Designing a Trampoline Hoophouse on Sketchup
This semester, I've been taking LandCAD at Chattahoochee Tech, where I'm learning DynaScape Design, an extremely powerful CAD-based landscape design software suite. I'm not sure that I'm ready to give up pen and vellum just yet, although I am enjoying the class and am intrigued by the capabilities the software affords designers: turning layers off and on, making revisions, etc...
Working in this 2-dimensional environment got me thinking about Google Sketchup, a 3D design suite that is extremely popular with designers and architects, especially for elevation and walk-thru renderings. I tried using it a while back and never could wrap my brain around it. Perhaps that was because I just downloaded it and started playing.
This go-round, I decided to learn the rules before I even downloaded the software. I watched a few basic tutorials on youtube, then got to work on my own little design project: a hoophouse!
We have been answering craigslist ads all summer for "FREE TRAMPOLINES". The 15' round frame is SUPER sturdy, and the net makes a passable shade cloth. The frames are always in good shape, even if the tarp or safety net is torn up. They usually take about 45 minutes to disassemble by myself, and many times the homeowner lets me put the springs and tarp into their trash/recycling bins. If not, I have a neighbor whose a scrapper, so he'll at least take the springs.
Anyway, I needed a cut list for the ends and rails for the 8x15 hoophouse we plan to build in a couple weeks, so I gave it a shot. Although this first drawing project was certainly less-than-perfect, it did give me the the ability to pull the measurements I needed to get my cut list and budget built.
It also gave me the confidence that with just a bit more practice and patience, this might just become my go-to design system for all my tinker projects.
If I get good enough, maybe my efforts will create less waste and have fewer surprises as I build projects around the house. Those sorts of problems usually mean schedule and budget overruns, and I'm sure Melanie will be pleased with anything that might tighten up those chronic problems around here.
Working in this 2-dimensional environment got me thinking about Google Sketchup, a 3D design suite that is extremely popular with designers and architects, especially for elevation and walk-thru renderings. I tried using it a while back and never could wrap my brain around it. Perhaps that was because I just downloaded it and started playing.
This go-round, I decided to learn the rules before I even downloaded the software. I watched a few basic tutorials on youtube, then got to work on my own little design project: a hoophouse!
We have been answering craigslist ads all summer for "FREE TRAMPOLINES". The 15' round frame is SUPER sturdy, and the net makes a passable shade cloth. The frames are always in good shape, even if the tarp or safety net is torn up. They usually take about 45 minutes to disassemble by myself, and many times the homeowner lets me put the springs and tarp into their trash/recycling bins. If not, I have a neighbor whose a scrapper, so he'll at least take the springs.
Anyway, I needed a cut list for the ends and rails for the 8x15 hoophouse we plan to build in a couple weeks, so I gave it a shot. Although this first drawing project was certainly less-than-perfect, it did give me the the ability to pull the measurements I needed to get my cut list and budget built.
It also gave me the confidence that with just a bit more practice and patience, this might just become my go-to design system for all my tinker projects.
If I get good enough, maybe my efforts will create less waste and have fewer surprises as I build projects around the house. Those sorts of problems usually mean schedule and budget overruns, and I'm sure Melanie will be pleased with anything that might tighten up those chronic problems around here.
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