Design Software for building projects, what do you use?

[Raised on a Deere]

It is looking like I will be launching out on a project to build a 500 square foot live in cottage/shop (tiny house if you will) that I will live in while subcontracting a home build over the next two or three years on a 15 acre piece of property in central KY. The cottage might turn into a guest house, storage building, shop, play house for the grandkids, who knows as life continues. I am a DIY with an engineering background with some experience with AutoCAD over 20 years ago. I find it hard to work through design problems with out some kind of tool like AutoCAD because am to lazy to work out problems the old fashion way with Trig and all the math when I know what AutoCAD can do. I have long since forgotten all the formulas and conversion factors and even have to think hard about calculate the length of an arc etc.

AutoCAD to me has a stiff learning curve and unless you use it often, the awkwardness (to me) menu structure just stumps me after I have been away from it for a few years. I am sure it has been made more user friendly in the past 20 years, I used the beginning windows versions which were still tied to the old menu hierarchy. I am saying all that to say this. I am wondering if there is not some basic novice level cad program that will let me work out things like how for to set a post out from a wall to allow a certain roof pitch, or how far I can go at a certain pitch, with a given length rafter, or draw up a truss type structure with all the angles for the cuts generated by the program, or calculate the square footage with in a delineated area etc.

And not cost so much as AutoCAD lite around $400 I think. I have been saying just go ahead and get the tools you need and enjoy but just wondering if there is some sort of engineering Cad program out there that is slated to home design, project layout such as the grid pattern for a floor tiling, floor plan quick design tools that you guys have fallen in love with.

 

[ArlyA]

Gee, hate to admit I use a card software that's like 15yo. I've looked at other "drawing" softwares and gave up after seeing how difficult they were to learn. Sorry, but no help from me.

 

[houstonscott]

I use a tape measure, paper, pencil, some stakes, line and a level. Works better. HS

 

[/pine]

Why reinvent the wheel? Have you looked for existing plans that are similar to what you want?...IMO a legal pad for notes and a some graph paper for scaled sketches etc. work great for basic structures...

Good luck with the project and future home...

 

[newbury]

For a 500 sq ft shop I'd just surf the web for a design that appeals to me.
Try Tall Gambrel Barn Style Sheds.

 

[rtimgray]

I use AutoCAD every day, but I almost never use the menus. All I ever use is hotkeys. If you learn to draw a line and a circle and use "offset" with "trim" and "extend", you can then draw practically anything you need to.

I do several houseplans/barnplans for people each year and I briefly tried using some free CAD. I found it useful in that you could create appealing looking floor plans, but the details were difficult to hash out. I ended up just going back to AutoCAD and can't find a reason to change (I still use a copy of AutoCAD 2000 LT at home that I bought way back then).

Hunt around and see what feels normal and intuitive. If none of them do, then go back to a scale, paper and pencil.

Good luck and take care.

 

[1stDeuce]

There are some pretty good programs out there for doing building projects. Most CAD programs (like autocad) are not really set up for building houses... If you just want to do 2-d sketches, you could try Google's "Sketchup". It's free, has a smaller learning curve, and I've seen some pretty amazing stuff sketched out. I believe it does both 2-d and 3-d.

 

[xzcVAbc5]

Sketchup Maker Edition is free. You can design in 3D. Look for Jay Bates channel for some tutorials on using the software.

 

[Raised on a Deere]

It is looking like I will be launching out on a project to build a 500 square foot live in cottage/shop (tiny house if you will) that I will live in while subcontracting a home build over the next two or three years on a 15 acre piece of property in central KY. The cottage might turn into a guest house, storage building, shop, play house for the grandkids, who knows as life continues. I am a DIY with an engineering background with some experience with AutoCAD over 20 years ago. I find it hard to work through design problems with out some kind of tool like AutoCAD because am to lazy to work out problems the old fashion way with Trig and all the math when I know what AutoCAD can do. I have long since forgotten all the formulas and conversion factors and even have to think hard about calculate the length of an arc etc.

AutoCAD to me has a stiff learning curve and unless you use it often, the awkwardness (to me) menu structure just stumps me after I have been away from it for a few years. I am sure it has been made more user friendly in the past 20 years, I used the beginning windows versions which were still tied to the old menu hierarchy. I am saying all that to say this. I am wondering if there is not some basic novice level cad program that will let me work out things like how for to set a post out from a wall to allow a certain roof pitch, or how far I can go at a certain pitch, with a given length rafter, or draw up a truss type structure with all the angles for the cuts generated by the program, or calculate the square footage with in a delineated area etc.

And not cost so much as AutoCAD lite around $400 ( oops on edit it's over $800 and so if not already $300+ subscription per year) I think. I have been saying just go ahead and get the tools you need and enjoy but just wondering if there is some sort of engineering Cad program out there that is slated to home design, project layout such as the grid pattern for a floor tiling, floor plan quick design tools that you guys have fallen in love with.

Cost is more than double what I thought. I am really behind the times

 

[prichard]

I use one of the chief architect home designer products. One of the homeowner versions not the pro version. Pretty handy and helps work out spaces and perspectives.

 

[dstig1]

I went with full Chief Architect. Spendy vs the homeowner stuff but powerful and not too bad to learn. Has its quirks, like all CAD software...

 

[Raised on a Deere]

I went with full Chief Architect. Spendy vs the homeowner stuff but powerful and not too bad to learn. Has its quirks, like all CAD software...

