Scottisimo

Scott , for what you are talking about doing at the moment, Pro would work just Fine I believe , It's the same reasons I got it originally, since your Draughtsman is doing all the Detailing and ConDocs etc, Pro would work well for you since want the 3d Visualisation,  which Pro can do , only difference is Pro does not do Ray Tracing (photo realistic "almost") it only does Standard Rendering but if you really needed that for a Client there are a number of people here who offer Ray Tracing as one of their Services , they would just use a copy of the Plan you made in Pro.

 

I think Eric (another Pro User) covered it pretty well above , the free videos on YouTube and Scott's (dshall) videos on Chieftutor are great , some of the Other guys have YT channels too, like Larry (HumbleChief), and you usually pick up another tip or two along the way as well , so are they worth watching as you have time.

 

You only gain going from Pro to Chief and anything learnt is the same in Chief .....it's ALL the other Tools, and ConDocs  ,symbol making, etc in Chief that takes time to learn and there are Production/Time savers in Chief which if you made your living drawing you may want but at least at this point Pro would be a great place to start, then move on up if you find what you need. It might even work for your Draughtsman , since I am sure you are not his only Client who wants 3D Images.

 

The ML in both Pro and CA is VERY Basic in that it only models EXACTLY what is in the 3d Model , as a Remodelling GC , I was disappointed in the ML and found I didn't trust it and had to do 1/2 "by hand" anyway, so I pretty much don't try to learn it's quirks any longer , though I was told that they are hoping to improve it over the course of the next 2-3 versions of CA by Scott Harris. (CA Insider) .

 

M.  

Mick, You have been incredibly helpful.  This is a whole new world for me, and absolutely fascinating.  I am overwhelmed with the generosity of people on this forum, like yourself.  Scott

Hi Scott , you could also consider Home Designer Pro , it's where Lew And I started 8-10 years ago , it's plenty capable for doing a lot of stuff Us Contractor's do and the Purchase Price ($495) is rebated against Chief's Cost when or if you Upgrade.

 

https://www.homedesignersoftware.com/products/home-designer-pro/

 

Lots of good help on Hometalk Forums too ( use same ID and PW)  although Pro Users will find help here on CT too.

 

https://hometalk.chiefarchitect.com/index.php?/forum/5-qa/

Thank you, Mick,  This sounds very intriguing.  I'm hoping that Pro would have a faster learning curve than Chief, and yet have most of the features I need as a dilittante contractor-turned-occasional-designer.  Would you mind answering a few questions?

1.  How is the learning curve compared to Chief?  Would I be able to get up and running faster than with Chief?  I am specifically trying to design a 2-story house that we plan to build in November.  It is a fairly simple plan.  My draftsman has already drawn the bulk of the architectural plans, but of course they are in 2D and he does not have 3D capability.  I would love to be able to visualize this house in 3D, show the 3D drawings to my client to aid in the remainder of the planning process, and have the obvious advantages of material take offs that Chief seems to do. 

2.  After viewing the overview video, it seems that Pro uses many of the same tools and procedures as Chief.  What does Chief have that Pro doesn't?  I know that question probably requires a  complicated answer, but perhaps you could give me a quick one?

3.  If I go ahead and learn Pro, is most of that learning transferable to Chief if I upgrade?  Or are they completely different technologies?

4.  Is it my imagination, or are the colors/presentations/etc. in Pro less realistic than those in Chief?

5.  If I design this house in Pro, will that design transfer to Chief if I decide to upgrade?

Whew!  Thanks in advance.  You people on this forum are Saints.

Scott

No worries, it is now a badge of honor

I am happy to be an Honorary Troll

Hey Scott buddy if the word Troll is to harsh, take it out of your title. I ment no harm, Sorry if your offended

No problem at all.

Hey, buddy, are you the invisible partner that Lew has talked about for many years, who Lew would send his roofs to?

Sorry, Drawzilla, I have lots of magical powers, but am neither the Troll nor the invisible partner.  Can't do everything at once, you know.

Scott... Sorry for the Troll accusation... :) ..

