PlusSpec/SketchUp Tips & Tricks Archives - PlusSpec

Understanding Automated Tag Folders, Tags/Layers inside Sketchup & PlusSpec 2022+

About Tags/Layers:  In essence, Tags/Layers enable you to name and group geometry together and turn the associated geometry off or on according to your preference. A bit of history:  In Sketchup 20 onwards, Layers are now called Tags. Seeing that Plusspec works all the way back to Sketchup 17; we call them Tags/Layer or Tags [...]


Create Professional 2D Drawings with SketchUp Layout 2018

Many companies only use SketchUp for visualization. But did you know that you can also create Professional 2D drawings with ease? If you used an older version of SketchUp Layout, but weren't convinced that it was the 2D drawing tool for you, it's time to take another look! SketchUp Layout 2018 has just been released, [...]


Product Spotlight: Inex>Boards from Brickworks

Introducing Brickworks Inex>Boards to PlusSpec and BIMBits "INEX>BOARDS Provides a range of high performing, lighter weight materials for the construction industry. INEX>BOARDS offer a superior, yet price competitive, environmentally friendly alternative to fibre cement and plasterboard products." Region Availability Australia Product Range Product Advantages Low Carbon Strength Fire Resistance Durability Acoustic Resistance Stability Water Resistance Impact [...]


NEW: Introducing the Public Material Library + Share your Materials

We release A LOT of updates to PlusSpec each year, and we've just made a BIG one to the Material Library tool! Hang on. Material Library? If you don't know that each PlusSpec user get's their own Material Library, and has the ability to create their own materials/products, you'll definitely want to read THIS ARTICLE [...]


3D Virtual Design & Construction Models can save lives!

How often does site safety fall to the wayside? 2.3 million workers die every year by work related injury at a staggering cost of $3 trillion, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Is part of the problem that site safety is traditionally just another report of endless (meaningless) paper?  We can't tell you how many [...]


PlusSpec Material Creator

Did you know that PlusSpec for SketchUp has a super powerful tool called the 'Material Creator'? What's so special about the Material Creator? One of the most powerful features of PlusSpec is that you are able to design, estimate or specify actual building products. These products are the essence of BIM, and are filled with [...]


How to Make a Seamless Texture (Tileable Texture)

What is a “seamless” texture or a “tileable” texture? Check out our blog post on 'What is a Seamless or Tileable Texture?'  It's super short and will tell you everything that you need to know. However, to put it simply, a seamless texture is an image that can be placed next to itself (above, below, [...]


What is a Seamless Texture (Tileable Texture)?

By now, you've probably heard of a Seamless Texture. However, seamless textures can also be referred to as Tileable textures, 3D textures, Texture fills, Material Textures, and so on. To keep it simple, we'll stick to using the term 'Seamless Texture'. But what exactly is a Seamless Texture? To put it simply, a seamless texture [...]


Understanding LOD (Level of Detail) for Design and Construction

LOD (Level of Detail) is the term used to describe how much information a drawing or model contains. Simply put, it is how you choose to show the construction details and materials of a project. When we were designing and drawing with pen and paper only, there was never really an issue with LOD. However, [...]


Load paths and weight distribution can make or break a budget

Designers can now see load paths at design concept stage to reduce the cost of the engineer. Hi everyone, I thought I should get a bit technical and talk about load paths and weight distribution and why I decided we needed it in PlusSpec, after all, we are not engineers right? Diagram outlining a typical […]