Building design software

[EddieWalker]

When designing a building, a rectangle is the most cost effective building to build. Avoid valleys in the roof wherever possible. They add to the cost, and create issues during storms, especially if they are full of leaves. Make your sidewalls tall enough to add lean to's to both sides in the future. Make the big door as big as you can. I did 12x12 on my first barn and that was great. I could back a trailer into it easily. On my current shop, I went with 10x10 and that's a bit tight. I wanted more wall space, which may have been a mistake. My walk through door is 3 feet wide and I put my sink right next to it. I really like having the sink right there. I also have a water spicket right outside the door, which also comes in handy. If 4 foot wide walk through doors where cheaper, I would go bigger for sure. I'm always banging into the door or the framing while carrying tools in and out when I'm too lazy to open up the big door.

 

[timswi]

I've been using Punch! for years..Pretty good although there are some stumble points.

 

[dragoneggs]

I use (occasionally) Chief Architect - Home Designer Pro. Love it. $495 and well worth it (to me). There are cheaper versions depending on your needs. Maybe overkill unless you settle on one of the basic packages. Check it out here:

Home Designer Software Products

Very powerful for whole house design exterior/interior or remodels. If you have any CAD or photoshop type experience, the learning curve isn't too bad. It is addicting for some, like me. I have spent many an all-nighter learning and tweaking. First project was to get my old blueprints of our house modeled and ready to use for potential remodel projects. One of the features I love is the Bill of Materials. Easy to figure out the materials needed and cost. Once you get 3D models you can look from any vantage point to understand your lines of sight. Heck of a lot of fun but plan on some serious time if you want it done right. Otherwise, you can take your sketches and have someone bang it out for you.

Here is my detached garage with my proposed addition of a high bay. Can't remember how to put the garage doors down, but I like seeing into the interior.

View attachment Screenshot 2018-01-15 18.06.26.pdf

 

[blackdog2086]

Another vote for Sketchup. It's free, does everything you'll probably ever need, is as powerful if not more so than many high cost CAD programs and is really easy to learn. If I could learn it pretty much anyone can. There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube but I recommend watching the Harwood Podcast videos as they break it down into bite size lessons and you can pick the ones that pertain to your immediate project and skip over the ones you don't need. For free, you can try it out and if it doesn't fit your needs move on to something else.

 

[dragoneggs]

I played with Sketchup in the long past and yes quick learning curve and pretty slick for free. But I see it only as a sketch tool not a drafting tool for house plans. What I like about Chief Architect Home Designer is that it can quickly pump out framing diagrams, elevation views, truss designs, and many other features needed for a building permit. In fairness, I never explored Sketchup enough to see if it could do true house plans but Home Designer definitely can.

If you are only sketching and not making build to print plans then Sketchup should serve you well for minimum of headache. But if you are talking drawings that require a permit you probably need to graduate to a tool that is intended for that use (or hire out).

 

[blackdog2086]

I played with Sketchup in the long past and yes quick learning curve and pretty slick for free. But I see it only as a sketch tool not a drafting tool for house plans. What I like about Chief Architect Home Designer is that it can quickly pump out framing diagrams, elevation views, truss designs, and many other features needed for a building permit. In fairness, I never explored Sketchup enough to see if it could do true house plans but Home Designer definitely can.

If you are only sketching and not making build to print plans then Sketchup should serve you well for minimum of headache. But if you are talking drawings that require a permit you probably need to graduate to a tool that is intended for that use (or hire out).

It must've been awhile since you used SketchUp. Every year they update it (again free) and it will do everything you described and then some. I actually watched some of the YouTube videos before I downloaded the program and was amazed at how thorough the program is. There are also tons of (here goes the F word again) "free" plug-ins for the program. It is probably one of the best supported design programs out there since it was developed by Google then sold to Trimble.

I designed my tractor barn with it down to the last board and shingle as well as using it for an ongoing home renovation project.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I have used everything mentioned. Still like the old microstation the best. I also have autocad, and chief arch. Havent used sketchup in a few yrs.

I taught CAD at community college in early 90s, class used microstation.

 

[dragoneggs]

It must've been awhile since you used SketchUp. Every year they update it (again free) and it will do everything you described and then some. I actually watched some of the YouTube videos before I downloaded the program and was amazed at how thorough the program is. There are also tons of (here goes the F word again) "free" plug-ins for the program. It is probably one of the best supported design programs out there since it was developed by Google then sold to Trimble.

I designed my tractor barn with it down to the last board and shingle as well as using it for an ongoing home renovation project.

Good to know... yeah it has been awhile. Might have to reinstall it and give it a whirl some late night!

 

[GLyford]

There are several ways to use sketchup, one is to just sort of freeform build stuff with the mouse, but you can also work to dimension as you go, or edit to a dimension once you have something sketched. You can also make components and copy them around, and save them seperately so you can simply call them up and insert them (studs, trusses, etc.). So it is possible to draw up pretty much anything you would with regular cad, but it isn't automated.

I suspect if you have a tool that does full studwall details etc. automatically on the fly, that's going to be more productive.

 

[dragoneggs]

There are several ways to use sketchup, one is to just sort of freeform build stuff with the mouse, but you can also work to dimension as you go, or edit to a dimension once you have something sketched. You can also make components and copy them around, and save them seperately so you can simply call them up and insert them (studs, trusses, etc.). So it is possible to draw up pretty much anything you would with regular cad, but it isn't automated.

I suspect if you have a tool that does full studwall details etc. automatically on the fly, that's going to be more productive.

Yes, having the program automatically generate the framing and bill of materials is what I am talking about when using Home Designer by Chief Architect. I don't know if Sketchup has that capability. Entering in material prices for studs, siding, sheetrock, etc will give you a very good estimate of job cost.