I'm not sure if you'll find this useful but a similar thing I do is to draw a light marque around the stuff I want to render in 3D in my 2D view. Then I right click and hit "Show Selection/Marque in 3D". Then I set my 3D projection settings like in the photo so I'm directly over the project. Then I save that view and it's one I use extensively, both for modeling and for showing the customers what's going on.
A little side note, I love the look on the customers face when they see the 3D for the first time after having dealt with Autocad drawings only. Especially with this view. What I like to do is make sure they get a hard 2D copy first, then I show them this view of that plan and I love it when I see the edges of the mouths start to curve up as they can SEE what's going on. I've had a lot of people go "that's neat". Had one guy who was working with a architect in his country but was failing to communicate his idea to him over the phone or though hand drawn notes that were faxed. Did a down and dirty for him and produced a set of 3D images that were similar to the pictured view. He told me after he took them he would have payed at least four times what I charged him without batting an eye. Then he not so jokingly joked that he would be willing to move me and Archicad to where he was so I could finish his projects.
The picture is another current down and dirty (but only in 2D) I'm doing so please disregard how messy it is.