Basesheet

Guides

How to get real topography into SketchUp

For design work, use real LiDAR terrain: either import contour lines (DXF) and build a surface with Sandbox > From Contours, or import a ready-made terrain mesh as COLLADA (.dae) with File > Import. Keep the model near the origin, because SketchUp loses precision at State Plane coordinates in the millions. SketchUp's own geo-location terrain is fine for context but too coarse for grading.

Option 1: geo-location terrain (quick, coarse)

File > Geo-location > Add Location imports an aerial and a terrain patch. It's fast and good for context and massing, but the terrain is coarse and can't be trusted for grades, steps or drainage.

Option 2: contours + Sandbox

  1. Make contours from USGS 3DEP data (how) and export them as DXF with elevations.
  2. Move them near 0,0 before importing (or import into a CAD file and move there).
  3. Import the DXF (SketchUp Pro), select the contours and run Draw > Sandbox > From Contours.

Works well, but dense contours make a heavy mesh, and you'll need to drape the aerial yourself.

Option 3: import a terrain mesh

A COLLADA (.dae) mesh built straight from the DEM, with the aerial already applied as a texture, imports with File > Import in any desktop SketchUp. This is what Basesheet produces as terrain.dae, already shifted near the origin with the parcel line on it, plus a site-local.dxf in the same coordinates for linework.

Why near the origin

State Plane coordinates are millions of feet from 0,0. SketchUp works in single-precision for display, so geometry that far out jitters and faces fail to form. Record the offset you subtract so you can put things back in CAD.

Everything here is planning-level public data. Confirm boundaries, topography, wetlands and flood status with a licensed surveyor and the right specialists before design decisions depend on them.

Basesheet does all of this for any US address in about 30 seconds, free, with no account.

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Updated October 2026.