, Inset Outside Corner, Inside Corner, Inset Inside Corner
10.) End Corner:  End, Outside Corner, Inset Outside Corner, Inside Corner, Inset Inside Corner
11.)  Top Plate:  1,2,3
12.)  Top Plate Thickness (in.): 1.5
13.)  Bottom Plate:  1,2,3
14.)  Bottom Plate Thickness (in.): 1.5
15.)  Adv. Wall Options: YES,NO


Second Menu (Adv. Wall Options):

1.)  Wall Sheathing: YES,NO
2.)  Sheathing Thickness:  3/8,7/16,15/32,1/2,19/32,5/8,23/32,3/4
3.)  Wall Cladding:  YES,NO
4.)  Cladding Thickness:  3/8,7/16,15/32,1/2,19/32,5/8,23/32,3/4
5.)  Wall Gypsum:  YES,NO
6.)  Gypsum Thickness:  1/4,3/8,1/2,5/8
7.)  Wall Insulation: YES,NO
8.)  Insulation Type:  PINK FIBERGLASS, YELLOW FIBERGLASS, BLOWN FIBERGLASS, ROCKWOOL, CELLULOSE
9.)  Corner Framing:  California, 3 Stud, 2 Stud etc...
10.) Holdowns: YES.NO

Note that I have eliminated the Corner offset.  The amount of offset will be driven by the stud depth, however in the actual wall library (store parameters) I will include the offset for both start and end so that they can be edited independently.  Right from the get go I will set this up so that one can right click on the wall panel and instantly edit any of these settings as well as add or remove window and door openings.

I'm also going to add in a holdowns advanced option which will then trigger a sub-menu which will allow one to place holdowns at each end of the wall segment.

The holdowns sub-menu (subject to change) will include the following paramters:

HOLDOWNS MENU:

1.)  Holdown Type: DTT2Z, HDU2, HDU4, HDU5, STHD14, STHD14RJ, etc... (also straps ie. MSTC)
2.)  Holdown Vertical Offset (in.): 0 (this allows the ability to fine tune the placement)
3.)  Holdown Anchor Bolt: None, SB58-24, SB78-24, SB1-30, SSTB16, SSTB20, SSTB24, SSTB28, SSTB34, SSTB36, THD Rod, SB + THD Rod, SSTB + THD Rod  (this parameter will be applied only if holdown type requires an anchor bolt)
4.)  THD Rod Length (in.):  24  (this parameter applied only if an option with THD Rod is selected
5.)  Holdown Placement:  Start, End, Both
6.)  Holdown Strap Placement:  Framing, Sheathing

The anchor bolt options that include a threaded rod with the anchor bolt will also include the appropriate coupler nut based on the size of the anchor bolt chosen:  CNW58, CNW78, CNW1

Additionally the threaded rod diameter will be based on the holdown chosen.

As you can see there is going to be a considerable amount of logic that determines the sizing of these components.

[Medeek]

Working in earnest on this plugin now.  I've also decided to create a system where walls can be grouped.  So that if you alter the height of one wall segment it will automatically adjust the height of the other wall segments within that group.

[Medeek]

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/128644708/medeek-wall-plugin/

[Medeek]

I've added a few FAQs here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/128644708/medeek-wall-plugin/faqs#project-faqs