GSVette
Gold Member
I stalled at Windows 7 for bootcamp and have not felt any need or desire to update. Most of the features that are lacking are not ones that I really need or want (with the exception of being able to import shape files.
Simple CAD software for barns and sheds?
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LittleBill21
Elite Member
Surprised by the number of people suggesting 360 for this type of work. I use it everyday, and wouldn't use to design a floor plan, although you can do it. you get no real visual, and building stairs etc, could take a bit of work. the architect programs really help with the visuals
Many folks have done that at one time or another, including yours truly, but just keep in mind that you still need to plan the structure to meet the on-site environmental conditions that the codes take into account. Depending on where you are located things like tying the roof structure to the foundation, proper corner bracing, percent of allowable openings in a wall, using hurricane ties, etc. need to be taken into account when you draw your plans.
You are talking about some pretty substantial structures so building them correctly is paramount.
OP
N80
Super Member
Of course. Plans will be reviewed and contributed to by several friends/family members who, unlike me, have experience with this type of thing and know what they're doing. I am fortunate to have those sorts of human resources to help me out. Site prep will be done by a professional. Again, all of this is pie-in-the-sky right now. Very much in the planning stages. And I tend to move slow and cautiously. My point was just that if things go right there will be no official inspections or permits. We can still consult the codes.
Thanks for the info. Not sure I want to invest much in CAD. I really liked AutoCAD and Draftsight. Auto Cad is out of price for me.
I think I am reluctant to buy much software now because I think we are on the edge of going to Windows 11. I think they have already issued an end date to updates and support for W10. I will be building new computers when they have it out. I use 2 computers. Draftsight is out of sight now with the suscription cost of $220 or $500 annual. Turbocad is doable at the Designer lever, but not so much above $200. I no longer use cad extensively. But really miss it when doing any project. Don't much like getting paper and pencil for that. I have a drafting minor and will never forget the MANY hours late at night in the Dorm inking 36" velum plates. So tedious. Now love cad and printing and plotting. I will watch TurboCad as an option. Thank You.
Kschwennsen
Silver Member
In your situation I would get a list of all of your wants or needs and head to a Menards/Lowes/HD and have them mock something up for you. Otherwise go online and see what kind of layouts are out there already and tweak where you need to. Probobly will come up with ideas you didn't even think about.
Apogee22
New member
When it comes to building construction CAD, there are a lot of programs out there that do an OK job and are fairly cheap. Or there used to be when you could walk into BestBuy and buy software off the shelf...
I got much more serious and ended up using Chief Architect to design and make prints for my house and shop build. Nowadays it costs close to $3k, so I doubt that is an option you want for this, but I know they sell a stripped down version called Home Designer for anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on version. They also allow you to download trial versions, so you can give it a whirl before you commit. I cannot honestly say if the Home Designer series compares well to their flagship Chief Architect platform, but the higher end stuff was clearly good and very powerful, so I would expect the simpler versions would do what you want for a simple shop and carport. They do make Windows and Mac versions too, so that may be a big deal as I don't know how many are available for Mac. No connection to them other than a user (well, mostly a former user as I haven't touched it in a few years at this point). Download the trial and see if it does what you want. They had a lot of training videos for the flagship product, but charged extra for them. You might find some on Youtube for the DIY series.
Home Designer | Home Design Software for DIY
DIY home design, interior design and remodeling software from the creators of Chief Architect. Create floorplans and visualize in 3D.www.homedesignersoftware.com
I am currently in the process of designing a new home and pole barn using Home Design. Has worked well for me so far. Plenty of options in the program and videos/help text available where there are questions.
rv7charlie
Bronze Member
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I'd agree that an architecture-specific program would be better for a building. Many years ago I used (IIRC) '3D Home Architect', or something similar, and it had a very easy learning curve.
