Modelling Cuts & Fills & Retainer Walls

PlusSpec Community General Discussion and Questions
1

Hi Group
Looking for some guidance, tips and suggestions on options to model cuts and fills and also retainer walls for development sites please.

If PlusSpec or PDB doesn’t easily do it or have it on its future plans, then is there another extension with some good video tutorials that can do it?
Thanks in advance for your suggestions and feedback

2

Hi Pembi, to cut and fill, I usually draw a shape on the Blue axis ground, and I push-pull it up to my cut and fill level. I then Intersect geometry with the model.
Is this what you needed to know?

Here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOqkDxdVlmI

This is the contents and time stamps in the video.
00:00 - 00:01 Introduction to importing contour surveys into SketchUp
00:01 - 00:11

  1. How to Import a PDF Site Survey
    1. Import PDF using the Import PDF & Scale tool
    2. Scale PDF
    3. Explode PDF
    4. Isolate your working region
    5. Delete unnecessary information
    6. Trace contours
    7. Push pull faces for a stepped site plan
    8. Use Sandbox for contour average faces
      00:11- 00:13:15
  2. How to Import a DWG or DXF Site Survey
    1. Import DWG using File Import or Drag and drop
      00:13:15 - 00:16:12
  3. Delete unnecessary Tags/Layers
    3. Explode PDF
    4. Isolate your working region
    5. Move contours to RL contours
    6. Use the Sandbox tool to create a mesh
    00:16:12 - 00:22
  4. How to position and orientate a site survey and why
    Orientate a survey plan to work on axis
    00:22 -00:26
    How to Import Near maps files, Bing Geo files geo-locate a site survey
    00:28 - 00:32
    How to cut and fill a site
    00:32 - 00:37
    How to choose a level to start
    00:37 - 00:41
    How to do accurate solar studies after rotating a survey plan
    00:41 - 00:42
    Controlling geometry with tags
    00:42 - 00:44:47
3

Great Summary Andrew - Thanks for sharing
You make is appear so easy with the PlusDesignBuild Tools you have developed etc. - Well Done :slight_smile:

Be great to see:-
1 - the link to the other videos/tutorials on calculating cut and fill volumes
2 - How you can tweak the existing site for existing sloping retainer wall or rapid changes in slopes (steep batters) etc

4

I will do a recap video when I get time. Currently, we ar in the process of releasing the next version of PlusDesignBuild so It wont be today