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House layout software

paperfist

paperfist

Diamond Member
Hi all,

I'm looking for an easy to learn program to help layout a floor plan for a house. Would be awesome if it also did pricing too.

Thanks!
 
I've never heard of anything that will do pricing as well as layout, though some of the better packages will do a material list. That list will be exactly as accurate and detailed as your model, i.e. not very.

Home Designer Pro works pretty well, it's around $500. The only difference I've found between it and Chief Architect ($3000) is that it won't print bigger than 18 x 24.
 
NutBucket said:
But you can always print to pdf and blow it up bigger!
Click to expand...

Does that actually work? Scale stays intact, lines don't get fat? I've always just saved the drawing I'm working on as a DXF file and loaded it into different program. I do my finial clean up and print from that.
 
Greenman said:
I've never heard of anything that will do pricing as well as layout, though some of the better packages will do a material list. That list will be exactly as accurate and detailed as your model, i.e. not very.

Home Designer Pro works pretty well, it's around $500. The only difference I've found between it and Chief Architect ($3000) is that it won't print bigger than 18 x 24.
Click to expand...

Thanks Greenman.

I wasn't expecting a price tag like that 🙂 I'll check it out though, maybe they have a 'lite' version.
 
paperfist said:
Thanks Greenman.

I wasn't expecting a price tag like that 🙂 I'll check it out though, maybe they have a 'lite' version.
Click to expand...

They do, but I don't remember what it's called. Any of the packages based on Chief Architect will be pretty easy to use, and deliver surprisingly good results. It's all the same software with features locked out.
 
Greenman said:
They do, but I don't remember what it's called. Any of the packages based on Chief Architect will be pretty easy to use, and deliver surprisingly good results. It's all the same software with features locked out.
Click to expand...

Do you do floor layouts as a service?

Yeah, I was looking at their comparison chart and the next version down is $200 with a dozen or so features locked out.
 
paperfist said:
Do you do floor layouts as a service?

Yeah, I was looking at their comparison chart and the next version down is $200 with a dozen or so features locked out.
Click to expand...

I generally only do layouts and plans for projects I'm building. What is it you're doing and how big is it? If we're only talking about a couple hours work I'd be happy to do a layout for you, gratis.
 
Greenman said:
I generally only do layouts and plans for projects I'm building. What is it you're doing and how big is it? If we're only talking about a couple hours work I'd be happy to do a layout for you, gratis.
Click to expand...

Thanks I really appreciate the offer. I'd be more than willing to pay you for your time as well.

Don't laugh, but I have to lay out a 20x20 area to include bathroom, kitchen and I guess living/dining room. I'm not sure I can get a staircase in there or would have to put it on the outside of the building.

I have some thoughts on layout in my head, but having a hard time without 'seeing' it.
 
Greenman said:
Is this going to be an in-law unit?
Click to expand...

No, that's why I said don't laugh 🙂

It's for a building I own and use for storage. A family member has fallen on hard times so I offered to convert the part I don't use into I guess you would say an efficiency apartment.

There's another 20x20 attic space for a bedroom and a basement for mechanicals. I started laying it out on graph paper so I'm starting to get a better feel for the right design. Still it would be nice to see it with the actual kitchen and bathroom appliances to get a real view of spacing.
 
The Sims is decent 😉

If it's just a sketch used to get a general idea, I had decent results for exploring ideas about the furniture with http://www.roomle.com/
this is truly free and you can change the size of the furniture and stuff to get an idea of whether stuff could fit, you can also walk inside the 3D model.
You just build the walls and then you can put in windows and doors and the furniture.

This is just for playing with ideas but in exchange it's easy to use.
 
Murloc said:
The Sims is decent 😉

If it's just a sketch used to get a general idea, I had decent results for exploring ideas about the furniture with http://www.roomle.com/
this is truly free and you can change the size of the furniture and stuff to get an idea of whether stuff could fit, you can also walk inside the 3D model.
You just build the walls and then you can put in windows and doors and the furniture.

This is just for playing with ideas but in exchange it's easy to use.
Click to expand...

That's awesome! Thanks a lot Murloc!

It's way better looking at things in a 3D space compared to graph paper. In laying it already with roomle I can see that stair case is going to be a major obstacle.
 
paperfist said:
That's awesome! Thanks a lot Murloc!

It's way better looking at things in a 3D space compared to graph paper. In laying it already with roomle I can see that stair case is going to be a major obstacle.
Click to expand...

Look into circular stairs, they suck, but they take up a bit less space.
 
Greenman said:
That must be a local requirement. Here in CA, a window of the proper size meets the fire escape requirement.
Click to expand...

hmm I might have misunderstood and will recheck. I think if it was a 2 family then a 2nd staircase or fire escape was a requirement and not if it were just a 1 family.

In CA do you have to provide a roll out ladder for the window?
 
paperfist said:
hmm I might have misunderstood and will recheck. I think if it was a 2 family then a 2nd staircase or fire escape was a requirement and not if it were just a 1 family.

In CA do you have to provide a roll out ladder for the window?
Click to expand...

Nope, no ladder. The thinking is that most folks would rather plummet to their death than burn. We're very pro choice here.
 
I've seen plenty of houses that don't have 2 second floor exits in various countries, I think you either read it wrong or it's a weird requirement of your local area.
If a dense city required at least a roll out ladder for the window I'd understand, but requiring 2 full stairs seems excessive for a 1 unit family home.

Imho the thinking is that the firemen can get you out of a second floor window and that's good enough. Also people don't always die by intentionally non-suicidally jumping from the second floor.

Anyway you said before you can build an external staircase, so you're not doomed, you just have to waste money.
 
Last edited:
paperfist said:
hmm I might have misunderstood and will recheck. I think if it was a 2 family then a 2nd staircase or fire escape was a requirement and not if it were just a 1 family.

In CA do you have to provide a roll out ladder for the window?
Click to expand...

After reading this 3 times, I realized that your creating a multi unit structure (I'm slow sometimes). Those codes are going to be different than for a single family dwelling.
 
Greenman said:
After reading this 3 times, I realized that your creating a multi unit structure (I'm slow sometimes). Those codes are going to be different than for a single family dwelling.
Click to expand...

Seems like a single living unit - multi use structure.
 
Greenman said:
After reading this 3 times, I realized that your creating a multi unit structure (I'm slow sometimes). Those codes are going to be different than for a single family dwelling.
Click to expand...

No, you read it right 🙂

It's a single 'family', but it just has a basement, 1st floor and 2nd floor (for bedroom).

In talking with other landlords I know they always told me you needed a 2nd stair case exit, but they have multi family units. I'll get the code book when they open tomorrow.

My own home has a converted 2nd floor attic into bedrooms with only 1 exit but it's considered a single family.
 
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