CAD Programs

[rustyshakelford]

Hello!

We are hoping to start a shop in the next few months that will house our 5th wheel and us while we are building our new home. I would like to find a simple cad program to draw the building on so I can better estimate material cost. I have zero experience so something easy on a beginner would be great!

What I'm planning on.

30x50 or 40x50
Two 14x14 roll up doors on gabled ends
12x50 lean to
20' deep carport off one door
1 man door
2-4 windows

I will need to frame out a bathroom to use while staying in the camper so we won't need to dump the tanks all the time.

Plan is to set 6x6 8' apart. Trusses every 5'. Trying to find prices on the rolls of insulation for the roof. I would like to have some clear roof panels for natural light. I guess I wouldn't insulate that part? Will it negatively affect anything?

Thanks for any and all help. Building is north of Houston about 1.5 hrs.

Brett

 

[Gary S]

Your time spend on a CAD program would be better spent just measuring and buying the materials.
Putting up a building is so simple that you don't need a computer, a CAD program, or a personal advisor.
Just get 'er done.

 

[rustyshakelford]

Your time spend on a CAD program would be better spent just measuring and buying the materials.
Putting up a building is so simple that you don't need a computer, a CAD program, or a personal advisor.
Just get 'er done.

that is usually how i do it but since our place is out in the woods and 45 mins from a box store I was going to try and have it drawn out all fancy like.

i think ill sharpen the pencil and get some graph paper for the layout and work on the details.

do you have any advise towards the building i mentioned? I need to caluclate concrete to see what the price difference between 30x50 and 40x50 comes out too. as far as the other materials, it seems negligable.

brett

 

[Gary S]

The difference between 30 and 40 ft will be 10 ft of wall on two sides and 10 additional feet of roof.
Determine what you plan to construct the wall and ceiling of, and add whatever materials needed to add that amount. I suspect you will find it very insignificant in the total cost.

And, don't forget to add 10 feet of fundation, insulation, and whatever you plan to finish the interior with.

 

[Angelfire]

I had a draftsman draw mine up but he was drawing up an additon for our home at the same time so did it pro bono as part of the addition's drawings. That being said, I am now drawing it up in sketchup to layout my garage for equipment, air, power, lighting, etc.... I believe most find sketchup to be the simplest of the cad and it's free! My draftsman used autocad which seems to reign supreme for many architectural/design firms. I've tried others (ie. turbo cad, etc..) but gave up and am now using sketchup. There's a plethora of video tutorials out there to help those like me with an aversion to drawing programs.

 

[MAYOR28]

There was another thread on this a few weeks back. I think there was a good amount of posts in favor of a program called Draftsight. It's supposed to be very similar to AutoCAD, which isnt very new user friendly, but you should be able to find plenty of forum support for either program.

I would love to have AutoCAD at home, but I use it and CREO(Pro/E) every day at work, so I know all the ins and outs......of AC.....

 

[cbracer]

Pro/E (PTC) offers a free Creo version for up to 60 parts. You can't export models but for drawings it might work great if there wasn't such a learning curve. After years of Pro/E under my belt I'm learning Solidworks for the first time....

 

[Kevin54]

I use DeltaCad for almost everything. They have a free download to use on a trial basis, but the full version is $40. I used it at work and a lot of others at work started using it also. It's a simple program to use, although it is only 2d and not 3D. You can check it out here http://www.deltacad.com/

They also have a website / Forums, that if you gt in a bind, you can go there and get some answers.

 

[Chaz]

Delta Cad is a great inexpensive program. I've used it for years!

 

[fflintstone]

I would really rething 5' truss centers! you will regret it.
Metal roofs last forever, the translucent panels deteriorate rapidly!
If you want natural light buy used casement widows at a habitat restore and Mount them like awning widows at the top of your walls under the roof overhang.
Try to make your overhangs as big as you can afford.

 

[rustyshakelford]

I would really rething 5' truss centers! you will regret it.
Metal roofs last forever, the translucent panels deteriorate rapidly!
If you want natural light buy used casement widows at a habitat restore and Mount them like awning widows at the top of your walls under the roof overhang.
Try to make your overhangs as big as you can afford.

What do you recommend for truss spacing? They are about $90 each so the cost is negligible in the grand sceme of things to add a few more.

Thx

Brett