I'm just starting to thing seriously about learning solid modeling CAD, so I asked experienced hobbyists what they were using. A frequently-recommended package that's not web-dependent and is free is FreeCad. I've been watching a lot of youtube videos on how to use it, and it seems like I'll be able to get up to speed on simpler stuff fairly quickly. There's a 'fork' of FreeCad called 'Real Thunder' that's supposed to fix one or two minor bugs in FreeCad; it's supposed to get rolled into the regular FreeCad release sometime soon.
FWIW...
I'm just starting to thing seriously about learning solid modeling CAD, so I asked experienced hobbyists what they were using. A frequently-recommended package that's not web-dependent and is free is FreeCad. I've been watching a lot of youtube videos on how to use it, and it seems like I'll be able to get up to speed on simpler stuff fairly quickly. There's a 'fork' of FreeCad called 'Real Thunder' that's supposed to fix one or two minor bugs in FreeCad; it's supposed to get rolled into the regular FreeCad release sometime soon.
FWIW...
prichard
Veteran Member
I went through all this when I started designing my house. I've used Autocad LT in the past for electrical diagrams but nothing mechanical. I was an occasional user of draftsight but no where near proficient, especially for mechanical drawings.
I tried draftsight and quickly realized that wasn't going to do. Everyone it seemed was saying to use sketch up. Tried that as well and again quickly decided no.
I spent the money for Chief Architect Home designer. That was the ticket. Real easy to build walls, door, windows, even cabinets and furniture. I built my whole house with it. Now we've purchased another property with a 100 year old house and I'm using it again to plan a possible remodel of that as well as redesign of existing house if we decide the old on isn't worth saving. I've also designed my shop and other out buildings.
It been well worth the money and the limited time I spent learning.
I tried draftsight and quickly realized that wasn't going to do. Everyone it seemed was saying to use sketch up. Tried that as well and again quickly decided no.
I spent the money for Chief Architect Home designer. That was the ticket. Real easy to build walls, door, windows, even cabinets and furniture. I built my whole house with it. Now we've purchased another property with a 100 year old house and I'm using it again to plan a possible remodel of that as well as redesign of existing house if we decide the old on isn't worth saving. I've also designed my shop and other out buildings.
It been well worth the money and the limited time I spent learning.
DeanMoriority
New member
I've dabbled with a variety of CAD programs, never long enough to become adept at any of them, and SketchUp is the most user friendly of the ones I tried. You could also look at SmartDraw. It has some quirky aspects to it but it's easy to get started. Good luck!
jigs_n_fixtures
Veteran Member
For the amateur, occasional user SketchUp is probably the way to go. It has a fairly intuitive interface, and there are a ton of tutorials on YouTube.
For the Pro, Chief Architect, or some flavor of AutoCad.
I use AutoCad, because I have been using it since the late seventies, and the commands are instinctive to me. When I try anything else the almost, but not quite, the same command structure drives me bonkers.
For the Pro, Chief Architect, or some flavor of AutoCad.
I use AutoCad, because I have been using it since the late seventies, and the commands are instinctive to me. When I try anything else the almost, but not quite, the same command structure drives me bonkers.
tstorzuk
New member
Just to let you know, I'm a professional draftsperson. I use AutoCAD on a daily basis, along with several other professional 3D modelling software packages.
It gives you a simple material take off, if you create your design accurately. I used it to design one of my cabins (16'x16'). I then exported the design to AutoCAD to tweak it to exactly what I needed.
Here's an example of what your 2D drawing in Home Designer Suite would look like;
16x16-HDS-2D.png
And here's an example of what that 2D drawing looks like when switching to the 3D view;
drive.google.com
Lastly, here's a simple export of the materials list to a text file;
drive.google.com
as well as a screen shot of what the materials list looks like in the Home Designer Suite program;
drive.google.com
Install the VMWare.
Install the Windows operating system.
Install the CAD software.
Keep using the software that you own....
