House extension drawing software

There are several house extension drawing software packages on the market some of which are freeware or shareware. Many are trial versions giving you limited access for a period of time. Most of the house extension drawing software is basic 2D drafting which will suffice for the majority of cases.

All house extension drawing software will require a learning period even those experienced in one CAD package will find operating another system difficult for a short period until familiarity of the buttons and coding can become clearer.

Some house extension software is specifically aimed at the DIY home designer but these packages are normally purchased on a CD rom rather than free. They provide an easy and intuitive way to prepare basic plans and internal layouts of your new or extended home. Most are not suitable for presenting full design schemes to the Planning Authority or Building Control Department.

Some professional CAD software packages are very suitable for house extensions but usually need skilled and trained operators you use them correctly. These are not usually suitable for the DIY home owner seeking an instant easy to use package for their house extension design.

Most CAD packages import and export a fairly consistently used drawing reference file format being .dxf or .dwg files for sharing of information and design work. Some of the more basic ‘home design’ CAD drawing software uses non generic files so interchanging then into other CAD packages is almost impossible.

Google now also provide a free 3D modelling software package called sketchup that is fairly easy to use and can provide walk throughs. Its external rendering is fairly basic and totally non lifelike but enough to give your final house extension building designer an idea of your concepts and thoughts.

So, if you are a motivated home owner wishing to have a go at preparing your own design thoughts for your own house extension scheme by using some form of house extension design drawing software yourself and are prepared to install the time and effort to learn such a piece of kit then give it a go.

However, I suspect that when your are on week 6 and still no further forward or cannot make up your mind on what layout works best you will become very frustrated when your professional house extension building designer would be able to advise you immediately of a scheme that would work first time and you could have been well on your way to applying for Planning permission by now.