How to Calculate Linear Feet of Trim and Baseboard in SketchUp
If you’re like me and use SketchUp for architectural modeling, interior detailing, or woodworking, chances are you’ve run into the challenge of quantifying trim elements like baseboards, casing, and crown molding. These components are typically sold and planned in linear feet, not square footage.
This blog post was inspired by a question I received in my private Facebook group just for FOCUSED SketchUp students:
While SketchUp makes it relatively easy to get area measurements—especially for things like flooring or wall coverage—it’s not as immediately obvious how to calculate total linear feet for all your 1×4 or 1×6 trim pieces. Fortunately, with a little setup and the right tools, getting linear measurements can be fast and reliable.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the most effective ways to determine linear footage of baseboards and trim in SketchUp. Whether you’re managing a detailed construction model or prepping for a materials list, these techniques will help streamline your workflow.
Key Points
- SketchUp’s Entity Info panel can show lengths for individual components, but it’s a manual process.
- The Generate Report tool in SketchUp Pro can extract linear data from your model if your geometry is organized correctly.
- Quantifier Pro is a powerful third-party extension that can automatically calculate and sum linear footage by tag, component, or layer.
- Consistent modeling practices—such as grouping and tagging trim elements—are critical for accurate reporting.
Table of Contents
*Affiliate links may be used throughout this article. Read our Privacy Policy for more information.
Option 1: Use Entity Info for Quick Manual Lengths
If you only need rough totals or you’re working on a small project, you can use SketchUp’s Entity Info panel to read the length of individual trim elements.
How it works:
- Select a group or component that represents a piece of trim.
- Open the Entity Info window (from the Window menu).
- The panel will display a length value if the object is an edge or an extruded linear element.
- Repeat for all similar pieces and tally the results manually.
Limitations:
- This method works best if you’ve modeled your trim as linear extrusions (e.g., using Follow Me or Push/Pull along a single axis).
- You’ll need to manually add up lengths across your entire model.
- It becomes tedious and error-prone on large or complex models.
Still, if you’re just trying to get a ballpark estimate for a small room or a few sections of trim, this can be a perfectly acceptable approach.
Learn to Create 🔥 Documentation
My 7-Day SketchUp Bootcamp for Interior Design not only teaches how to create photorealistic renders, but also how to create amazing documentation using LayOut…all in 7 days!
Option 2: Use SketchUp Pro’s “Generate Report” Tool
For more complex projects—or if you’re already grouping and tagging your trim components—you can use SketchUp Pro’s Generate Report tool to extract linear data automatically.
Before You Start:
- Make sure your trim is modeled as components, not just groups. Components can have definable dimensions (LenX, LenY, LenZ) that the report generator can extract.
- Assign Tags (formerly called Layers) to each type of trim. For example: 1×4 Base, 1×6 Casing, etc.
Ensure your trim is oriented consistently. For example, if all baseboards run along the X-axis, you’ll want to pull the LenX attribute.
Steps:
- Go to File > Generate Report.
- Create a new custom report.
- Under the “Group By” field, choose Tag (or Component Definition if you want to group by type).
- Add dimensional attributes to the report:
- LenX, LenY, and LenZ (these are component dimensions).
- Use the appropriate one based on your trim’s orientation.
5. Generate the report and export it to CSV.
6. Open in Excel or Google Sheets and sum the length values by tag or component type.
Tips:
- The values in LenX, etc., are reported in inches by default, so you’ll likely want to divide by 12 to get linear feet.
- If your model isn’t consistent in how trim pieces are oriented, you may need to consolidate data in your spreadsheet manually.
This is a great middle-ground solution: it doesn’t require third-party extensions, and it gives you quite a bit of control, as long as you’re methodical in your modeling.
Learn to Create These Renders in 7 Days
My 7-Day SketchUp Bootcamp for Kitchen Design will take you step-by-step from installing and configuring SketchUp, all the way to using V-Ray to create the photorealistic images you see below…all in 7 days!
Option 3: Use Quantifier Pro for Automated Linear Footage
When you’re working with a large or complex model and want to automate the process entirely, Quantifier Pro is the best tool I’ve found. This extension was built specifically for quantity takeoffs and construction estimating inside SketchUp.
What Quantifier Pro Does:
Quantifier Pro reads your model’s geometry and metadata (such as tags, groups, and components) and gives you a comprehensive breakdown of:
- Linear measurements
- Surface areas
- Volumes
- Material costs (if you input cost per foot, square foot, etc.)
How to Use It for Trim:
- Install Quantifier Pro from Mindsight Studios.
- Make sure your trim is either grouped or built as components, and tagged accordingly (1×4 Trim, 1×6 Casing, etc.).
- Open Quantifier Pro’s Calculation Panel.
- Click on a tag, group, or component definition.
- Choose to report Linear Measurement.
6. Quantifier Pro will instantly show you the total linear feet for that selection.
Why This is Ideal:
- It’s highly accurate and updates automatically as your model changes.
- You can assign costs per linear foot, enabling you to estimate pricing directly.
- You don’t need to worry about object orientation like you do with the Generate Report tool.
- It can export directly to a spreadsheet or PDF report.
If you do a lot of material estimation, construction modeling, or trim work, Quantifier Pro is worth every penny.
Summary
Accurately calculating the linear feet of baseboard and trim in SketchUp depends on both how you’ve built your model and what tools you have available.
For quick checks, the built-in Entity Info panel can get the job done. For project-wide summaries, SketchUp Pro’s Generate Report tool is a powerful way to extract dimensional data, assuming your model is consistent. And for those who want fully automated, real-time reporting—including costs and units—Quantifier Pro is the gold standard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, if you want to use the Generate Report tool effectively. It reads component attributes like LenX, LenY, and LenZ. Groups don’t store this metadata in the same way.
That’s where Quantifier Pro shines—it calculates actual edge lengths regardless of axis. The Generate Report method, however, relies on consistency in component orientation.
Yes, with Quantifier Pro. Tags can be used to organize and report quantities by trim type. In the Generate Report tool, Tags help group the data, but the actual measurement comes from component attributes.
Not to the same level. Extensions like OpenCutList can help with linear material calculations, especially for woodworking, but they don’t offer the same flexibility or integration with cost estimation as Quantifier Pro.
The internal units are in inches by default, but you can configure your model’s units in Model Info > Units. Just remember that exported data like LenX will reflect the native unit unless you convert it.
Ready to Learn SketchUp?
Check out my SketchUp & V-Ray courses to find the right one for your skillset and your design specialty. Online, self-paced, and lifetime access!
Tags
