Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Apr 11, 2011 9:25 pm Hi all, i've been quietly behind the scenes reading hours on end all posts. I'm wondering if anyones can tell me what the best (& not so expensive ) design computer program to help design my new home in 3D. I've tried using the my virtual home program from better homes & gardens & yep it's good to get an idea but unfortunately it doesn't let me do split level homes & the land on it is flat which mine certainly isn't. My land isn't a huge slope (2.5m right to left & slight front to rear) but enough as I've been told for a split level. So if it's not too much to ask could someone help me where I need to Starr looking. Thanks. Cazart Re: What's a good program to design house? 2Apr 12, 2011 4:34 pm Try SketchUp or SketchUp pro. Peter Clarkson - AusDesign Australia www.ausdesign.com.au This information is intended to provide general information only. It does not purport to be a comprehensive advice. Re: What's a good program to design house? 3Apr 12, 2011 4:53 pm Thanks where would I look for either of those? iv been looking on the net at CAD do u know much about designer pro or designer pro plus as to whether they are any good? They cost $995 & $1,995 which is expensive but if eoulf like to know if they are worth it. Cheers Re: What's a good program to design house? 4Apr 12, 2011 5:52 pm type in 'Google Sketchup' in any search engine. Quite a few professionals use sketchup as it is relatively easy to use. To get the most out of it you need to spend a fair amount of time. We use AutoCad & unless you have a lot of time (up to 3 to 6 months solo) just to get around the basic drawing functions I wouldn't look at it. Peter Clarkson - AusDesign Australia www.ausdesign.com.au This information is intended to provide general information only. It does not purport to be a comprehensive advice. Re: What's a good program to design house? 5Apr 12, 2011 7:41 pm Thanks Peter I looked into sketchup & giving that a go first, truly appreciated yr info on it. I'm not looking at building for 6-12 mths (well submitting to council then) so have time to design etc. Again thanx cazart Re: What's a good program to design house? 8Apr 13, 2011 6:56 pm oow, I just read your answer and I thought your name read full ***...ha ha I havent used any, but someone recommended it to me. couldnt use it!! Re: What's a good program to design house? 9Apr 20, 2011 1:09 pm Sketchup is free, but if you can afford it, I'd highly recommend something from Chief Architect. They have various versions at different price points, and it's much simpler / easier to use than Sketchup. My architect did my drawings in 3D in autodesk revit, and I imported them into sketchup. Sketchup was ok, but it doesn't have any 3d object smarts. Everything in sketchup is a 3d line or surface. I also recreated the drawings in Chief Architect Home Designer, and I've got to say Home Designer is far superior. It has great materials libraries and better 3d rendering/visualization. The high end version can calculate materials lists to help you with cost estimates, but most importantly for me is that it has 3d object smarts, so that you are working with smart objects like cabinets, walls, sinks it makes life much easier for you. ..David my build: http://sugarloafdrivebuild.blogspot.com/ my house blog: http://sugarloafdrivebuild.blogspot.com/ Re: What's a good program to design house? 10May 26, 2011 1:28 pm I'm also looking for a simple to use 3D program to draw up the house, but a mac program. I like the looks of Chief Architect, but am not happy to use "Boot Camp" Any other suggestions would be fabulous. kookie Re: What's a good program to design house? 12May 26, 2011 1:39 pm 'My Virtual Home' is a really fun and easy 3D program to use. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ All new built homes look like display homes... until the furniture goes in. Re: What's a good program to design house? 13May 26, 2011 2:38 pm You can import the floor plan to sketchup and build the house to 3D. Re: What's a good program to design house? 14May 27, 2011 10:30 am I give a second thumbs up to Chief Architect. Exy but worth it. Re: What's a good program to design house? 15May 27, 2011 1:08 pm How much is chief architect???? I'm currently using 3D Home Architect design suite deluxe 8, downloaded it for $40. It's not bad cause it allows u to design split-level homes & does contours/slopes etc which is good. Re: What's a good program to design house? 16Jun 01, 2011 12:56 pm We used My Virtual Home to draw our home after it had been designed and for a free program its brilliant. 3D with walkthroughs, heaps of color selections for inside and out, furniture, even power points and light switches. Only took us about 4 hours to have a 3D plan of the whole house. Site Cut 17.02.12 Slab poured 29.03.12 Frame up 23.04.12 Roof on 10.05.12 Lock up 18.07.12 Moved in 26.10.12 252 days or 36 weeks to complete. Re: What's a good program to design house? 17Jun 02, 2011 2:22 pm Chief Architect has their pro line (autocad competitor) which is expensive, but they also have their homedesigner pro range targeted at DIY people and interior designers. There's a free trial you can download, and the entry level pricing starts at $99US. The nice thing is if you work with an architect who has the pro version - he can send you the files, and then you can use the $99 version to play around with colors, materials and furniture placement. my house blog: http://sugarloafdrivebuild.blogspot.com/ Re: What's a good program to design house? 18Jun 02, 2011 2:34 pm Chief Architect is the way to go, and pretty easy to learn. I would stear clear of CAD programs unless you have a drafting background they are quiet tricky and they dont produce high quality renders unless you import the plans into 3Ds Max. Budde Design 3D Architecural Visualizations, Architectural Rendering, Artist Impressions, 2D & 3D floor plans http://www.buddedesign.com nathan@buddedesign.com Re: What's a good program to design house? 19Jun 10, 2011 11:49 am Hi All I am using My Virtual Home to be able to get a 3D view of our house we our going to build as we have just received out plans back from the builder and thought it would be a good way to see if we want to change anything. The problem I have is that it keeps telling me that the following: Problems Building roof: Input values are outside the allowed range. We have roof over the Alfresco, Study and Garage that is at a different pitch from the upper floors so this may be causing the problem but I don't know how to fix it. The pitch over these is 18 and over the rest of the upper floors is 25. Hope the above makes sense Cathy Cathy Building Harmony Elite - Option B - Grande Resort Suite - Modified Re: What's a good program to design house? 20Jun 10, 2011 12:06 pm Hi Cathy, I am not farmilar with My Virtual Home but on other programs when you have different roof pitches you sometimes need to manually build the roof instead of an auto build. Budde Design 3D Architecural Visualizations, Architectural Rendering, Artist Impressions, 2D & 3D floor plans http://www.buddedesign.com nathan@buddedesign.com 9 24637 Thank you. Do I use timber floorboards for stairs or do people use timber treads? Or is both the same? 6 7252 Hi, I have had them in the past and the pros are: Versatile, i.e many different colours and styles to choose… 1 6848 |