3D House design software for noob - AutoCAD? Any other suggestions?

[richiek65]

This won't be for me, but for my wife who is addicted to anything house design related, and she gets all melty when watching the house shows and the 3D exploding house animation thing comes on. It's her birthday in a couple of months and she has hinted in the past that she envisages she could spend hours on end happily making floor plans and 3D houses purely for fun. She's also considering getting her real estate license as we have a friend who is looking for someone to help in his business, so who knows where this may or may not lead.

I'm guessing the availability of good Youtube tutorials would help choose which program to get? Happy for a paid program as long as it's not thousands of $$, but if there are any freebies or low cost ones to try first, I'm all ears!

Yes I know this is a guitar forum but I'm sure there are quite a few architect/draughtspersons/hobbyists here?

Happy to be informed that any CAD program is a massively serious commitment to learning, I know I wouldn't have the patience (I can't even get my head around a DAW) but the wife is rather switched on and extremely tenacious!

 

[Boreas]

I have never found anything that has a shallow-enough learning curve for me - at least something I can afford. Either it is a user-unfriendly version of CAD, or it is just a cut/paste picture program with no dimensional/engineering capability. I stopped looking. I keep going back to sketching. But your SO may be inclined to climb that learning curve if she is indeed motivated.

 

[TomBrokaw]

I've used Sketchup for projects and been pretty happy with it. They locked a lot of features behind a subscription paywall a few years ago but it's got a free version that should make it clear if it'll work for her or not. The last good free version is the 2017 edition, not sure if it's still available on the website.

Blender is free but it's a general 3d modeling program and has a significant learning curve, so she'd almost certainly have to spend time with tutorials.

That's all I have experience with.

Edit to add some pictures of how we designed our patio a couple years ago. This was really helpful in visualizing for both us and the contractor. The key with Sketchup is to make everything a component so you can move it around easily, without it sticking to other stuff.

 

[Preacher]

As a former AutoCad user (I started out on release 2 in college) who has watched the evolution of CAD (computer aided drafting - for those not familiar with the acronym) for the last 25 years here is what I would suggest.

Many technical schools and two year colleges offer a drafting and design degree. In many of these classes you get a copy of AutoCad in the "educational form". Now it is a full blown CAD program and if you try to print off plans it will print "educational program" or something like that on the plan sets. But you get a really big discount on the program and if your wife wants to take one class she can learn the basics and you are good to go.

As far as the drawing. It is so much more windows driven that if she has run Excel, or MSWord, she will be fine with the pull down menus and probably can get a 2D drawing done pretty well. When you transition to 3D that is where it gets a little hairy. But it is doable and there are resources that will help.

Our company uses AutoCAD exclusively and they use REVIT for the 3D modeling which works with Autocad.

If she is into house design, there is a product called CabinetVision which is a 3D generator as well.

Have her play around with some of the online resources and see which works the best.

After spending 25 years drawing with a computer I grabbed the old T square, my angles and pencils and did some line drawings a few years ago. Hand lettering needed work but my line drawing skills which I had not used in 20 years came back pretty fast.
I did enjoy doing those drawings more than I did working on the computer. Just an idea about going back to the old ways. You can create an isometric drawing using a T square and a few triangles if you are good with math.

Funny story related to this.
I graduated before CAD became a really big thing in college. My last project was a full set of house plans drawn by hand. I had taken a few classes where we used the CAD program but it was basically introductory.
I go off and start my career and about five years later I need a draftsperson. I called my old college professor and asked if he had anyone that might be interested. He sent over a very sharp young man who was at the top of his class. I hired him on the professors recommendation.
Kid shows up at work and I sat him down at a drafting table with a pararell rule and a bunch of triangles and pencils. He seemed kind of loss but then started to grasp what I wanted him to do.
After two days I got worried and had a conversation with him since his drawings were dreadful. He tells me he only had two classes where they drew with pencils and paper (which is what I had him doing). He had been drawing on CAD all the rest of the time and we did not have a CAD option for him.
In a state of futurism I went to the boss and told him we needed to get out of the dark ages and buy a CAD system.
We bought Autocad Release 5 I believe, a tower computer with a 486 processor and 4 megs of RAM, a 21" TV sized monitor (probably tube powered with the large backside of that unit), a 24"x24" digitizer tablet and a 4 pin plotter for printing the drawings.
Total cost $13, 600.
Out setup looked like this

you can do the same thing today for probably less than a grand.

 

[Junkyard Dog]

I agree with the Sketchup recommendation for this application rather than a professional CAD program. We did our kitchen remod with Sketchup, and the cabinet manufacturer had models on their website for every single product that we could just download (free) and drop into the kitchen, move them around, save different versions/designs, etc.

 

[Kandinskyesque]

As a former AutoCad user (I started out on release 2 in college) who has watched the evolution of CAD (computer aided drafting - for those not familiar with the acronym) for the last 25 years here is what I would suggest.