 

When getting into any CAD program (and especially 3D) expect a learning curve... 6 months to be "productive".. whatever this means.  From your walls issue it sounds like you want to jump in and draw plans without slowly learning and expecting plans to "pop out".  VERY simple plans may pop out but little else. Ironically your lack of CAD experience will help you greatly in Chief. Go through the tutorials step by step completely first and read the reference manual.

 

FYI.. when you quote a post you can type your reply directly under it so you have one post rather that two..

Thank you Rashid.  Learning, learning.....

Thanks Dennis,

Actually I've never used CAD.  I've been a contractor for a long time, but this is my first attempt at designing.  When I saw what Chief could do, I just had to take a whack at it.  I'm slowly starting to get the hang of it. 

Scott

Scottisimo,

I think I was correct in assuming you are used to CAD tpe of entering lengths.

In CHief you can start drawing a wall and then hit the tab key and then enter a dimension OR

I think most of us rought out the shape and then click an auto-dimension or other dimension and enter the

"wanted" dimension. IT is a different way of doing things but works well once you get used to it.

Thank you, Cheryl.   What is "con-doc"?

Scottisimo, it's hard to imagine Chief Architect making errors in dimensions, except maybe it's possible if we try too hard, or the dimension defaults are not set as you want them.

 

I start by making a crude outline of the exterior perimeter with Exterior Walls. Then, I do an Auto-Dimension Exterior. Here's where I get serious about getting the perimeter correct by using the dimensions placed by the Auto Dim tool.

 

In my rarely humble opinion, Chief is a very ROBUST design, con-doc tool. My opinion is skewed because I have been with CA since ver. 1. I have learned (and at times, unlearned) in small doses with each new rev. My business emphasis has shifted through the years, and I have found that Chief has had functions to migrate with me.

 

I can imagine that it's daunting to come into ver X7 and start from scratch. I hope that you'll keep watching the on-line training videos and learn to trust the program. We all want you to succeed and be able to lend us a hand when needed, too.

Pacific Palisades, CA, near L.A.   But don't worry!  I'm not as crazy as all those other Californians!

Scottisimo:

 

yep, small world - where are you now ???

 

Lew

I think that I can buy Chief with a 30 day return policy if I am not satisfied.  That seems like it's the same as the trial program, except I'll be able to save and post.  What do you think?

You can't save, and hence can't post, a plan from the trial version. You might be able to grab a screen shot to explain your problem, but the plan file is always best so the forumites can see what you're doing wrong/right.

Thank you, Lew.  The "angle snap" suggestion worked like a charm.

How do you post your drawing?

Lockport???  I grew up in Clarence!!  Small world.

Scottisimo:

 

sorry for Scott's reply, he likes to chastise ...

 

if your walls are zig-sagging then you probably have "angle snaps" off

 

what type of "short wall" are you trying to create

 

posting your plan will get better replies as to your issues

 

Chief is probably best for doing residential/light commercial plans

Sketchup has many benefits and makes a nice companion to  Chief

 

I have Sketchup for sale for $350 (lastest update cost $95)

includes many training books etc

 

I am retired and no longer need SU, but still use Chief for personal projects

 

A troll is someone who joins a forum to tout their software or to cause trouble

 

welcome to Chieftalk

 

Lew

Thank you, Humble Chief

Hey Scott, glad you got it worked out.

 

I think the nature of your question, drawing simple exterior walls, lead us to think you weren't really trying and just 'trolling' the forum for a response but not really interested in one. 

 

Since you've now formally introduced your self please feel free to ask questions about any aspect of Chief. You will find some amazing help here on the forums.

Thank you, Humble Chief

This is the "Troll" speaking, A.K.A. the "honest frustrated newbie":

I don't know what a troll is, but it doesn't sound good.  Whatever it is, I am not one.  My name is Scott Simril and I live in Pacific Palisades, CA.  This is my website:  www.simril.net.  I have been a successful contractor for 35 years, so I can't be too stupid.  "Honest frustrated newbie" sounds like a good description.

