Home Designer Software For Mac

April 25th, 2012 admin

Most of the home design software products in the market run on the PC platform with just a few on the MAC OS X computing environment. Here are a few stand-out home design solutions running either exclusively on the Mac or on both Mac and PC workstations.

Punch! Home Design Studio
Retailing for just less than a hundred dollars, the Punch! Home design Studio made popular on the PC has been ported on the Mac with the same features that let you realize on the screen your dream house, inside and out. It can now take advantage of the excellent 3D graphics capabilities of the Mac to render fast 3D drawing of your designs with the usual multi-angle views and textured realism that Punch! Home Design Studio can deliver.

3D Home Architect Home and Landscape Deluxe Suite10
Coming down a bit with lesser features and sophistication is the Architect Home and Landscape Deluxe Suite 10 from 3D Home. Costing just a third of the Punch! Home Design Studio at $36 from Amazon, the suite gets the job done for most homeowners who are not really as interested in designing their dream houses but would like a simple tool that can save them the cost of hiring a professional architect. You get the same 2D and 3D rendering and modeling features with its expensive drag and drop library of design elements that make designing your house and landscaping around it a breeze.

MacDraft
Coming in two flavors, the Pro and the Personal Edition versions, this is basically a 2D drawing tool that does a good job at drafting and creating floor plans as 2D views of your house design project. IA bit pricey at $320 for the Pro and half that on the Personal Edition, either product is as sophisticated as any home-bound CAD-based vector drawing software which can also read AutoCAD files as imports.

Interiors Professional

A $250 value, this is arguably one of the best interior designing tool for the Mac platform. It also has one of the most user-friendly controls for creating some of the best looking interiors with excellent textures and lighting effects in 3D-rendered models. Targeted for both the novice and professional interior designer, the software is easy to learn and use with a library of 3D design objects like furniture, planters and appliances to mention some while allowing you to create your own.

Mac Freeware
There is a couple of free downloadable application for home design worth mentioning. These are Sweet Home 3D and Live interior 3D. For the homeowner or novice wanting to get a feel of what it is like to work with a home design software on the Mac, these two are fine options that take some of the design features available in the market without costing anything, just your internet bandwidth. The graphics are not their best points as some object can look blocky and less refined, certainly not as realistic with software that you pay for, but you get an idea. For many, providing the means to let you play around, simulate and visualize your dream house inside and out on the Mac — without spending a dime is a treat itself. If only for that, despite its limitations, freebies offer stand-out value for the novice.

Using CAD Design Software For Home Design

April 24th, 2012 admin

CAD design software has made things like drafting boards a relic of the past, maybe kept around the office for the odd job, or maybe just for old times sake. It is almost impossible to imagine designing a modern home without using CAD.

Of course, some old school builders still use some very basic sketches and operate more or less by the seat of their pants. This is great if your house is simple and you have 30 years of experience and the house is built for speculation.

There are also many excellent house plans available to be used as is. If you can find a house plan that suits your needs and doesn’t require extensive modification, this is a great way to go.

For the homeowner, or someone looking into extensive remodeling, using a stand alone CAD home design software program is a great idea. You can buy a very usable program for under $100, complete with many features normally found only in high end architectural packages.

You can save yourself a great deal of cash by learning how to do it yourself. A DIY project such as remodeling can become quite involved very quickly, and something like the Home Designer Suite 10 will make life much easier. There are many products available for under $100, which is remarkable, considering how complete they are.

Features to look for when buying CAD design software

1. Ease of use is critical. If it takes weeks to learn how to do simple tasks, nobody is really going to endure the learning curve.
2. Cost is important considering that most homeowners are constantly looking to save a few dollars. After all, why would somebody spend a lot to save a little?
3. Graphics must be useful and appealing. You cannot normally expect to get high end graphics like an expensive package offers, but you can certainly get close.
4. Cost estimate capabilities are really important. Considering how easy it is to overextend yourself when remodeling or building, it is good to have some control over expenses.
5. Libraries of suggested designs, cabinetry, windows, doors, etc. are truly essential. With a few mouse clicks you can change the styles, sizes, locations and more. With true integration of these features you can modify your design and every aspect is automatically changed.

I remember using graph paper and little to-scale cutouts of furniture to do a major remodeling project. In fact, we did this several times, over the years. It works, and gives you a good idea of how things might work out, but compared to a good CAD design, it is so primitive! Now, you can get exact sizes, take a virtual walk-through to visualize the design, get an estimate, bill of materials, send the plan to a builder, look at the inventories of various suppliers, and more.

Blueprint Basics, House Plans and More

April 23rd, 2012 admin

Unfortunately, very few homeowners are familiar with construction, which can cause costly and time-consuming miscommunication. While a good contractor will break things down for you, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with some basic home building knowledge. One of the most important things is ability to understand the blueprints. There are multiple pages within a set of house blueprints, each having a specific purpose that is essential to construction:

Cover Sheet – is an artist’s rendering of what your home will look like upon completion.

Foundation plan – identifies the layout of the foundation (crawl space, slab, pier or basement) that you have chosen based on your home design and location.

Floor plans – shows the sizes and locations of all rooms, windows and doors, as well as plumbing, electrical, and other built in features.

Elevations – Drawings of interior walls and the elements they include such as fireplaces or cabinets, as well as drawings of exterior walls with details of materials and dimensions.

Cross-sections – drawings of the home for a particular section sliced from roof to foundation.

Related Coverage

Details – Detail drawings break down certain components of your new home into step-by-step instructions.

A few that may be included are framing plans, roof plans, electrical and plumbing schematics, stairways, and decks.

Throughout the blueprint pages there may be unfamiliar symbols. Generally these reference another page with a component’s detailed instructions. This system of symbols ensures that every detail is mapped out while keeping the plans coherent. It is beneficial to ask your contractor to decipher specific symbols for you as they may vary by plan. Also look at your house plans to determine which scale is in use. Every one-quarter or one-eighth of an inch on the blueprint equals one foot in actual size. Scale conversions can be figured in your head or using a tool like a scale ruler. It is important to check all measurements to ensure your house blueprints contain the correct dimensions.

Familiarity with the different components of your home’s blueprints will benefit both you and your contractor. This basic knowledge will allow you to adequately communicate questions or concerns throughout all phases of construction. In no time at all, your new home will emerge from an unruly stack of plans into a beautiful reality.

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