Chief Architect's (or Better Homes and Gardens) lowest end program Home Designer Suite is super easy to learn and use. It does a great job and it's cheap. It actually designs in 3D when you're drawing in 2D.When it comes to building construction CAD, there are a lot of programs out there that do an OK job and are fairly cheap. Or there used to be when you could walk into BestBuy and buy software off the shelf...
I got much more serious and ended up using Chief Architect to design and make prints for my house and shop build. Nowadays it costs close to $3k, so I doubt that is an option you want for this, but I know they sell a stripped down version called Home Designer for anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on version. They also allow you to download trial versions, so you can give it a whirl before you commit. I cannot honestly say if the Home Designer series compares well to their flagship Chief Architect platform, but the higher end stuff was clearly good and very powerful, so I would expect the simpler versions would do what you want for a simple shop and carport. They do make Windows and Mac versions too, so that may be a big deal as I don't know how many are available for Mac. No connection to them other than a user (well, mostly a former user as I haven't touched it in a few years at this point). Download the trial and see if it does what you want. They had a lot of training videos for the flagship product, but charged extra for them. You might find some on Youtube for the DIY series.
Home Designer | Home Design Software for DIY
DIY home design, interior design and remodeling software from the creators of Chief Architect. Create floorplans and visualize in 3D.
It gives you a simple material take off, if you create your design accurately. I used it to design one of my cabins (16'x16'). I then exported the design to AutoCAD to tweak it to exactly what I needed.
Here's an example of what your 2D drawing in Home Designer Suite would look like;
16x16-HDS-2D.png
And here's an example of what that 2D drawing looks like when switching to the 3D view;
16x16-HDS-3D.png
drive.google.com
Lastly, here's a simple export of the materials list to a text file;
16x16-HDS-MTO.txt
drive.google.com
16x16-HDS-MTO.png
drive.google.com
Do NOT PAY Autodesk any more money for software that you own. They won't tell you this, but you can run a virtual machine with your older windows software. It doesn't allow it to connect to the internet, so there's no worry about getting a virus. If you still own your copy of the previous windows, you can get free VMWare software for personal use;
Install the VMWare.
Install the Windows operating system.
Install the CAD software.
Keep using the software that you own....
MasseyFerg231
Silver Member
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Everything is going subscription based. We use two Autodesk products at work.
MasseyFerg231
Silver Member
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Good luck, most non permitted structures get caught by property appraiser, or b real estate transactions.
I’m building a new commercial building in Myrtle beach. We applied for our notice of intent in January 2021 and received our land disturbance permit in December, and building permit last week!
I passed my SC unlimited GC test last summer. Can look up any license related questions if you need.
in addition to graph paper, get some tracing paper. You can overlay onto plan you sketch to work out changes/options.
buckeyefarmer
Epic Contributor
Just to let you know, I'm a professional draftsperson. I use AutoCAD on a daily basis, along with several other professional 3D modelling software packages.
Chief Architect's (or Better Homes and Gardens) lowest end program Home Designer Suite is super easy to learn and use. It does a great job and it's cheap. It actually designs in 3D when you're drawing in 2D.
It gives you a simple material take off, if you create your design accurately. I used it to design one of my cabins (16'x16'). I then exported the design to AutoCAD to tweak it to exactly what I needed.
Here's an example of what your 2D drawing in Home Designer Suite would look like;
16x16-HDS-2D.png
And here's an example of what that 2D drawing looks like when switching to the 3D view;
16x16-HDS-3D.png
Lastly, here's a simple export of the materials list to a text file;
as well as a screen shot of what the materials list looks like in the Home Designer Suite program;16x16-HDS-MTO.txt
16x16-HDS-MTO.png
Do NOT PAY Autodesk any more money for software that you own. They won't tell you this, but you can run a virtual machine with your older windows software. It doesn't allow it to connect to the internet, so there's no worry about getting a virus. If you still own your copy of the previous windows, you can get free VMWare software for personal use;
Install the VMWare.
