These programs can do real work if you have astock plan that has the structural information and you want to changethe windows, doors and non-structural walls inside that structuralshell. In some cases you can even change the outside dimensions withoutaltering things too much.

With any modified design a local home designer,architect or engineer should review the drawings to make sure it meetslocal codes and is structurally sound. If you've made changes thatrequire additional drawings or details, then this person can providethem for you. While this will add some to the design cost of yourproject, it will be considerably less than the typicalstart-from-scratch architectural design fee of 10% of constructioncost. Often this person can make suggestions about local materials orbuilding techniques that will work better or save you money over whatis called out in the stock plan. There are considerable regionaldifferences in how houses are built.

Here are two simple CAD programs you mightconsider:

• 3D Home Architect DesignSuite Deluxe 6 (not compatible with earlier versions).
  

Personally, I prefer an earlier version of 3DHome Architect — ver. 3. Interestingly, the 3D Home Architectprogram above will not read files from ver. 3, but the Better Homes& Gardens program will - try and make sense out of that!

Note:If you are running Windows 7 you should use one of the Design Suitesfrom Better Homes & Gardens, or Chief Architect (the same programunder different labels). 3DHA ver. 3 does not play well with Win-7

The older 3DHA ver. 3 program does the basics in astraightforward easy to learn way. It lets you quickly layout walls toform a building shape. Then you drop in doors, windows, furniture, andcabinets. Click a few more buttons and you put a simple roof over it.To see the space you've just designed, simply grab the eyeball icon anddrag it in the direction you want to look. Let go and the program drawsan interior (or exterior if you're outside the walls) perspective. Theprogram will frustrate those who want to design an elaborate house witha complex roof. It is best used to design simple buildings. Forbuildings like this it can give you a full 3D model.

For a more complex building you can use any ofthese home design programs as a floorplanning tool to get a feel forthe interior and how much space you need for furniture, cabinets,appliances, etc.

Below is a couple of screen shots of a studiohouse done in 3D Home Architect. The plan can be printed out to scaleand used directly in the final drawings. This small house has an openbedroom loft over a small kitchen/bath area. The tall walls give theplace an old school house feel.