Any recommendations on Home Design Software? I looked through back issues of FHB but only found full blown CAD software in the thousands of dollars range. I have only looked at what is available at Office Depot and Best Buy. Punch Software seems to be a mass market popular name but is it any good and what should I be looking for? I am interested in floor plan layouts, exterior elevations, and maybe some simple CAD designing.
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Try to do a search here for cad or softplan. You should find plenty of reading material.
Do it right, or do it twice.
For a great starting point, go to Ebay and search for "3D Home Architect Deluxe Version 3.0" by Broderbund - probably available for $13 + shipping. This is a "junior" version of Chief Architect as published by Advanced Relational Technology (ART) - $1300 + shipping. Or you can spend $99 + shipping for the Better Homes & Gardens "Home Designer Suite 6.0" which is also written by the pros at ART. The $13 will be the best $13 you have spent in a long while.
Version 3.0 advanced to 4.0 using the same basic CAD engine but the advancement was a step backwards IMHO, specifically with regards to rendering speed. They (Broderbund) also released a Version 5.0 which has a different CAD engine and is not compatible with either previous program. On the other hand, the BH&G software, as published by ART, easily imports plans drawn by version 3.0 or 4.0 (ugh) of the Broderbund software.
Good Luck,
Eric S.