Install the Windows operating system.
Install the CAD software.
Keep using the software that you own....
You can’t install autocad version I have without it checking for license. I tried mine yesterday, it will not run. It say the version of autocad is unsupported and your only choice is to exit.
I also have autocad ver 2 on floppies that ran on Dos, don’t want to try it. Lol
I also have chief architect but found it so so, but it’s also a few yrs old.
My favorite CAD software is Intergraph microstation. I am thinking of trying it on a VM., but that’s a pain trying to set up. Assuming all the old media still works also, it came on a bunch of floppies. Lol
I started designing on mylar sheets.
Last edited:
Root Cause
Platinum Member
I have used Creo for many years and while I would not suggest anyone go that route, I would offer a little advice.
1. Find some videos of software that is mentioned above. Understand that you won't learn it in 15 minutes.
2. Watch a beginner video to see how it works.
3. If you can, add a monitor (old TV) to your laptop/computer. Have the tutorial on one screen and follow along with the same software on the other. (Flipping back and forth gets old fast)
It is fun to see it come to life and it does save time and materials by making your mistakes on a screen. I am just finishing our new house.
1. Find some videos of software that is mentioned above. Understand that you won't learn it in 15 minutes.
2. Watch a beginner video to see how it works.
3. If you can, add a monitor (old TV) to your laptop/computer. Have the tutorial on one screen and follow along with the same software on the other. (Flipping back and forth gets old fast)
It is fun to see it come to life and it does save time and materials by making your mistakes on a screen. I am just finishing our new house.
GeorgeKG
New member
Thanks for all the good ideas on Mac compatible CAD software. Since retiring, I miss access to ProEngineer and have not been willing to pay the steep price for real 3D CAD for the Mac.
dstig1
Super Member
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Yeah I like having access to Pro/E (now Creo) at work for little side projects too. But for designing houses or the like it is awful. And I've been at it for like 30 yrs too, so I know what I am saying. Any one of the architectural CAD programs is orders of magnitude better for that. If you want good 3D I have heard good things about Alibre and Solid Edge which has a free version for non-commercial use (or did a while back) that might be workable for regular 3D CAD parametric work.
ParkWhite
Member
Quad ruled graph paper, 0.5mm mechanical pencil, compass, protractor, engineering scale ruler, and the best eraser you can afford.
Rowdy Redneck
Silver Member
When it comes to building construction CAD, there are a lot of programs out there that do an OK job and are fairly cheap. Or there used to be when you could walk into BestBuy and buy software off the shelf...
I got much more serious and ended up using Chief Architect to design and make prints for my house and shop build. Nowadays it costs close to $3k, so I doubt that is an option you want for this, but I know they sell a stripped down version called Home Designer for anywhere from $100 to $500 depending on version. They also allow you to download trial versions, so you can give it a whirl before you commit. I cannot honestly say if the Home Designer series compares well to their flagship Chief Architect platform, but the higher end stuff was clearly good and very powerful, so I would expect the simpler versions would do what you want for a simple shop and carport. They do make Windows and Mac versions too, so that may be a big deal as I don't know how many are available for Mac. No connection to them other than a user (well, mostly a former user as I haven't touched it in a few years at this point). Download the trial and see if it does what you want. They had a lot of training videos for the flagship product, but charged extra for them. You might find some on Youtube for the DIY series.
Home Designer | Home Design Software for DIY
DIY home design, interior design and remodeling software from the creators of Chief Architect. Create floorplans and visualize in 3D.
Thanks for posting this! I first downloaded a trial and then bought the Pro version of Home Designer. $495 was bit spendy, but I love the program and the video library/article database is fantastic. It has been a lot easier for me to grasp than expected. Unfortunately the program has exposed some inadequacies in my computer, but I'm not quite ready to shell out three grand plus for a machine that meets their specifications.
