Property Layout Software?

[Andy Griffith]

We have some acreage that we are slowly developing for a home, shop, farm. I've done some clearing, punched the road in and have sort of a general idea where I want the home, shop, utilities, etc. However, even though we have acreage the actual homesite is really not that big, both because of the lay of the land and because I want to preserve the productive farm land.

I'm at the point now where I really need to lay this thing out and make a plan before I do anymore clearing. I'm pretty sure everything will fit, but of course there are various set-backs, vehicle flow, home orientation etc that need to be considered.

I have cleared the property lines and physically measured the boundaries so I can use this info for plan drawings, and I have an idea of home and shop size (shop is bigger than home of course).

What type of software can be used for doing this kind of layout? I need to be able to place the various buildings and utilities in there and see what options I have as far as placements.

Thanks

 

[jjjrmx5]

AutoCad or AutoCad lite if you have the access ,skills and need to interface with any professionals like planners, architects, designers or engineers in the future.

If not, Google Sketch-Up is very capable (or Sketch-Up Pro , which you need to buy) of giving you a to scale layout of what you need, but again, it takes some software knowlege to be proficient at it but it is among the most basic and easiest to adapt to out there.

 

[L5wolvesf]

I have used Floorplan 3D for our house remodel. Pretty easy to use. I believe, it's been a while, you can do the property too.

L

 

[rsa]

If not, Google Sketch-Up is very capable (or Sketch-Up Pro , which you need to buy) of giving you a to scale layout of what you need, but again, it takes some software knowlege to be proficient at it but it is among the most basic and easiest to adapt to out there.

Fine Homebuilding magazine just had an piece titled Locate Your Building on a Plot Plan with SketchUp.

 

[buzz4041]

Microsoft Visio works great for things like this. Very user friendly.

 

[shorin]

This is what I'm currently using to design my future house / property. What I really like is the selection of models (couches, cabinets, etc.), and then you can create your own things if you want or import Google Sketchup models...

http://imsidesign.com/Products/TurboFLOORPLAN/TurboFloorPlan3DProv16/tabid/1650/Default.aspx

If you're interested in a more traditional CAD (like Autocad), there's a good free one that I use at home and work:

http://www.3ds.com/products/draftsight/overview/

Danny

 

[LennyTheLizard]

I've been using a home designer suite made by Chief Architect.

It's pretty good. It's easy to use, but sometimes it's a little frustrating when you can't get it to do exactly what you want it to. Then again, I'm used to using AutoCAD or Solidworks at work. This software is very simple, and much less expensive.

You can also import GPS coordinates and it will give you the "lay of the land" contours. It's a little tricky putting multiple building in though. An online pointer says, draw the buildings up seperately in their own file, then draw a plot layout indicating where the buildings locate, then import the building file.

 

[nehog]

I have used Visio, but if you don't have it, then almost any CAD program would do, and I'm about 90% sure there is at least one open source Visio clone out there (check sourceforge).

 

[OldracerJones]

I used Microsoft Visio to do the plans for my shop, electrical and lighting drawings, plumbing plans and landscape views. It's easy to use but kind of expensive.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

When we moved our business, I used Sketch-UP and Google Earth to get an actual satelite picture of the poperty and then layout the yard in different ways to decide on placement of parking and some storage containers. I was surprised how accurate the measurements where -- when guageing the distance from the building across the lot to the fence, it was within a couple of feet over a 250/300 foot run...it was all free!