Profile Builder for SketchUp: A Practical Introduction

Profile Builder is one of the most useful SketchUp extensions for architectural work. It turns a 2D profile and a path into a 3D element and keeps that element editable.

What Profile Builder is good for

• Railings, handrails and balustrades

• Beams, mullions and structural members

• Cladding, trims and moldings

• Kerbs, roads and other linear elements

A simple workflow

1. Draw or choose a profile (a cross-section of the element).

2. Draw the path the element should follow.

3. Use Profile Builder to run the profile along the path.

4. Edit the profile later and the whole element updates.

5. Use the library to reuse profiles across projects.

Tips

• Keep profiles simple and clean; extra edges make editing harder.

• Work with paths that have clear corners, then refine.

• Save frequently used profiles to your library.

Go deeper

In the SketchUp Advanced Architecture course Profile Builder is covered in lessons 19-23: Profile Builder (19), Along Path (20), Library (21), Edit (22) and Select/Trim/Hole (23). It is also used in the real construction projects. See the course →