Fairhaven_Homes

Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment. I think I'll just hang on to the program without SSA and tinker on occasion.

I have recently retired from my custom home building business. We have used Chief for the last 15 years and had intended to sell my license at some point in the future. I have paid for SSA  every year but intended to skip this year. Sooooo with the new subscription terms it looks like I must pay for SSA to keep up it's value..I'd welcome any suggestions or comments.

Thanks Charlie

What program are folks using for remote screen sharing. We used go to meeting for years and after they limited it to to google chrome we found it didn’t work for us. We have a new client out of state we’re designing for and need a good program. We’re willing to pay the cost for a subscription if needed

We use https://www.steelbeamcalculator.com/ for steel beams. I think it's $50 a year. You get a clean calculation sheet for each beam on a PDF to attach to the plans for review. It's also passed on to the folks who design my floors and roof trusses. They do an additional check.

As far as wood structural members the folks who sell the components design and document the beams for me. We've done it this way for years. No guessing no "hope it works"

Thanks Joe,

Seems like a simple thing

I reguarly use room names not listed in the room type and label. Like-pantry, foyer, breakfast room. Is there a way to set up or add rooms to the list.

Thank you

Can someone give me a quick lesson in increasing the font size on my door labels.

Consider off the shelf gaming computers from Acer or Asus. They have the horsepower to run Chief and the price is hard to beat.

Windows 8.1 still has some minor issues . Try to keep your MS Office suite if you have it Office 13 has major issues especially Outlook

PlanSwift is great for counting framing lumber, roofing, concrete and drywall. Windows, doors and detailed parts not so much.

If properly input Chief is fantastic for counting windows and doors and inputting the schedules into Excel for placing detailed orders.

Chief could and should have a better way to create a comprehensive take off like plan swift. If a floor is comprised of a basic 9’wall and wall framing is built why can’t CA tell me how plates and 104 5/8 studs I need? Instead I spend another $1000 on the PS software and more time to get my bids done properly

I've seen a few renderings with humans/avatars. Any idea where I can find them for a presentation I'm putting together?

We have a design-build program that charges $110 per hour in Northern VA. When it began we charged $50 during the solw down years 2007-11. We make money on designs but the real reason for the fee is weeding out clients that don't want to pay for services. We've had clients eat up weeks of our time pricing internet homes and as soon as you ask for a dime the're gone so we started handing out the design agreement at the first meeting setting the tone as a serious business.

I want the client to respect my time and efforts and we'll treat them and their family like gold. Otherwise we'd prefer they move on....