What are you using for floor plans?

Started by CabinNick, January 07, 2018, 10:49:10 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

CabinNick

Any recommendations on software for 2d floor plans to be submitted for construction plans/plan review?  (needs to be compatible with Mac)

I am planning on building the 20x30 1.5 story with some modifications.  I have built what I want in a 3d plan in Sketchup, but now I have to translate all of that into a to scale 2d floor with measurements for the building permit.  Any suggestions? 

I could get a student version of Layout and use that, but after watching some youtube videos I am a little worried that might be too complex of a program. 

NathanS

I thought it was very fast to learn Layout in comparison to Sketchup. It is probably 95% manipulating sketchup for 2 dimensional cross sections, moving them to their own layer, prettying them up and then creating a view. You can link to that view from Layout, and then all of the dimensions and text you want to add for your final plans are really easy to overlay. The main thing is making sure that you have your scale set properly, so an architects ruler could be used on the print copies.

I used layout to create plans, printed them at an office supply store and submitted them to the code enforcement. I still remember being really nervous and then code officer approved on the spot and said what we submitted was a lot nicer than what he usually gets. I think making a good first impression was important. Buildingscience.com has plans of some of their houses that I used to model my layout.

There was a guy on youtube that created really fancy mansions in the Rockies or California mountains that I thought had a lot of good tips. He definitely took it a lot further than you need to though. He may have done the videos for the official Sketchup channel or something similar.


Nate R

I'm using it more for design/research/experimenting, but was able to learn it more quickly than Sketchup: Floorplanner.com   1 design for free.


CabinNick

Thanks for the advice.  Sounds like Layout is not as intimidating as it appeared in the youtube video I watched.  I will probably go that route.  Our building department is pretty low key so I have also been thinking that maybe I am over thinking this and should just go "old school" and use a paper and pencil!

jsahara24

I'm not sure if there are any free AutoCAD programs out there, however I know you can get AutoCAD Lite for a nominal monthly fee which could be cancelled after you get your work done.  Using CAD to draft lines and use offsets is very simple, however I have been using the program for more than 10 years. 

If you drew something out with Pencil and Paper and hired a CAD operator to generate a formal sketch it shouldn't be more than a few hours of work for the draftsmen.  Good luck.

Jason



busted knuckles

Graph paper. Though my house is pretty small and simple.
you know that mugshot of Nick Nolte? I wish I looked that good.

hpinson

#6
DraftSight is outstanding 2D CAD software. Much like traditional 2D AutoCAD. Free.  Not particularly intuitive though.

https://www.3ds.com/products-services/draftsight-cad-software/

HomeDesigner is the most intuitive and fun to use. Really sparks creativity and productivity. Not free but not particularly expensive.  To print actual usable plans you need to either upgrade to its capable and expensive parent Chief Architect or export into something else. Purchasing Chief Architect is $$$ but it is now available on a per-month basis if you need it short term.

https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/

Sketchup and Layout are somewhere in the middle. Sketchup is not particually intuitive but there are a boatload of free tutorials on Youtube to help with just about anything. Sketchup is still free, but if you want to integrate with Layout to print plans, you need to buy the pro version.

https://www.sketchup.com/

If I had my choice and the bucks, or did this for a living, I would consider Chief Architect. It is fantastically good software.

Beavers

If you are a student or a teacher or have access to a .edu email address you can download a free version of AutoCad or any of the other Autodesk products.  It's the same as the full version except if you print it watermarks educational version or something like that across the drawing. 

https://www.autodesk.com/education/free-software/featured

hpinson

Sketchup Pro too. My daughter did that in HS and got the full product for $99 a year, as a student.


UK4X4

I used draftsight for my paper plans all 2D, years ago I took a short autocad course at college....25ish years later it came in handy !

squares rectangles etc etc are all pretty straight forward , angle are a little more complex to do, still can't remember what the command is......so I just made a little
L shape....12 along and as many as I wanted for the slope up, drew in the connecting line, then copy and pasted into the area I wanted...the draw a line past where you want the roof to be and exent the line to it....

line, cut, paste snip extend and offset are pretty much what you need.

Check with your building office to see if they'll accept line drawn paper plans ? or graph paper at the end of the day they are looking for the items your using more than ohh that corner isnt quite square !

If you choose to use draftsight I have all my plans on 1 file which I could send you, the plans from this site give you a lot of detail pics which you could use to base your plans on, they also give you all the ways to dimension and add notes in a standard way.