This is a quick little tutorial in response to Blake’s question on how to draw floor plans in 3D in Sketchup
This is the quick and dirty method
First make an outline of the inside dimensions of the room
Then select all the lines by clicking on them with the shift key held down
Then use the offset tool and click on one of the selected lines, and offset it 4 or 6” whatever you want..
Then you should have a separate area where the walls are
Then grab the push pull tool and start extruding your walls..
I just type in 8’ in the VCB (the box in the lower right corner) then hit enter, and voilà! 8’ high walls…
Then if you want to start getting fancy you can add some interior walls..
Just draw a rectangle the same width as your other walls where you want the partition to be, grab the push/pull tool and extrude away! 
Thats kind of the quick and dirty way to do it. It works well if its a small space and not allot of walls. If you wanted to do a more detailed or complex floor plan with allot of walls I would take the time to draw it out in 2D with your wall thickness and then use the push/pull tool to extrude the whole thing.
Allot of times I have the luxury of having an Auto CAD 2D drawing of a floor plan. I import it into Sketchup and if the drafter did a good job I could just clean it up a little and then extrude the walls. Most of the time I end up drawing from scratch. I hope this helps you and anyone else out there to understand and use Sketchup! Feel free to post any questions….i will do my best to answer them!
-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"
8 comments so far
Scott Bryan
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20080 posts in 701 days
posted 527 days ago
Thanks David. I am sure that this tutorial will benefit of lot of us on the steep side of the Sketchup learning curve.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
rikkor
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11338 posts in 753 days
posted 527 days ago
Nicely done. It is clear and easy to follow. Thank you.
Richard Williams
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posted 527 days ago
Hi Dave, Nicely done my friend. Great screen shots of your work in progress. I also use SketchUp and several other CAD programs. SketchUp is the world’s premier conceptualization program. It is easily learned and it can be downloaded for free from Google who now owns the company. The Pro. version costs about $500. but for most of us the standard free version does everything I want to do with it. You did a very nice presentation there and I am sure you have enticed a lot of others who would like to try their hands at using it. Take care and keep on drawing. Bye.
-- Rich, Nevada,
GaryK
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9496 posts in 867 days
posted 527 days ago
Very nice job explaining it!
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
gizmodyne
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1658 posts in 969 days
posted 527 days ago
Great tips. I have struggled with this. Never thought about the offset tool.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
Blake
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posted 526 days ago
This is exactly what I needed! Thanks so much!!! I am going to try this… Favorited.
-- Check out my new website! http://www.blakeweberwoodworking.com
fredf
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316 posts in 589 days
posted 526 days ago
You enticed me to download and try sketchup. It does look to be a very handy tool. as soon as I get over the worst of the learning curve.
I have a cottage that we are getting ready to add a new larger kitchen to, and I am curious about roof lines. I finally got one side of a roof on. boy think its easier in real life! su doens’t want to draw planes at odd angles does it!
thanks
-- Fred, Springfield, Ma
Brad_Nailor
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1192 posts in 836 days
posted 524 days ago
Thanks for the comments guys! Blake, I’m glad i could help. I figured it would be easier to show how to do it rather than try to explain it….and it was so many screen shots it turned into it’s own blog! The offset tool is pretty handy..I use it allot…that and “follow me”.
fredf…SU does angles pretty well. You have to master the protractor tool (allows you to set guide lines at specific angles) and the rotate tool ( allows you to rotate already created geometry). What are you having trouble with? Usually its the eaves/overhangs that throw people curves…
-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"