Architechtural Design Software

[bighammer]

I keep seeing different brands of software for home design. I'm planning on BOMBing the house a bit, and something to help visualize and draw it would really help.





Anybody have experience with any of these? Any feedback would be a big help.



TIA

 

[TboneMan]

Most of the off the shelf CAD system will do what you want to do. The difference is in the bells-and-whistles, and easy of use. Look for export capability to an AutoCAD format (either DXF or DWG). This will insure that anything you might do can be userd by someone else.



Check with your local building code enforcement officer, though, some states require that a "Professional" (either a P. E. or License Architect) sign off on plans before you can get a permit to build. This is often based on % of change or total dollar value of the renovation.

 

[fkovalski]

I recommend AutoCad Desktop by AutoDesk, but I am biased as I use it everyday. It is power and memory hungery but our boss buys top of the line Dells annually. It does have quite the learning curve for novices though. Dittos on what TBMan said about requirements for getting a permit. I am not familiar with the "do- it- yourself" computer programs for model generating, but it might be worth looking into for giving your architect (if you hire one) ideas to run with. Happy drafting and support your local architect -frank

 

[LRoy]

3D Home Architect is very easy to use and probably adequate for everything you'd do, plus is dirt cheap. Usually around $30-40. Includes 3d rendering, furniture placement, auto material list generation, lots of neat stuff. You won't get plans you could build directly from out of it, but it's a lot closer then you'd expect.



For more serious work, I'd look at Chief Architect, same company.



parent company for both is http://www.chiefarchitect.com/



Unless they've really changed the product in the last 3-4 years, Autocad is overkill for casual use. The learning curve is pretty much dead verticle. Price tag has a few more zeroes on it, although I understand there are some versions to compete in the lower price segments too.

 

[TPCDrafting]

I use AutoCAD Architectural Desktop everyday for a living. I took 3 semesters of Cad classes in college and have been using it for 11 years. I still don't know all the ins and outs of it. It IMO is by far the best cad software available. I've used many different kinds throughout the years and none are as versatile as AutoCAD. But I just bought ACAD 2002 this past year on sale for $3400. 00. It is not intended for a one time use. I would recommend buying whatever software you like the most. If someone came to me with cad files from a $30 program whichever it was I'd have to start over anyway using my layers and my setup. The transfer between programs isn't as clean as it should be either. Most drafters out there would prefer starting fresh rather than spending a day cleaning up someone elses mess. That's a whole other thread



Contact your homeowners association and/or look at your covenants as well as contact the local building department to get a list of requirements as far as drawings are concearned. In most places, you can still get by without an architects stamp, but most likely would need an engineers stamp on the structural plans and details.



PM me if you need any help.