3D Masonry/Stucco Model Preview

We do masonry and stucco estimating. The thing we kept wanting was a quick visual check that what we traced on the plans matches what we think we bid. So I built a 3D Model Preview component as a zzTakeoff plugin. It reads the project's traced wall markups and extrudes them into a 3D massing model, right inside zzTakeoff. There's nothing to export and no other software involved.

Screenshots below are from one of our sandbox projects.

What it does

• Builds walls from your linear/segment/area markups. Each traced line becomes a wall at its real-world length (from the page scale), extruded to the takeoff's Wall Height property. There are also a pair of two extra complement plugins which help to setup an origin per page (this is helpful for establishing an origin point when you work in more than a floor plan for the same buildings, and combining the models into 1 only structure, this origin point gives the option to add a Z height so you can add the floor plan height accordingly), the other plugin is to set coordinate values for each markups, and trace them properly.
• One structure per plan sheet. Pick a structure from the dropdown (or click it in the side panel) to isolate it. "All" lays every structure out side by side.
• Two color modes. Markup colors: walls use the same colors as your takeoffs, so the model matches what you see on the plans.
• Material colors: walls are shaded by scope (Brick, Thin Brick, Stone, Thin Stone, Cast Stone, CMU, Stucco). Scope comes from a sow dropdown property if you have one.

• Hover labels. Hover a wall to see its takeoff name, folder path, sheet, layer, all of its measurements, the length of that segment, wall height, wall thickness, base → top elevation, and material.

• Live quantity panel. The right-hand panel totals wall area (SF) and wall length (LF) per structure and for the whole project. There's also a Scope (SOW) checklist for showing or hiding Brick, Stone, CMU, etc. The model and the totals both follow the ticks. In the screenshot below only CMU is ticked:

• Works for site/hardscape too. Columns, planters, seat walls and enclosures all extrude the same way as buildings.

• Other controls:Iso / Top / Front camera presets.
• Orbit, pan and zoom with the mouse.
• Levels shows translucent planes at each level plus a ground plane.
• Ground sets the grade elevation.
• Plan lays the plan sheet image flat under the isolated structure, lined up with the walls. Great for spotting missed walls. (Not shown here.)
• Hidden decides what happens to markups you've hidden with the eye icon: leave them out, or show them ghosted.
• Layers can be ticked on and off.
• Export HTML saves a standalone viewer file you can email to a PM or GC. It opens in any browser, no zzTakeoff login needed.

Caveats

• It's a massing check, not BIM. There are no openings, so window/door deductions aren't modeled, and no roofs.
• Accuracy depends on page scale. A mis-scaled sheet shows up immediately as an oversized or undersized building, which is half the point.
• Items with no Wall Height (e.g., LF-only cast stone caps) render at the 9' default. You can see this in the material-color screenshot, where caps overlap the CMU. Give those a real height (e.g., 0.67') or untick them in the Scope filter.
• Application for other trades must be examined first.

Happy to answer questions.