Designing a Home using Home Design Software | PROS AND CONS

Ever tried designing your a home, or working with an architect? Comment your experience! ⬇
0:00 Introduction
0:13 Home Design Software
1:00 Controlling the Design
2:00 Saving Money
3:19 Learning House Details
3:44 Why I Designed My Own Home Anyways
7:08 Closing thoughts
If you’re new here, WELCOME 👋
Check out our house playlist so you can catch up to where we are now ⤵️
• Self-Building Our Home...
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ABOUT US: We are Alex and Elaina, a couple in our 20s who are currently living on the 3-acre farm in southern Pennsylvania where Alex grew up. We have a garden, backyard chickens, and build or fix anything that we need to. We still work corporate day jobs, but are working to eventually leave the 9-5 lifestyle in favor of a self-built, debt-free, homestead on 6 acres nearby.
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#building #housedesign #selfbuild

[@jayworley1583]

Home Design Pro is a great option. There's a guy on YT that compares the differences between Pro & the full CA version. Basically, the biggest drawback is that you have to save different layouts / layers (electrical, framing, etc) as separate files. The total cost for Pro is in the low $600 range, after you buy an upgrade from HS Suite like I have which is very functional. So, I totally disagree with Mason's point. And your local supply house like BFC will have structural engineers on staff who approve you framing package. And part of the fun is learning about span tables, be them I-joist, LVL or simple yellow pine. So if you're going to build your own house, it makes complete sense to make a $600 investment plus the time & effort to learn the general ins & outs. That's the whole point & fun of it all.

[@brandonguillen3504]

can you elaborate what BFC stands for?

[@wg1408]

Builders FirstSource...were the biggest home building supplier in the country. I'm an outside rep in Virginia. You send us your plans and our engineers do the engineering calculations which you'll need for permits.​@@brandonguillen3504

[@tryshea1922]

I agree with you. My husband and I are building our own home. It took us 2 months to do our plans ourselves using Chief Architect. $400 vs $1400 for a similar plan with everything we got from the program. Not sure why he even made this video. What we used>local building code book and software.

[@evelynbeneke2980]

You lucked out by getting access to that architectural software package. It's great you could stay at that level of detail for a protracted time. And yes DO get input from a structural engineer!! Way to go Alex - design renderings sounds very promising.

[@InspiredCraftsman]

I've been using chief architect for a little over 3 years. It was a little overwhelming on my first remodel job using it but it more than paid for itself on that first project. I've caught so many issues in 3D land before starting work that it has saved much more than the software cost. The digital walk through for clients is huge for visualization and checking clearances.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

You’re totally right, navigating in 3D, especially in perspective framing view, was a huge benefit when doing this custom design. Lots of things you’d never think about in 2D. We plan to use it a lot going forward!

[@evelynbeneke2980]

I love architects but in small doses - its important to have a shared 'vision" and aesthetic from the get-go because some can a leeetle, well, pedantic:)

[@charlieshew]

I bought the cheap version of Chief Architect a few years ago. My goal was to design a general layout for my home project. It took quite a while to get things figured out with the program, but like you, I enjoy the learning process. I am now at the point I need to turn the design over and have many questions answered.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Awesome, it's a challenging but rewarding experience

[@annettehough2792]

As a structural engineer, I agree that it is best to use a professional. However, for someone like you (genius) it will be fine. I’ve drawn up many houses for myself over the years. You’ll be glad you did this in the long term. It will be uniquely yours. Keep moving forward.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thanks Nettie! The plan for this smaller house mainly falls within IRC guidelines except for just a couple things. We should be good!

[@Halfwheelhell]

@@MasonDixonAcresexcept the structural ridge, which requires way more knowledge / PE for safety.

[@hectormaldonado4369]

Hi. Greetings from the South of Chile. Im a 50 year old teacher and I didnt know anything about construction or carpentry, but last summer I decided to go into it by building a small house and I just loved it. But apart from the interesting experience I got, I found out I didnt really need neither a construction company nor an architect (only 2 helpers for the heaviest chores), because it wasnt hard actually, only heavy work. The best thing: I spent less money than Id thought. Maybe too much theoretical technical information was not really useful for your experience. Now I know that no carpentry expertice and no technical knowledge are no problem when you find the way for it to work out. Best wishes.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

You are probably the most geographically distant comment we've gotten! Sounds like you built yourself an awesome place, glad you were able to get it done an save some money in the process. Our plan is also pretty simple overall, except for building on top of the portal frame (garage door) wall which requires some extra detailing. Thanks for watching!

[@hectormaldonado4369]

@@MasonDixonAcres Actually, the experience was more awsome and larger than the place itself! LOL. Greetings!

[@peytonc3645]

We did the same thing, but I used their Home Designer Software Pro version which is way cheaper than the one you used. It's definitely a no brainer to get if you enjoy doing those kinds of things but don't want to fork out $3k. I'd love to step up to the premier. Where we are you still have to hire a structural engineer to do structural drawings whether you buy plans online or not. Fully agree with your assessment!

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Home Designer is still quite powerful for what it is! I think it just limits the 2D drawing capabilities. I'm on the student license now but I think eventually I'll just buy Premier and do a few side design jobs to pay for it. In our case we saved on the structural engineering by doing all the drafting and just having them look over it and size beams etc. with a markup of the PDF.

[@The_R_Vid]

As a PE in structural engineering, I would absolutely hire a mechanical engineer to consult on the mechanical aspects of a project like this. Do what you know or want to learn, hire well for the rest.

[@Bari_Khan_CEng_CMarEng]

Great video and guidance

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thanks!

[@skylarkovack2561]

Come on spring time!! 😜👍

[@MasonDixonAcres]

You got that right!

[@johannschuster9730]

Any suggestions for a free software that still may be fairly powerful?

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

I have three infill lots in Sacramento, and I'm just going to buy plans, and have a builder make code changes as required. However, the wife wants to alter our residence, and I want to get at least an elevation plan to see what it will look like.

[@tvck3183]

Hai marson Apa itu arsitektur rumah ideal sangat bagus teman 🙋🔔

[@rishid]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Do you have any plans to share your floor plan/drawings as a learning reference? All the best with your build.

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Thank you! Chief Architect has a lot of great resources!

[@RogerWilsonTodd]

To run the software and NOT become frustrated with rendering lag, what computer spec (CPU, RAM, Graphics Card, Laptop or Desktop) did you find necessary?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

A 3 year old Dell XPS 13, i7 with 16gb ram. Nothing special

[@hannahlynae2081]

I want have a home idea and I have no idea how to get my design started are there any free app that can help me.

[@thetundra]

Does the software have any built in structural engineering codes or best practices?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

It does follow best practices as told by standard building code by default, however it doesn't know when it's beyond those limitations or beyond normal materials. For example, it will size rafters and window/door header height (2x6, 2x8, etc.) based on span, but it won't know you can't have a 50' long board.

[@alexaclaire8728]

Is it just me or can you no longer buy the software? I'm seeing only subscription-based options, which is a bit frustrating. P.S. I'm also a mechanical engineer with some experience with structural engineering in the past. I feel like you were reading my mind this video 😅 I know I may regret designing myself, but the creative freedom & control is very enticing to me. My husband is in construction so I feel like he could help with a lot of those details as well... How do you feel about the "user-friendly" 3D softwares out there for much less $$ & seem to be popular? Seems like it could potentially save me a lot of headaches, but also don't want crappy results bc I skimped on the design software. Thank you!!

[@alexaclaire8728]

For example: Homestyler, Live Home 3D, SweetHome3D, etc.

[@TheLacedbeauty]

Can you upload an existing cad file to the program?

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Yep!

[@TheLacedbeauty]

@@MasonDixonAcres would you say it’s easy for a beginner if I upload an existing cad to then make a 3D rendering of each room?

[@historylover9890]

Hello do you offer training in person

[@MasonDixonAcres]

On our website we do offer consultation, but it is virtual

[@historylover9890]

@@MasonDixonAcres I want to learn house modelling and rendering from scratch

[@BenKlassen1]

Sound advice.

[@bjrnclausen978]

Home designer pro is only 595 USD...

[@MasonDixonAcres]

Yes that's the defeatured version, more geared towards interiors. I can't recall what the limitations are but I don't believe it allows you to create a full plan

[@theprofessorfate6184]

1:57 " It's some other fuckers problem to figure out what I want built"