SketchUp for Tiny House Plans

Learn how to navigate and design your tiny house in SketchUp

If you’re designing your own house or perhaps even some furniture, you’ve likely heard of SketchUp. Below are some common questions we receive about SketchUp.

What is SketchUp?

SketchUp is a computer program in which you can create both simple and complex 3D models fairly easily. SketchUp was originally developed by Google (so it is often called ‘Google SketchUp’) but has since been sold to Trimble. Currently, there is a free and ‘pro’ version of the program available.

What are the advantages of having the SketchUp model to a house?

If you plan to make changes to the design of a house, having the SketchUp model can make this significantly easier. Changes can’t easily be made to a set of printable plans. If a change is desired, the plans will generally need to be recreated. This can be complex since a change to one page of a set of plans (or section of a house) may impact other pages (and so on). By instead modifying the model for which the plans are based on, you can immediately see how your changes will impact the other parts of the house and then recreate the plans with the new changes.

Even if you don’t plan on making changes to the design, having the SketchUp model can be extremely helpful. SketchUp can be used to visualize and understand how the house is assembled, and to get additional details and measurements during construction.

Is SketchUp hard to learn?

While SketchUp is extremely powerful, it is also relatively easy to use. If you just want to navigate an existing model and perhaps take some measurements, you’ll only need to know a very small subset of the available features in the program. For a quick overview of those, I’ve put together an introductory video. I've also recorded a few other video that dive into some of the more advanced features of Sketchup.

Intro to SketchUp

 

Intro to SketchUp Online

Intro to SketchUp for the iPad

 

Making Simple Modifications to Your Tiny House Plans Using SketchUp

 

Designing a Tiny House in Sketchup - Part 1

 

If you plan to use SketchUp to create a model from scratch or to change an existing model, you’ll need to know a lot more about the program. For a wide range of video tutorials visit: https://www.sketchup.com/resources/trainers.

Related Articles

Tiny House Utilities

Most tiny houses get their utilities the same way RV’s and conventional homes do. Through services provided by utility and power companies. However, occasionally people wish to locate their homes where these services are not provided.

Making the Most of Your Tiny House Height

It is one of the biggest concerns on every new tiny home builder’s mind: How much room am I going to have in that loft? We are asked all the time, “What is the highest that I can go?” There are set limitations for sure, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to sneak out as much headroom as possible. Here is what you need to know to make the most of your tiny house height.

Yes, You Can Build a Tiny House!

Getting geared up for another season of hands-on workshops, we love to look forward to watching the growth of people and their confidence in just one weekend. There are many people who come to a workshop just for that very reason: because they feel like they could never build a tiny house.

How to Sell Your Tiny House

If you have a tiny house to sell, there are a few simple steps and considerations to make, to both increase your chances of selling it and increasing the price for which it sells.

Getting The Most from Your Tiny House Research

Whether you have been considering tiny living for a while now, or you are brand new to the movement, research is an intricate part of gaining the knowledge that you need and answers to the questions you have. Here are a few great tips to help you make the most of your time and efforts in your tiny house research.

Contact Us