Hey Guys,
More and more often, even on really small remodels I am being asked by the building officials to submit plans. Some of the projects are really small (eg adding lights in a kitchen) so paying a designer or architect to draw them seems crazy. Have any of you guys used a good cad/design program to create good blueprints with that I could use for simple/small projects?
Thanks!
Edited 2/16/2006 4:20 pm by KidBuilder
Replies
3D or 2D? How much money do you want to spend? How much time can you devote to learning the program?
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
Really just looking for something that can produce soild 2D working drawings. I am really only talking about very small scale remodels, etc. I have a hard enough time finding the time to actually do the work much less spend alot of time designing it! LOL I'd like to spend no more then say $500 or so, but I want a good program designed at the professional level not a homeowner DIY special.
Thanks!
I was very much in the same situation a few years ago. I use to use programs like adobe Illustraor that could draw straight lines etc. cheap and easy to learn. Then I purchased Autocad 2000 lt. Available on e-bay for about $100 these days. I took a short course at a community college and I am now doing reasonable 11" x 17" drawings. Just bought a HP printer to print 11 x 17 ($300.00). Here in Ontario I have to as of Jan.1,2006 have a certificate from the Onatrio Government to submit drawings for clients for building permits. This certifacate is a review of the Ontario building code of which I found to be very informative.
So# 1 any simple drawing program will produce reasonable plans. Illustrator, Corel draw etc.
#2 Autocad older versions are not expensive but take some learning. Some older versions take a little work, to work on new XP.
#3 I found Chiefarchictect type software to expensive and only really great for a whole house.
George
Autocad Lite would be a good choice. But the 2000 version is getting old ... no wonder you found it for $100. Unfortunately the current version goes for something around $700. AutoCad also sells AutoSketch, which is very similar to Lite, but a little different. It sells new for about $130.
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt