dannic Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hi All, I am runing a trial of both chief and softplan. I have chosen the attached elevation as my trial task. I am posting it both here and at softplan to guage both program ability and forum response. I am very familiar with softplan so I have a bit of learning curve with chief, but I am quick on the computer. It seems to me that this elevation touches on a lot of good areas ... Stucco Arches -are the arches 3d shapes, archways in walls or other? Stone columns Stucco band with stone Recessed windows. Multiple wall definitions Custom eave shapes We do alot of stucco details around here! The ideal would be to have on object on the 2d plan that accurately represents what the framer would expect to see and also have it show up right in elevations and 3d. If this is not possible then perhaps with different layers and view options? I went ahead and attached a pdf copy of some basic drawings that were accomplished in softplan back in 2005. All the detail you see on the elevation and floor plan in regards to the arches, columns, bands stone and window treatments was all done with lines in 2d after the plan was finished...lame. I am hoping that the programs have advanced enough to save all that line drawing? Thank you! Daniel dwilson ... at .... familyfirsthomes....dot....net Plan - 2575.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 We do a lot of stucco arches out here too. I do not use solids to create the arches. I use walls with arched openings. Depending on the situation, there are several different methods to get what I want. I HATE CAD, so, I do very little if any CAD to get the correct look in plan. I do not know if SP does a better job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Nothing you are showing me in the pix would throw me for a loop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe_Carrick Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I agree with Scott, Obviously the picture is of a real building and the roof tiles & ridge caps are accurate 3D objects. I have modeled 3D Roofing with Chief (Mission Tile) and am confident that with just a little direction you could do it as well. The Stucco and Stone details - both in 2D and 3D are very easy in Chief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommy1 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 None of that is real difficult to do in Chief. I'm doing columns like that right now on a plan. Once you know your options on how to do things in Chief, you can do most anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I have Softplan and would never go back, even though I'm sure they have a lot of new features since I bought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerryT Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I agree with all of the above. I recently upgraded to SoftPlan 2014 from an much older version – more out of curiosity than anything else. I consider Softplan superior only in the area of Material control although they don’t make it easy. Chief does not seem to be into detailed material management as they have for some time neglected some needed and easy improvements. Their off into other areas now. Other than that, Chief will speed though all of the features you need in in your plan and probably is your best choice. Their moldings/millwork feature will address most your concerns – check into it? Also, with SSA, their support is much, much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lbuttery Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 SSD, their support is much, much better Gerry: I think you meant SSA Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerryT Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 yep -- Thanks Lew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannic Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 @ dshall .. I see two different applications of the sutcco arches. 1.) Porch pillars 2.) Wall Niches It seems that you would use a different applicaiton for each? For the porch pillars would you define a custom wall to the width of your columns, surround the porch with it and then place and edit your arches? What about those that are niches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannic Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 @ DRAWZILLA Do you have any specifics as to why chief made more sense to you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannic Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 @ GerryT In what ways do you feel softplan had better control over materials? Do you mean material estimates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dshall Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 @ dshall .. I see two different applications of the sutcco arches. 1.) Porch pillars 2.) Wall Niches It seems that you would use a different applicaiton for each? For the porch pillars would you define a custom wall to the width of your columns, surround the porch with it and then place and edit your arches? What about those that are niches? You know what, I can deal with both, niches a little trickier, but still very doable, maybe a 30 second operation. I think there are probably 3 good programs out there that can do what you want. CA, SP and REVIT. If you are asking which program to use, REVIT is probably too much program for you. Now you are down to choosing between SP and CA........ SP users will swear by SP, CA users will swear by CA, so how do you choose? Depending on whether it is an odd year or an even year, CA or SP has the upper hand. I would base my decision on which program has a more active help site. You will never know any program within 3 years, guaranteed. You will constantly be asking questions. You will constantly being learning whatever program you are using. There are guys on this site who I have been following for the last 7 plus years, sharing there knowledge and experiences and they are still learning. So check out the SP talk forum and check out the CA talk forum. There is nothing magical about any of the programs, all we want to do is to be productive and make money. Which program will do that for you? I would choose the program with the most active talk forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GerryT Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 In what ways do you feel softplan had better control over materials? Do you mean material estimates? Softplan allows control over Material quantities and Material calculation formulas. So it's somewhat easy to include ancillary items based on other material listings. Chief limits access to their internal data. You basically get what they think you should have, in the format they think you should have and their material descriptions (often wrong) and formulas are fixed and VERY generalized. Some calculations are just wrong in some circumstances and there are few options to change for unique situations.Adding adjunct material is tedious in Chief and involves several steps. You also risk having this data wiped out if your not careful.Lastly despite many suggested requests for improvements in this area Chief has not responded and has given no indication that they will in the near future ---- Neither has Softplan, but their pattern has been to make one or two token improvements with each new release.SoftPlan does provide direct access to a external user database for materials which can be a HUGE help. -- overall this area is pretty static for now in both programs. Chief's coverage is spotty at best. Lumber listings are mostly complete but their listing format is extremely rigid. - You see it the way they want and no other. Moldings are dismal. Everything else is in between. Pricing/cost in Chief is elementary and manual. There are no scheduling/phase capabilities in Chief with respect to material. SoftPlan also allows better control over building phases and organization, material listings, classifications, descriptions and markups. And all are easily re-usable Checkout their Videos if interested. Their formula system is somewhat cumbersome to use but easy enough once you figured it out. Support is minimal but it’s logical enough that it’s doable with some effort and easy after that. I do all this external to Chief, with my own custom software program so not a big deal to me. Also not a problem if you’re dealing with builders who have their own internal estimator (usually a relative) and aren’t going to change!! Note that Material control is an additional liability to take on but can be an additional area of service and charges. If you’re not experienced in this area, or don't want to learn – Don’t go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRAWZILLA Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 @ DRAWZILLA Do you have any specifics as to why chief made more sense to you? Well, this was a long time ago and I'm sure things have changed but I have always liked the way Chief put together a set of Construction doc's much better than Softplan. Chief was much easier to learn. Being on my own with no help from anyone, I needed to learn this as fast as I could, I didn't have time to mess around learning so I just went to a Class for Chief in San Diego and asked some questions and Bam, it all made sense. This forum is also the best there is. Just ask and you shall receive. I wanted to get my money back from Softplan, mainly b/c back then they didn't do mono slabs. Talked to the VP there and he said to keep trying and I did that. Then my refund time ran out. Chalk it up to my stupidity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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