Many technical schools and two year colleges offer a drafting and design degree. In many of these classes you get a copy of AutoCad in the "educational form". Now it is a full blown CAD program and if you try to print off plans it will print "educational program" or something like that on the plan sets. But you get a really big discount on the program and if your wife wants to take one class she can learn the basics and you are good to go.

As far as the drawing. It is so much more windows driven that if she has run Excel, or MSWord, she will be fine with the pull down menus and probably can get a 2D drawing done pretty well. When you transition to 3D that is where it gets a little hairy. But it is doable and there are resources that will help.

Our company uses AutoCAD exclusively and they use REVIT for the 3D modeling which works with Autocad.

If she is into house design, there is a product called CabinetVision which is a 3D generator as well.

Have her play around with some of the online resources and see which works the best.

After spending 25 years drawing with a computer I grabbed the old T square, my angles and pencils and did some line drawings a few years ago. Hand lettering needed work but my line drawing skills which I had not used in 20 years came back pretty fast.
I did enjoy doing those drawings more than I did working on the computer. Just an idea about going back to the old ways. You can create an isometric drawing using a T square and a few triangles if you are good with math.

Funny story related to this.
I graduated before CAD became a really big thing in college. My last project was a full set of house plans drawn by hand. I had taken a few classes where we used the CAD program but it was basically introductory.
I go off and start my career and about five years later I need a draftsperson. I called my old college professor and asked if he had anyone that might be interested. He sent over a very sharp young man who was at the top of his class. I hired him on the professors recommendation.
Kid shows up at work and I sat him down at a drafting table with a pararell rule and a bunch of triangles and pencils. He seemed kind of loss but then started to grasp what I wanted him to do.
After two days I got worried and had a conversation with him since his drawings were dreadful. He tells me he only had two classes where they drew with pencils and paper (which is what I had him doing). He had been drawing on CAD all the rest of the time and we did not have a CAD option for him.
In a state of futurism I went to the boss and told him we needed to get out of the dark ages and buy a CAD system.
We bought Autocad Release 5 I believe, a tower computer with a 486 processor and 4 megs of RAM, a 21" TV sized monitor (probably tube powered with the large backside of that unit), a 24"x24" digitizer tablet and a 4 pin plotter for printing the drawings.
Total cost $13, 600.
Out setup looked like this
View attachment 1140096

you can do the same thing today for probably less than a grand.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I learned on a similar setup, a 386 (I think) back in '91.
I'd served by time on the drawing board for 3 years before that ink drawings of RC Detailing and Wastewater Schemes.

I'm sure the local government department I joined in '91 blew their budget on 4 CAD stations and we felt like we had become a NASA outpost for the first 6 months. It was one helluva thick manual.
2MB drawings would take 15 minutes to regenerate.

I learned Autolisp commands at night school and they're no doubt redundant with modern UIs now.
When CAD moved to Model Space/Paper Space, they sent me on another night school class (93/94 I think).

Anytime I'm drawing something these days, I'm back to a homemade A1 board, T-Square and Rotring Pens.
I wonder if today's draughtsmen have seen a set of French Curves never mind used them.

BTW: any recommendations for a free or cheap 2D Autocad program, I've got a dose of nostalgia coming on and a falling apart house that will be getting renovated once we get the courage to re-mortgage.

 

[Guitarteach]

+1 Sketchup.. loads of community components for house modelling.. furniture, plants, etc.

 

[Tmcqtele65]

I started out with AutoCAD several years ago, switched to Solidworks in the "teens" as a robotics team I coached had free access and a sponsor machine shop that preferred it. Now I use SketchUp because I can't afford either of the former options and no longer have any affiliate access. That being said, SketchUp does everything I need, and is only problematic when I am trying to do something I learned in AutoCAD or Solidworks that is done differently in SketchUp. If I had started with SketchUp I don't think I would have any issues.
Plenty of users, and lots of good instruction available online.

 

[draggindakota]

I've used AutoCAD daily for 25 years, but for 3d house design you'll want to look elsewhere. Our company also uses Revit for architectural design.

I also have BricsCAD at home which is a very good alternative to AutoCAD, and much cheaper if you want to go the professional CAD route. Both of those would take quite a bit to be proficient with though.

All that to say, Sketchup is a great place to start. It's MUCH MUCH easier to create 3D models there than in vanilla AutoCAD.

 

[SRHmusic]

SketchUp is a good recommendation, as is the availability of classes at local colleges or community colleges.

There's also FreeCAD, which is open source and has some pretty good community support and video tutorials. It has different "workbenches", sort of like operating modes with different functions available, and I think there's one for architecture. Like any of these there is a learning curve, and some mind bending as you wrap your head around how these tools work and how to approach things.

By the way, these tools also support methods to create files for 3D printing, so you could learn to make physical objects, too.

 

[richiek65]

As a former AutoCad user (I started out on release 2 in college) who has watched the evolution of CAD (computer aided drafting - for those not familiar with the acronym) for the last 25 years here is what I would suggest.

Many technical schools and two year colleges offer a drafting and design degree. In many of these classes you get a copy of AutoCad in the "educational form". Now it is a full blown CAD program and if you try to print off plans it will print "educational program" or something like that on the plan sets. But you get a really big discount on the program and if your wife wants to take one class she can learn the basics and you are good to go.

As far as the drawing. It is so much more windows driven that if she has run Excel, or MSWord, she will be fine with the pull down menus and probably can get a 2D drawing done pretty well. When you transition to 3D that is where it gets a little hairy. But it is doable and there are resources that will help.

Our company uses AutoCAD exclusively and they use REVIT for the 3D modeling which works with Autocad.

If she is into house design, there is a product called CabinetVision which is a 3D generator as well.

Have her play around with some of the online resources and see which works the best.

After spending 25 years drawing with a computer I grabbed the old T square, my angles and pencils and did some line drawings a few years ago. Hand lettering needed work but my line drawing skills which I had not used in 20 years came back pretty fast.
I did enjoy doing those drawings more than I did working on the computer. Just an idea about going back to the old ways. You can create an isometric drawing using a T square and a few triangles if you are good with math.

Funny story related to this.
I graduated before CAD became a really big thing in college. My last project was a full set of house plans drawn by hand. I had taken a few classes where we used the CAD program but it was basically introductory.
I go off and start my career and about five years later I need a draftsperson. I called my old college professor and asked if he had anyone that might be interested. He sent over a very sharp young man who was at the top of his class. I hired him on the professors recommendation.
Kid shows up at work and I sat him down at a drafting table with a pararell rule and a bunch of triangles and pencils. He seemed kind of loss but then started to grasp what I wanted him to do.
After two days I got worried and had a conversation with him since his drawings were dreadful. He tells me he only had two classes where they drew with pencils and paper (which is what I had him doing). He had been drawing on CAD all the rest of the time and we did not have a CAD option for him.
In a state of futurism I went to the boss and told him we needed to get out of the dark ages and buy a CAD system.
We bought Autocad Release 5 I believe, a tower computer with a 486 processor and 4 megs of RAM, a 21" TV sized monitor (probably tube powered with the large backside of that unit), a 24"x24" digitizer tablet and a 4 pin plotter for printing the drawings.
Total cost $13, 600.
Out setup looked like this
View attachment 1140096

you can do the same thing today for probably less than a grand.

Thanks for taking the time to explain all of this great info. I too am aghast at how far computers have come, my first set up being a Pentium 100, 850mb hard drive, 4mb RAM. State of the art at the time!

 

[guitarbuilder]

I'm a Rhino3d user and have been for a decade and a half. The 3d program that most use now as hobbiests are fusion360. I think it is still free. Rhino was similar to Autocad with similar toolbar setups. Rhino to purchase is expensive. I'd investigate fusion, but be prepared for a learning curve no matter what you try. Some of the 3d programs I've seen as free look pretty clunky.

For 3d printing, Cura seems to be pretty common and has worked out well. That is free too.

https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/overview?mktvar002=5022374|SEM|1618310827|64140214467|kwd-330308867034&utm_source=GGL&utm_medium=SEM&utm_campaign=GGL_D-M_Fusion-360_AMER_US_eComm_SEM_BR_NEW_EX_0000_5022374_F360&utm_id=5022374&utm_term=kwd-330308867034&mkwid=s6G86eZ0j|pcrid|647626394339|pkw|fusion%20360|pmt|e|pdv|c|slid||pgrid|64140214467|ptaid|kwd-330308867034|pid|&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=GGL_DM_Fusion-360_AMER_US_eComm_SEM_BR_NEW_EX_ADSK_3529781_&utm_term=fusion%20360&utm_content=s6G86eZ0j|pcrid|647626394339|pkw|fusion%20360|pmt|e|pdv|c|slid||pgrid|64140214467|ptaid|kwd-330308867034|&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1oXpl4X7_wIVQtzICh1wvAZZEAAYASAAEgL7tvD_BwE&term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription&plc=F360

 

[HoodieMcFoodie]

I was a Mechanical Draftsman for nigh on 30 years with about twenty of those on AutoCAD and other CAD systems.

To say AutoCAD has a steep learning curve is an understatement. The native version is not really conducive to 3D house design. I'd suggest taking the advice of some of the other posters here who have mentioned SketchUp.

I just had a quick look at AutoCAD pricing and it's still an expensive proposition. They have moved to a subscription model and the pricing is (in AUD) $370/month, $2945/year or $8835 for 3 years.

 

[Metacaster]

Sketchup is pretty good for a beginner. The learning curve isn’t too steep. The controls are familiar enough if you can use 2D drawing software, just with a Z axis. It’s fully capable software though; I know some pros use it for architecture projects. You can make some nice looking models to show clients what it will look like when finished.

I keep a saved sketchup model of my house and probably still have the last couple of places I lived too. I find it useful for moving stuff round or seeing what colours work in the room without having to shift furniture for real.