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[MSB Tiling]

Evening All! Does anybody on this forum use autocad for bathrooms and kitchens? If so is there one you would recommend?

Thankyou, Mark

 

[Spud]

Autocad is quite pricey and a little old hat these days try google sketch up

 

[gamma38]

I would be interested in peoples responses as i have always wanted some good software. Nothing i have seen is easy to use or that good either. How good is google sketchup??

 

[Colour Republic]

I use Articad which is a specific kitchen and bathroom design package. i.e it has many supplier catalogues already built in.

It's not cheap (£2.2k to £3k depending on how hard you bargain) and unless you're selling kitchens and bathrooms on a weekly basis you might be better learning one of the free programmes such as google sketchup.

Articad is pretty easy to use and can get as technical as you want to really get those renders life like. This is just one of the designs i've done recently for a potential customer which i've posted on here before

I'm getting better but with time and effort articad can produce the following...

most kitchen/bath pro packages that produce the above type quality are in the £2-£3.5k bracket. That said many people sell their old packages on when they upgrade to new software. I know someone selling fusion 20-20 for £1k (the software howdens and wickes use) it doesn't quite produce the above type renders but it's only a matter of time before they have a big update and move on to the latest render engines like everyone else, but be aware all systems have an an ongoing yearly support fee to get the latest updates etc' usually £200-£500 a year.

Big names are Articad, Compusoft, Fusion 20-20, Autokitchen

Cheaper kit/bath cad packages can be had for around £800 - £1500 like Nexus cad http://www.nexuscad.com/ - virtual worlds http://www.virtualworlds.co.uk/ VRPro http://www.vrpro.co.uk/ but don't expect to be blown away

Free ones worth a look, obviously google sketchup which can be quite powerful if you spend the time learning and another shout would be kitchendraw which is almost as good as the cheaper packages above but is free, well at least the first 20 hours are. It doesn't sound a lot but the clock only ticks down whilst you are designing, not just while the programme is open. Know a few kitchen designers that started off on KD becuase it doesn't require a big outlay. You can top up your hours up as and when you need them, can't remember how much but it's not a lot, we're talking £30-£50's not hundreds of pounds a time (has some of the big suppliers catalogues built in although not always up to date) http://www.kitchendraw.com/

In fact just had a quick look at KD's website and it seems it's come a long way since I last looked, not bad for a cheap system. I'm guessing these aren't easy to produce (as I never found KD as easy to use as Articad) but certainly possible if you find your way around it

Check this picture out...
http://www.kitchendraw.com/displayb...49&IMGHeight=831&Vr_bitmap=/images/SALON1.JPG

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Well that must be the best reply to a topic I've read on here in 6 years!

Someone will gain great insight from it.

Well done Rob.

 

[MSB Tiling]

I agree with John, What a fantastic response! I cant thankyou enough for the information! Id never heard of google sketchup before so will give that a try, but I will also keep a note of the others you have told us about!

Thanks Mark

 

[White Room]

That was phenomenal Rob...the quality of those pictures.

 

[Colour Republic]

Thanks for the replies lads but really???

I've seen countless posts much more infomative on this forum... most days too!. I suppose it's only really impressive when it's about something you don't know much about. Think what newbies coming here must feel like every day!!

I did a lot of trying out of systems when I first started looking maybe 5 years ago and it took me about 3 years until I finally took the plunge and outlaid just over £2k for articad a few years back.

It really does help to sell when customers can get a real feel for a room rather than just a basic render of a room.

This is one i've done today for a pair of new builds, looks far better than some of the 2 minute renders the likes of B&Q put out. Although expensive it's paid for itself in extra sales I might not of got before, although that only really applies if you are selling the whole thing as opposed to just parts of it.