I will figure out the wall thing.  The first time, I drew them, it worked pretty well, except that I had to make numerous corrections to the length of the walls in my project.  Despite going clockwise and correcting each wall length in turn, Chief seemed to keep giving me the wrong lengths for some of the walls.  I'm sure it was something simple that I was doing wrong.  The second time I did it, I followed the instructions in the Users Guide to a "T", or at least I thought I did.  I had several problems:  Some of the walls I drew were "zig zagged", and I couldn't get them to be straight.  I also couldn't get Chief to draw a short wall.  Maybe there is a Troll in the program I am using.

Oh well.  I will figure it out.  Thank you all for your help.  And can someone explain what a Troll is?  Just so I know.

Thank you everyone for your feedback.  I have downloaded the trial version of Chief and am trying to learn to draw exterior walls.  Extremely frustrating.  I am following the scenario given in the Users Guide, and it seems that I do what they tell me to do, but it doesn't work the way they say it should.  I have always been a good student and good at following directions, so I suspect that this is a case of badly written directions.  If this is true, it would be very disappointing for such an expensive, highly touted, program.  Any comments?

Still a weakness in my opinion.  That one single plug-in is like $750 and it really isn't all that great.  Plus you have to deal with a handful of other plug-ins and their related expenses, updates, support, etc. and all those plug-ins may or may not work properly with futre updates of Sketchup and/or your other pile of plug-ins. 

 

Do you use Sketchup for producing plans?  You might, but I can't help but notice the vast majority of people I've heard touting Sketchup's amazing abilities don't even use it.  I know from a little experience that most of the hype is just that.  Hype. 

Thank you everyone for your feedback.  I have downloaded the trial version of Chief and am trying to learn to draw exterior walls.  Extremely frustrating.  I am following the scenario given in the Users Guide, and it seems that I do what they tell me to do, but it doesn't work the way they say it should.  I have always been a good student and good at following directions, so I suspect that this is a case of badly written directions.  If this is true, it would be very disappointing for such an expensive, highly touted, program.  Any comments?

I would definitely recommend Chief then.  You can pretty easily hit the ground running with it for simple 3D renderings of basic designs.  Just be prepared to spend a fair amount of time to become proficient at it and to be able to draw up more complex designs, details, and plans. 

 

My take on Sketchup:

It comes across as very intuitive for simple little things and as such is a little deceptive.  In my opinion, its really quite cumbersome to use for anything of any complexity.  I know of a handful of tradesmen who use it to draw up details, but know of very few builders or designers that do.  In order to make it feasible for use as an architectural design program, you would almost certainly have to purchase, download, and learn a huge pile of 3rd party add-ons and even then, I really don't find Sketchup all that effective for most modelling.  I actually find I can model most things quicker in Chief.  Everyone will point you to Nick Sonder (a well know architect that uses Sketchup for his design work), however just ask yourself this...Why is there so much attention given to one guy who uses Sketchup as a full architectural design program?  I think the answer is that its probably somewhat of a gimmick.  There's no one architect famous for using Chief because so many do.

Michael,  Thanks for all your posts.  You have been quite helpful.  Scott

Thanks for the reply, Michael. I am a General Contractor, doing mostly high-end remodeling in Los Angeles.   I have 2 reasons why I need some sort of 3D software:

1.  My clients are always asking what something will look like, and the architect's 2D drawings don't help much in that regard.

2.  If you can believe this, I am not very good at visualizing things 3-dimensionally.  Not a good deficit for a contractor to have.  I would like the software so that I can visualize the project, in 3D, from any viewpoint.  My employees and subs are often asking me questions that I have a hard time answering because I can't visualize in 3 D very well.  Often, they are better at this than I am, which is sort of embarassing. 

3.  It occurs to me that Chief Architect would be very helpful at generating lumber and other material lists, counting up the SY of stucco and drywall needed, etc.  As far as I know, Sketchup won't do that.  It seems that Chief would make material lists for everything:  doors, windows, insulation, electrical fixtures, etc.  That would be very time saving as far as estimating. 

Thanks for the reply, Eric.  I have never used either of them.  Could you expound a little bit more about the differences?  I do plan to get the trial version.

Has anyone used Sketchup?  I would be interested in knowing what the advantages of Chief over Sketchup are, for architectural drawings?  Thanks in advance