Thanks to all who have responded. It helped get me started in a process of figuring out how I want to start out. All the replies were pertinent. Turns out AutoCAD LT is by subscription only at about $ 335 per year is pretty much out of the question, just wish I had a buddy that had a copy I could use only occasionally to work out some engineering aspect of the project.

I am going to take a look at the Chief Architect stuff which I am sure would be handy for some of the architectural stuff but my primary want at the moment is the CAD function. Don't know until I study it more if Sketcher or Chief Architect will do simple CAD functions or not. Dimensions at intersecting points and across diagonals, dragging a grid to find best fit for tile etc.

My trouble is when I start drawing with my pencil and paper to a scale it always crosses my mind how dandy I used to this with cad and how I could play around with the design so easily it just frustrates me to go back to the pencil, ruler and paper. but for what I am doing I can easily get by. But the problem solving power of CAD would be a great help in getting things worked out like I want them.

Thanks newbery for the shed designs link. I will be using that for ideas and may just use one of them. I am mostly using existing designs, and had no intention of doing my own design for the tiny house/shed structure.

And thanks rtimgray for your remarks because I was just wondering if the older cad was pretty much the same or was I needing to get acquainted with the newer stuff before I made up my mind.

 

[prichard]

If you want straight up cad try draftsight. Very good for free.

 

[Botaskinner]

Spoiled rotten here...Solidworks user since 2006.

However, I get it through my employer, and once I retire (or whatever), I'll have to revert to one of the freeware programs unless I can find a down-rev seat. There are sites out there that sell them for a fraction of the new versions, only you won't get any tech support.

That said, SWX doesn't change that much from version to version, and though I'm using 2015, I'd be happy with even 2010 or 2011 if I could buy it for a fraction of the cost of the newest version.

 

[texas42]

Still use AutoCad LT even though is a 2008 version from when I retired.
Does what I need and of course very accurate.
Check eBay for older versions that are not as pricy.

 

[Raised on a Deere]

Still use AutoCad LT even though is a 2008 version from when I retired.
Does what I need and of course very accurate.
Check eBay for older versions that are not as pricy.

I have a version of AutoCAD LT that came out for windows 95. Somewhere along the line it would not load on my newer systems, Windows 2000 or windows MP perhaps. And not needing it I did not research for ways to make it load say windows 7 or Win10. It did what I need.

But in a minute I will search ebay for an older copy that runs on newer systems, I should have thought of that. And Draftsight for free, and google Sketch and Chief Architect.

 

[Raised on a Deere]

If you want straight up cad try draftsight. Very good for free.

Thanks a million for the Draftsight tip. I just down loaded it and nosed around a bit and lo and behold the basic 2D AutoCAD features are there. And works just like AutoCAD. It doesn't do 3d or dynamic blocking etc but for basic engineering calculations for length of line, angles etc it is a true engineering tool. I can now genterate dimensions and angles on the fly as I work my project. I wonder if there is an iPad version of something like this? My experience in the past with free download versions has been disappointing at times where it takes you all the way to where you need to do one more thing to get useful output and wham you have to go to the paid version to complete the job. That doesn't seem to be the case here. I am sure it will tease me with some wanted capability that comes with the paid version but I am going to go with it for basic quick engineering calculations and have a look at Chief Architect for use in creative work.

I wish I had time to check out some other things such as the google sketchup and some others but Draftsight takes care of what I was hung up on so now I can get moving with the tools I am familiar with. BTW my son just sent me a picture of a 8 point buck he killed this morning on the property, suspended by a rope from the loader teeth on the yanmar. Pretty slick to have the right tools laying around.

 

[EddieWalker]

As a Contractor, I have found that it's best to start out looking at a ton of plans that are already in existence. Eplans.com is a great place to start. Put in your dimensions, number of bathrooms, bedrooms and whatever else you have to have, and then look at every plan carefully. Then if you find something you like, you can either just copy that plan, or modify it to make it more tailored to what you want.

I personally use Chief Architecture for drawing plans. It's simple to use and you can add furniture to it to see how everything fits and flows together. What I find happens with beginners is the fail to plan on how the rooms will be furnished, and how you will get furniture moved into the space. They also forget about things like the water heater, HVAC system and Laundry. Will there be a garage or covered parking area, and how will you get groceries into the kitchen? Then there are those who have hallways going everywhere, which are wasted space, but necessary in some applications, and not in others. With the door to the toilet be exposed to the living room? Will the kitchen sink have a view or be up against a wall? how will you vent the stove? With Chief, I take all of that into account by placing everything that is supposed to be in the house, where it will go. Surprisingly, most of the time, they don't fit on small homes!!!!

 

[farmer2009]

Used this website to figure out the specs for a set of trusses. Worked out really well. They have several calculators stairs, rafters, trusses, decks and more. Calculators for Contractors, Builders, Remodelers, Carpenters, Woodworkers & Scale Modelers

 

[Raised on a Deere]

Used this website to figure out the specs for a set of trusses. Worked out really well. They have several calculators stairs, rafters, trusses, decks and more. Calculators for Contractors, Builders, Remodelers, Carpenters, Woodworkers & Scale Modelers

Yea don't need cad to do a complete truss design. I use cad just for incidental engineering problems that come up inevitably as you are building. Working out ideas especially when dealing with tight fits.Cad enables you to see the results of tweeking several parameters to get the result you are looking for.

Ditto what Eddie walker said about making sure everything fits. Now that I have found a suitable basic cad program for free, I don't mind springing for Chief Architect. That is going to be fun.