Dan_Musicant wrote:
On 6 Jun 2005 18:41:42 -0700, "RicodJour"
wrote:
an_Musicant wrote:
: I need to make a floorplan for an engineer to work off of so he can work
: up a foundation rebuild. It's a 2 story 1925 square foot 95 year old
: house. I started trying to do it on graph paper, but I figure I'm just
: making things tough on myself doing it that way.
:
: This floor plan will probably come in handy for some alterations I'm
: contemplating - tearing out a wall or two, putting in a door or two,
: etc.
:
: What's a reasonably cost effective software for what I want to do?
:
:3D Home Architect is one of the easiest to use. Pick it up on eBay -
:it'll be ~$10 delivered.
:
:Be aware that an engineer relying on someone else's dimensions, someone
:who is having trouble taking dimensions, is asking for trouble. If
:something is off, guess who's going to pay in spades?
:
:R
I understand what you're saying. "Measure twice, cut once." Well, I'm
something of a perfectionist (when I want to be) and I think I'm up to
assuring that my dimensions are adequate. Well taken.
3D Home Architect on eBay. Funny you say that because I bought two
different versions of that on eBay yesterday! I bought 5.0 and a couple
of minutes later found reviews of it on Amazon.com and EVERYBODY said it
was horrible compared to 4.0, which was developed by a different company
(although both are sold as and by Broderbund). So, I bought 4.0 (MUCH
better reviews), which I did get for $10 delivered, although the buyer
insisted on $1.50 insurance, to bring it to $11.50. So, I'll sell the
5.0 without opening it, on eBay.
I've read many reviews but they vary quite considerably and don't
generally address my specific (initial) needs - working up the floor
plan.
Any of the versions will be fine for a floor plan. Version 2 of 3D
Home Architect was the last good one I know of. I have v2 and v4 and
was totally dumbfounded that they'd removed one of the most useful
tools in the later version. You can no longer get a section through
the entire building. You can only get sections floor by floor. I
actually called them up and asked if I was missing something. Nope.
It's similar to someone taking away the multiplication ability from
your calculator. Totally daft.
Dan, do not jump on TB for his comment. From your original post you
are in need of developing your measuring skills, not drafting skills.
The danger here is in handing the (lazy?) engineer a very pretty
drawing that's based on questionable measurements. It will quickly get
you into trouble all the while looking very professional.
Let me explain. You kept coming up with different measurements. When
you draw it up which measurement will you use? The CAD program won't
tell you which is wrong. You might assume that the measurement that
squares everything up is the correct one, but that's not necessarily
true.
Your engineer will be relying on your measurements. If there's nothing
critical going on, you wouldn't be getting an engineer in the first
place. Since there are critical dimensions, the engineer, or one of
his minions, should visit the site, deteremine the critical dimensions
and measure them. The engineer would probably tack on fifty or a
hundred bucks for field measuring. Anything else is giving the
engineer a very convenient scapegoat - you.
If it's a question of you trying to save money, this isn't the place to
do it. If I was going to give a first timer only one piece of advice
it would be this:
ALWAYS make people responsible for their own measurements.
R