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drawing programs

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clbattles:
I know some where I read of some who were building houses and other things talking about drawing programs they used. I would like to know what programs was used and liked. What do you suggest? I have used Auto Cad but don\'t have a resource for it now.

TIA
Carl   

OldManBill:

--- Quote from: cbindenver on February 16, 2012, 06:14:28 AM ---I know some where I read of some who were building houses and other things talking about drawing programs they used. I would like to know what programs was used and liked. What do you suggest? I have used Auto Cad but don\'t have a resource for it now.

TIA
Carl   

--- End quote ---

If I remember correctly, several really liked Google Sketchup. Not a technical program, but can be used to rough out the basic design of a house and then taken to an architect.

Gray Wolf:
I used SketchUp to do the conceptual drawing for the family\'s house in Metro Manila.  It works really well and with the latest update there is even more detail available.  You can get the free download here:

http://sketchup.google.com/

There\'s also a Pro version, but so far I\'ve found no need fo r it.

There\'s another program that I\'ve downloaded, but haven\'t used yet.  It\'s called AShampoo Home Designer.  You can check it out for free here:

http://www.ashampoo.com/uk/usd/prc/0067

This is what I designed using SketchUp:


We ended up modifying this design a bit, but the basic concept was all done with SketchUp.  My brother in law printed this out, along with several other detail shots, and presented this to the city engineer\'s office for approval.  They had no problems with my drawings and he was even able to save on engineering fees due to having higher quality drawings than most. 

BingColin:
I have put the details of the design approach to my house here; http://thephilippinejournal.wetpaint.com/page/Design . I would recommend using one of the simple house design programmes to work up original ideas, then translate them to Google Sketchup. The draughtsmen here will, most likely, use that design to produce drawings in AutoCad for submission to the planning departments.

I found the Sketchup very useful to work out window and door sizes and their exact location and also small details such as roof vent design. It is a lot easier to show the builder a 3D rotating image than try to explain it with a pencil drawing on the back of an envelope. Even so, things were still done wrong and sometime had to be redone :(

Metz:
I use Inkscape which is free for 2D and tracing.  For 2D CAD I use Torchmate CAD which is $275US for the lite version.  It is mainly for use with a CNC machine but it can export regular DXF files. 

For 3D I hear sketchup is pretty good, or BobCAD if you are doing machining work.

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