3D Building Model in SelfCAD

SelfCAD

Jan 5, 2020·11 min read

Welcome to the first SelfCAD instructable. With this tutorial, we will step by step model a 3D house using SelfCAD — an online 3D modeling application.

Enjoy the course!

Step 1: Prepare Your Reference Images

To model a house we will need reference images. You can use any project or simply draw your own building. I used my own drawings but decided to make this model without cellar, foundations and thermal insulation.

For this course purposes, you can use the same images.

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Step 2: Create a New SelfCAD Project

Launch SelfCAD editor and create a new 3D project. SelfCAD’s 1 unit is equal to 1 millimeter, but we will draw our building in centimeters. It means that in fact, the model will be 10 times smaller in each dimension.

Now you should see the grid settings. I set Workplace Size to 1500 because 15 meters should be enough for my project. Segment Size means the spacing between grid lines and depends on your building’s core centerlines. I entered here value 30.

Click the Create button.

Step 4: Set the Right Size and Position of Each Image

Make your images invisible by clicking on the button with an eye under each image except one.

Now, find two characteristic dimensions. It can be, for example, the size of a room or whole building. Add a cube to the scene and set its Width and Depth like these two dimensions.

Change the size and position of the reference image so that the chosen dimensions match the dimensions of the cube. You should be in Orthographic Projection mode to do it precisely.

Then you can delete the cube and move the image to match core centerlines to the grid lines. The rest of images can be matched to this one you already have.

Step 5: Use FreeHand Tool to Draw the Walls of the First Floor

Now we can draw the walls. Use FreeHand (Drawing → FreeHand or F+H).

Use the Brush tool (Drawing → Free Hand → Brush or F+B). Set its radius (it’s called Width, but actually it is the radius) and make sure that the line edge style is set to a square. In-Plane Settings, you can see an Offset. It is the height we will draw our walls at. Now we can leave its value 0. Let’s move to the Height Settings. Its maximum value equals 100, but the walls should be higher. For now, set here 100 just for convenience. The last, and the most important, are Precision Settings. Always make sure you have Minimum Step Size on. It’s value should be usually equal to 1 (1 centimeter). The second thing here is the snapping option. Now we should have to snap to grid vertices selected.

Draw walls by clicking at two points where centers of cores cross.

For the rest of the walls choose the Rectangle tool (Drawing → Free Hand → Rectangle or F+R). Turn off snapping to grid vertices. Notice the Erase option. It might be useful in some places or if you make a mistake. I used Erase on photos 3 and 4.

Step 11: Make Different Heights at Second Floor

Our building has two heights of the second floor. The higher part measures 270 cm and lower one 220 cm. Draw a rectangle and set it’s offset to 525 (270 + 35 + 220.

Select the walls and the cuboid, then use Stitch & Scoop → Difference (B+D). Choose the cuboid from the list to subtract it from the walls.

Step 14: Cut a Hole for Chimney

After creating the eaves we must cut a gap for the chimney. Draw a rectangle that we can subtract from the ceiling. This rectangle should be deeper by the thickness of the chimney’ wall, as in the first picture (look at Step 16 to see why). Then, use Stitch & Scoop → Difference to subtract the cuboid from the ceiling.

Step 18: Model a Fireplace

Now we can model a fireplace inside the chimney. Draw a rectangle with the offset 50 and height 60. Use the Difference to cut a hole in the chimney walls. After that, draw the second rectangle, as big as hole inside the chimney (2nd picture) with offset 0, height 50. This time use the Union to make the chimney and cuboid one object.

Step 20: Model a Roof Over the Entrance

Add a cube to the scene and set its Width: 211, Height: 100, Depth: 332. Move the cube over the entrance to your building (Picture 1). Select its upper face and change its scale to (1, 0,1), then move it close to the wall.

Select the bottom face of the cube and use the Extrusion tool (Modify → Extrusion or M+E) and set its amount to -15 (Picture 3). Then use Inset tool (Modify → Inset or M+I) with amount 4 (Picture 4), and again extrusion with amount -15 (Picture 5). The last picture shows the result.

Step 22: Cut Holes for Windows and Doors

Draw shapes of windows and doors at the 1st floor. Remember about setting offset: 15 for high frontal windows, 100 for other windows and 0 for doors. Move the upper faces of windows at height 250 (Y dimension) and upper faces of doors at height 200. Use Stitch and Scoop tool (Difference) to cut holes in walls.

Do the same on the 2nd floor. Offset 315 for the balcony door, 405 for windows in the higher part, 385 in the lower part and 305 for doors. Upper faces: 555 for windows in the higher part, 505 for windows in the lower part, 495 for doors. Use Stitch and Scoop again.

Step 23: Fill Polygons

I changed the color of my objects to black to see their shapes better. Now I can see that something went wrong on the 1st floor — there are no faces around the holes I have just cut!

First, use the Resolution tool (Modify → Resolution or M+L) and set it to 0 in order to simplify your object’s grid. If it created unnecessary faces, as in two of my windows, just delete them. Then we can fix our walls by selecting two corresponding edges and connecting them using the Fill Polygons tool (Tools → Fill Polygons or C+F).

Step 24: Draw Staircase

Turn on B-B Section and move it at the Back view.

Use FreeHand → Line (F+L) to draw stairs. First, check Front/Backplane in Plane Settings. Then, stair by stair, draw your staircase. In my project, each stair is 19 cm high and 27 cm deep. Remember to connect the end of your line with its beginning to create an object. After that, draw a wall under your staircase. Turn on 1-floor walls and set Wireframe mode to see where the wall should end.

Make stairs 120 cm and wall 12 cm wide. Move them to the right place.

Step 25: Match the Ceiling to the Staircase

We have already created the hole in the ceiling but now we can fit it into the staircase. Use the Polygon Selection Mode and Move tool.

Step 27: Draw Doors

Choose the Rectangle tool. Turn on the first floor and Wireframe mode to see how wide the doors are. We have cut the holes for our doors 200 cm high at 1st floor, and 190 at the 2nd floor

First, draw a frame. Rotate it and move to the hole in the wall.

Then draw a door. Again, rotate it and move where you want. If you want to leave your door open you can choose Rotate and turn on Advanced Settings. Then choose where the origin should be placed. In picture 4, the left position of the origin is chosen, which makes opening and closing the door possible.

Step 28: Create Windows

Now it’s time to model the windows. Choose the front wall and select the inner polygon. Use Move just to read the Z position of this face. In my model, it’s 311.

Our window frame will be composed of two-three. The section of them is shown in Picture 2. There will be an external frame (8 cm deep and 8 cm wide), internal frame (also 3 cm deep and 8 cm wide) and glass (2 cm deep)

Now go to Front View, select Rectangle and choose Front/Backplane. Set Offset to 331 (311 + 38–10–8) and Height 8. Draw the external frames like in Picture 3

Do the same with the internal frames. Offset: 227 (311 + 38–10–8–4), Height: 8. Draw the internal frames like in Picture 4.

Now let’s fill the frames with the glass. Draw next Rectangles. Offset: 230 (311 + 38–10–8–4 + 3), Height: 2.

Do the same with all the windows.

You can select the glass objects and change their opacity to 40 or less, like in Picture 6.