The Building Structure Tool plugin created by Tak2Hata on SketchUcation.com is a useful tool for design professionals such as structural engineers and even architects. A note that I would like to bring to your attention early in this post is that the developer is from Japan and is offering this plugin FREE though please consider donating to the 2011 Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami fund as those people are still in desperate need for aid. You can donate by:
Going to World Vision or text “4japan” to 20222 to send a $10 donation which will show up on your phone bill.
Or the American Red Cross also accepts donations via text message. Text “redcross” to 90999, and you can make a $10 donation. And finally you can contribute $10 via the Salvation Army – text “japan” or “quake” to 80888.

And now back to the review… The Structure Tool Plugin works great for those with a generous understanding of building structure design. For those that do not know the design code it may be difficult to fully understand how to use. The plugin allows you to create steel girders, beams, and columns in addition to concrete girders, beams, columns, footers and walls. And you can extend these objects and connect them with each other seamlessly with other tools available. Note that this tool is still in the Beta version so changes and updates should be coming soon.

Some elements missing are the standard (American) design specifications and even an ability to custom create your own design of beams or columns.

Overall, the Building Structure Tool plugin created by Tak2Hata on SketchUcation.com is a useful plugin for building professionals. At the time of this review this plugin is FREE and is available at SketchUcation.com. I give this plugin 4 out 5 stars.

Download Notes: Remember to be logged in with SketchUcation in order to see the file download.

The Lattice Maker plugin created by TIG on SketchUcation.com is a simple plugin allowing you to make lattice style arrays and frames. The plugin works great to create skylights, sculptures, mosaic glass tiles, greenhouses and much more. This plugin is great for architects and contractors to create works simply and quickly.

The plugin allows you to create the frames and inset panes for any surface. It works great to create just about any shape you desire. When using the plugin you need to select the faces and then go to the plugin menu and click the “Lattice Maker” plugin. A dialogue will appear with options for the width and depth of the frame, the pane inset dimension, the lattice or frame material and the pane material.

The drawback of this plugin is that there are only a limited amount of colors to choose from for the lattice and same with the pane. Though having the glass option is great, but the plugin does not allow you to specify the thickness of the glass. And a great benefit for this plugin would be to have an icon or button to save some time, though you always do have the option of creating a shortcut key for it.

Overall, the Lattice Maker plugin created by TIG is a very useful plugin to have. At the time of this review this plugin is free and is available at SketchUcation.com. I give this plugin 4.5 out 5 stars.

Download Notes: Make sure to be logged in on SketchUcation.com

The House Builder plugin created by Steve Hurlbut and D. Bur on the Ruby Library Depot is a very efficient tool to create a home wood frame construction processes with studs and joists. The plugin allows you to create doors, windows and even roof pitches automatically.

If you are an architect, builder, general contractor or in the construction world this plugin is a necessity. It creates the frame work based off of user inputted lumber sizes, heights, justification, spacing and may other important defining measurements. If you are working on a 4D (construction time-line based animation) this plugin simply is a must.

This tool has no real drawback other than making custom doors and windows would have to be done manually. But the standard door and window shapes are available and can be used with almost any sizes needed. The great part of the Home Builder plugin is that it also lets you move or change properties to doors and windows. In addition to the Standard (US standard measurement tool) there is also a metric version of this plugin.

In future versions of the House Builder, it would be beneficial to have unpainted drywall placement part of the plugin. And even including the use of concrete cinder blocks and columns.

Overall, the House Builder plugin created by Steve Hurlbut and D. Bur is an essential plugin for anyone in the construction field. At the time of this review we used the House Builder plugin and the extension to the house builder plugin. This plugin is free and is available at The Ruby Library Depot. I give this plugin 5 out 5 stars!

The Balustrade plugin created by T. Marek and D. Bur on Ruby Library Depot is a clever plugin that allows you to create your own balusters (also known as hand rails). This plugin allows you to create your own baluster using the menu to control the styles of the posts, handrails and panels. And you can even take it one step further and create your own custom balusters by creating the elements and naming them according to what they are.

The process of creating your own custom baluster is to first create components named HR (for handrail), PO (for posts) and PA (for panels). Then once you create the components you create the track for your baluster (note that the baluster will be positioned on center of the track). And then you can go ahead and run the plugin. It will give you the option to use the plugins already set styles or choose your own by choosing the mentioned components. Be sure to note the positioning of your components, because this can effect your end result. For a more detailed instructions, click here.

Overall, the Balustrade plugin created by T. Marek and D. Bur is a great plugin. It is easy to use and can be very helpful when designing architectural works. At the time of this review this plugin is free and is available at crai.archi.fr – Ruby Library Depot. I give this plugin 5 out 5 stars!

*Be sure to download the Balustrade Components file*

The Slab Tool plugin created by Last Software on the Ruby Library Depot is a simple yet useful tool. It does what it sounds like, it creates square slabs for your model. I know this isn’t the fanciest tool but it does offer a solution to creating those slabs.

The best part of this plugin is that it creates the slab as a group automatically. Don’t you hate it when you create a floor and then put walls on top only to find out now these objects are stuck together? This plugin will solve that. To use the plugin you simple go to the plugin menu and click “SlabTool” and then the option screen comes up. Choose the slab color and thickness. Then draw out a rectagle and then voila the slab is created. A drawback of this plugin is that it doesn’t give you the option of which side the slab will be extruded to. But since it is a group it is easy to adjust.

Overall, the Slab Tool plugin created by Last Software is a simple and effective tool to create slabs. At the time of this review this plugin is free and is available at the Ruby Library Depot. I give this plugin 3 out 5 stars.

NOTE: To save the file you need to “save page as” .rb
and then place in SketchUp Plugin folder.