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Designing my new build detached garage in SketchUp was easy. Finding someone to convert my fantasy garage into something that Building Control would be happy with was more difficult. I wanted the detached garage to be well insulated, and I may well have got a bit carried away. I wanted to use Geocell Foamglass for the foundation topped off with a concrete slab. I then wanted single skin blockwork clad with external insulation that married up with the Foamglass so that the slab and block work where inside the thermal envelope. I also wanted a warm flat roof. On top of this the garage was to be trapezoidal in plan to make the most of our odd shaped plot and big enough at the front to take a 5m garage door and finally I wanted a thermal break at the door between the slab and the outside world I contacted a local Structural Engineer who came round for a site visit. There more I spoke the more bewildered he looked. He'd never heard of Foamglass, not necessarily an issue but he didn't seem even vaguely interested in finding out more about it and its utilisation. I rapidly came to the conclusion that I couldn't work with him so I pondered my next move and decided to get in touch with a (well known on here) Structural Engineer/Architectural Designer who happens to live at the other end of the country. I wondered if he'd be able to help me out or steer me in the right direction. It turned out that he could. More than that, he took on board all the odd things I wanted to do and worked with me brilliantly. He's an absolute mine of information and had lots of great input with which to finesse my design and he clearly knew what he was talking about which is so reassuring. A site visit wasn't necessary, I provided a site survey and soil survey from the house build and then photos and Google Earth filled in any blanks. I probably drove him nuts, every drawing he sent I added to my SketchUp design because I really wanted (needed) to understand how it was going to go together and didn't want the standard "the builder will know what to do". There was a great deal of detail in the drawings: The upshot of this long story is that working with a Structural Engineer/House Designer who I'd never met and who never visited the site was a great experience and I'm glad I looked further afield than the local offerings and would recommend the same approach to anyone else looking for an SE/Architectural Designer. You’ll find him here:@Gus Potter and if you’re looking for a Structural Engineer/Architectural Designer I would heartily recommend you get in touch 👍🏻

I wonder does anyone know anything about this unpronounceable software, Sefaira, an add-on for Sketchup for thermal modelling launched in 2013. https://www.sketchup.com/products/sefaira https://support.sefaira.com/hc/en-us Smart Modelling Envelope Design Daylighting Design HVAC Design It seems to have been a startup in 2009, launched its product in 2013, and then bought by Trimble, the makers of SketchUp. Some of the web pages are broken which suggests that the acquisition might be in-progress. Seems to fall under the heading "BIM". My architect asked, knowing I was a BuildHub-er. Random screenshot: