House design layout freeware?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Colin
  • Start date Start date
C

Colin

Hello everyone,
Son is looking to design a new house for himself. ..

Any suggestions for an intuitive freeware package ( he is impatient learning
new software)
that might be used to design layout readyfor passing to builders for
quotations?
tia
 
vanrinsg said:
http://www.roomarranger.com/
may be too simple for you...
Click to expand...

"Room Arranger is now shareware. It is distributed free of charge. You
are free to evaluate Room Arranger for a period of 30 days before you
are required to register the program. Version 3.26 is still freeware."

MMMhhhh... could not find a link to the FREEWARE then...
 
Hello everyone,
A reply that is totally OT...

Colin, he's ready to spend more money (a hundred thousand or more) on one
item (a house) than any other thing he will ever buy (probably) in his life!
And he wont spend a couple hundred bucks on some decent software?
When you get right down to it, there is really no freeware for this other
than paper and pen and a ruler. The process of designing, submitting,
redoing and resubmitting plans etc., will last longer than any 30 day trial
period he might get from a freebie and he certainly wont get any
satisfaction.
Best advice for him...purchase some software...perhaps one that includes
other aspects like landscaping, deck building and so on so it will pay off
longer than just the one shot.
Have him take a look at some of the Punch Software Series
http://www.punchsoftware.com/index.htm
just to get an understanding of what is available and what to look for.
Should you find a freeware somewhere then you could compare the freeware's
features against one or more of the pay versions at Punch or other software
makers.
Yes, I'm in the 'house' business and yes, I use 2 of the Punch line of
products but no, I'm not associated with Punch, just offering their line as
a suggestion...there are others I'm sure.

With apologies to the group for being OT

rocker
 
Colin, he's ready to spend more money (a hundred thousand or more) on one
item (a house) than any other thing he will ever buy (probably) in his life!
And he wont spend a couple hundred bucks on some decent software?
Click to expand...

What's wrong with that? People use freeware to *run* million dollar
businesses. You have *no* freeware that assists your business?
When you get right down to it, there is really no freeware for this other
than paper and pen and a ruler. The process of designing, submitting,
redoing and resubmitting plans etc., will last longer than any 30 day trial
period he might get from a freebie and he certainly wont get any
satisfaction.
Click to expand...

That's absolutely incorrect. There are 30 day trial (Smartdraw 7) that do a
great jiob and can deliver a complete set of plans or ,at least, a set of
plans that can be delivered, near blue line quality, to an architect. Beats
the shit out of pencil and paper.
Best advice for him...purchase some software..
just to get an understanding of what is available and what to look for.
Should you find a freeware somewhere then you could compare the freeware's
features against one or more of the pay versions at Punch or other software
makers.
Click to expand...

Bassakwards advice.
Yes, I'm in the 'house' business and yes.
Click to expand...

Then you ought to know better.
rocker
Click to expand...

Off it......
 
With apologies to the group for being OT
Click to expand...

Better than an apology would have been to mark your post (OT). Better
than that would have been to email Colin this information directly.
Then people coming here for freeware don't need to read non freeware
posts.

Regards, John.

--
****************************************************
,-._|\ (A.C.F FAQ) http://clients.net2000.com.au/~johnf/faq.html
/ Oz \ John Fitzsimons - Melbourne, Australia.
\_,--.x/ http://www.vicnet.net.au/~johnf/welcome.htm
v http://clients.net2000.com.au/~johnf/
 
I Guess I'm risking the ire of everyone now by replying to the group, but
I'll give it one go.
I accept the comments made by Rocker and all subsequent ones as well.
But as we live in the real world it can be difficult to keep a topic of
discussion down to one fine point. As the discussion went I managed to
learn and appreciate quite a number of things, including viewpoints and
other issues that were relevant.

If Rocker's only "sin" was not to mark the posting as (OT) as a result of
offering an open opinion, then I apologise for posing such a question that
prompted it...

As it is, my son will be visiting a professional designer, and all he wanted
to do was sketch out and play with a design as a starting point--- he was
too ashamed of his writing and drawing skills.. ;>))

all the best and thanks to all who attempted to contribute..

Cheers
Colin
 
John, I guess you just work too hard to find something to complain about.
Too bad, life is really more fun than that.
I've been a part of this group for a long time (under different sigs) and
always allow for a post that, while somewhat off-topic, points out important
info to help avoid a mistake, etc. I know some here are totally unforgiving
but that's just part of the dynamics of any group. I don't bother to point
out that something is OT, everybody's input should be welcomed.
Regarding 30 day trial software...perhaps in many cases it's the only way to
go. In this case...the OP wanted to design and submit plans for a house.
Does anyone here actually think that all which is involved in designing,
submitting, redesigning and resubmitting, etc., will take less than 30 days?
Does any freeware out there support HVAC, Electrical, Foundation,
Landscaping and so on? I wouldn't mind hearing about one that does so I can
recommend same to some clients and friends just so they can play around with
it and learn just how much is involved in the actual process. Of course,
they would only have 30 days to play with it.
Like many here, I appreciate Freeware. I've looked for years for a good
house design type freeware just like many here have looked for a freeware
font designer and frankly, none has ever been found.
30 day trialware is not Freeware in my humble opinion but that's another
subject for another poster to argue.

I guess one shouldn't try to be helpful to others in this group...lesson
learned.

rocker
 
Colin said:
Hello everyone,
Son is looking to design a new house for himself. ..

Any suggestions for an intuitive freeware package ( he is impatient
learning new software)
that might be used to design layout readyfor passing to builders for
quotations?
Click to expand...

Unless he is a builder or architect he would be money ahead to hire a
designer. Their fees are relatively modest and they can *save* him
money because they can/do design considering standard units of
material. Doing so simplifies construction (saving labor costs) and
minimizes material waste.

It is certainly a good idea to have a generalized space plan when
hiring a designer but that is easily done with a pencil and triangle
and straight edge. Far faster than any program for a novice...

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.05...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
Better than an apology would have been to mark your post (OT). Better
than that would have been to email Colin this information directly.
Then people coming here for freeware don't need to read non freeware
posts.
Click to expand...
And deprive others who would find the information useful? Colin may not be the only one looking for such software.
 
And deprive others who would find the information useful? Colin may not be the only one looking for such software.
Click to expand...

People wanting non freeware solutions to problems can go to non
freeware newsgroups. If everyone who wanted help was given a
non freeware solution then this would cease being a * freeware *
newsgroup.

Regards, John.
 
John Fitzsimons said:
People wanting non freeware solutions to problems can go to non
freeware newsgroups. If everyone who wanted help was given a
non freeware solution then this would cease being a * freeware *
newsgroup.
Click to expand...

The person who asks a question does seldom know if the answer to
his question will be freeware or payware.

People often ask if there is a freeware solution to a problem or a need
they have. They want to know how good the freeware is compared to
commercial alternatives.

We often have to compare freeware and payware to explain how good, or
less good, the freeware is. Or we can describe features in payware and
ask for a freeware equivalent.

So there is no way we can ban all talk about payware, it is needed as a
reference for the freeware, and sometimes there is no really good
freeware solution, and then we can tell the other person about that too.

Our goal is help people find pure and clean freeware with all the
features they are asking for, but sometimes it is not possible, or not
the best solution.

Example:

If you need partition saving you can use the excellent freeware program
Partition Saving. It is even faster the the payware Norton Ghost, but it
lacks the explorer functions in Ghost.

Example two:

If somebody needs a program for using it only once, or for a week, there
is nothing wrong with recommending a 30 days trial version, if there is
no better freeware alternative.
 
So there is no way we can ban all talk about payware, it is needed as a
reference for the freeware, and sometimes there is no really good
freeware solution, and then we can tell the other person about that too.
Click to expand...

Reason resonates.
 
DELETEucwubqf02 said:
People wanting non freeware solutions to problems can go to non
freeware newsgroups. If everyone who wanted help was given a
non freeware solution then this would cease being a * freeware *
newsgroup.
Click to expand...

There was once an island called acf island. A group of schoolboys became
marooned on this island. Part of the group gave themselves up to
savagery, painting their faces, carrying weapons and chanting about
nagware and crippleware. The other part tried to create a civilised
order, adhering strictly to the purest freeware rules.

Apologies to William Golding ('Lord of the Flies')

Sorry, I was bored and find this very amusing.

R.
 
There was once an island called acf island. A group of schoolboys became
marooned on this island. Part of the group gave themselves up to
savagery, painting their faces, carrying weapons and chanting about
nagware and crippleware. The other part tried to create a civilised
order, adhering strictly to the purest freeware rules.

Apologies to William Golding ('Lord of the Flies')

Sorry, I was bored and find this very amusing.
Click to expand...

That book, read some thirty-five-plus years ago, was the first place I
encountered the term "Yah! Boo! SUCKS!"
It occurs to me that it also has some relevance in context.

:-))

--
Regards,
Nicolaas.


- Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools talk because
they have to say something.
 
Roger said:
Our goal is help people find pure and clean freeware with all the
features they are asking for, but sometimes it is not possible, or not
the best solution.
Click to expand...
Example:

If you need partition saving you can use the excellent freeware program
Partition Saving. It is even faster the the payware Norton Ghost, but it
lacks the explorer functions in Ghost.

Example two:

If somebody needs a program for using it only once, or for a week, there
is nothing wrong with recommending a 30 days trial version, if there is
no better freeware alternative.
Click to expand...

And before too long the content of the group becomes so diluted that we
might as well change the name to alt.comp.software.
 
jo said:
And before too long the content of the group becomes so diluted that we
might as well change the name to alt.comp.software.
Click to expand...


I don't think so. This group has already worked like this for years and
we still talk mainly about freeware. I only described how it is already
working.

Accepting a more flexible definition would simply reduce the number of
complaints and heated discussions initiated by the guardians of pure
principles.
 
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