Home Design Architectural Series 18
Software Review by Bob DavoliIf you’re the type of person who is considering doing some remodeling of your home--either inside or outside--or even just doing your kitchen or bathroom over, and would like to do what-if scenarios while toying with your prospective designs, then this may be the tool you’re looking for.
Even if you’re thinking of hiring an architect, you can save some money by having a preliminary plan which he/she can use as a starting point. After all, an architect’s time is expensive, and having one go back and forth with preliminary plans is only going to cost you money.
Punch architectural series 18 loads into your computer very easy. Just pop it into your CD ROM slot and the installation proceeds automatically. (Providing your auto run feature isn’t turned off). I am using Windows 98 with 1 Gig processor ,and it took me about 15 minutes to load into my computer.The software is pretty easy to run. It took me about 2-3 hours before I became fairly proficient at the basics of it. It comes with an excellent user’s guide, 305 pages of illustrations and instructions which I found to be very easy to comprehend. And get this, it’s already printed out and ready for your perusal. As you may already know, many software publishers are getting away from this convenience.
One of the features of this package are the professionally designed house plans, (there are twenty), which are included in the package.
This can be of enormous help to someone who is not familiar with design software. You can import any of the included plans into your computer and make your changes, i.e., move walls, doors, windows, etc. When you’re finished ,just save it under a new name, and you still have the old plan as well as your new version.You can design as many as three levels to your house and can even trace one floor from the one above or below it. This can be a time saver if you decide to duplicate information used on other levels. Your plan can include wiring and plumbing as well as HVAC.
The feature that I found very convenient was the walk through, (it also has a fly around, but I found this a little unwieldy to control ,but maybe that’s just me). This allows you to place a marker anywhere on your floor plan and move it around while a small box opens up to show things as they would appear if you were walking through it.
There’s a toolbar with which you can just click any of the following:
Framing Editor for designing any type of framing for your project.
Estimator that calculates cost estimates from pricing estimates you plug in.
Elevation Editor allows you to view and change your design as shown in 3D. You can move windows and doors or change their Characteristics and it will revise your floor plan automatically.
DXF Import/Export lets you share your plans with others.
Real Model allows you to create a scale model of your work.
Using the Photoview feature you can use pictures of your backyard, or anyone else’s for that matter, to enhance the landscape in your plan.
Cabinet Wizard : There’s a pretty complete library of furniture, cabinets and even appliances for you to just drag and drop into your planTo develop landscaping projects is an easy task using the Landscape Planning tool included. You can add scrubs, trees, paths, retaining walls and even ponds to your property and use the Flyover feature to see how it looks in real time. You can also show what your plan will look like in years to come. I guess this is so you don’t make the mistake of planting large trees too close to your house.
Describing the other features here such as Deck Plan, 2d drawing plan would be a little redundant because they all work as easily as the ones I have elaborated on above. I recommend this software for its ease of use and the professional results that even an amateur can accomplish from it.
System requirements-
Windows 95 or higher
64 MB of RAM
900 MB of hard disk space
VGA video card 800 x 600 resolution and 15 bit of color depth
CD ROM and mouse
Note: If running Win 2000, 16MB minimum video card memory is requiredPunch Software
79 NW 100 Street, Suite LL6
Kansas City, Mo. 64153
Web Site: http://www.punchsoftware.com
Phone 800-406-4966
Price $129.99