Looking for older CAD software for home construction use

[reggie 00]

So i know there is quite a few engineers out here. And most likely some who use CAD. I rent a space for my office from a General Contractor. He does remodels and what not. Today i stopped in his office and saw that he was drawing (pretty good too) a plan for a room addition in Ms Paint. I asked him why he didn't use CAD, said it cost too much(2-3k) and what he really wanted was an old version since his needs were pretty basic ( building plans to what ever scale the permit people want at the time). He tried that one you can get at the computer store for like $30, but said it was to cumbersome and hard to use effectively. So basically the problem he said is he doesnt know where to find an inexpensive old version that he could learn on and then use for his plans.

So, Does anyone have, or know where i can point my buddy to get ahold of an older CAD program to run on a P4 w 2gig ram? He is an older GC which is surprising he does as much on a PC as he does, which is cool.

Thanks for the help, tips and or advice.

[oly884]

search for turboCAD. They have some quite reasonable prices.

[reggie 00]

That's what I'm talkin about. I wouldn't have idea one on who makes what. So i turn to the collective Genius here.

Thank ya.

I'll show him this but keep em coming if you have another ideas.

[oly884]

Glad to help. We use turbocad for our engineering work, thus far we have no major complaints. I'm sure we're going to be upgrading to autocad not to far from now, but TC has worked great for the last year or two.

[mastacox]

First software that pops up in my head is AutoCAD LT.

[Seanz0rz]

by far my favorite old cad software is a program called floor plan plus 3d, v3. after version 3, they started getting really bad, but version 3 was awesome!!! my dad who is completely computer illiterate still uses it today.

its a bit hard to come by, and is meant to run on windows 95 or 98, so on modern computers it will unitize 100% of the cpu. other than that, works great.

if you are interested, let me know, i will give you a place where you might be able to find it.

[Bighead]

First software that pops up in my head is AutoCAD LT.

AutoCAD LT would be a good place to start. It will cost ~$900 but that is way cheaper than the full version of ACAD. Autodesk also has a free 30-day trial for ACAD LT so he can actually see if he likes it..

[bamachem]

AutoCAD LT.

I have LT 2005. I think I paid $500-$600 for it (directly from AutoDesk) and he could do anything he needs with it.

LT is 2-Dimensions only where the full-blown AutoCAD has 3-D Modeling.

Also, you can scout eBay and get AutoCAD 14 or an older version of LT and he'd be fine with those as well. I imagine that you could get something like that for $100 or maybe less. With the newer stuff (LT 2005+), you have to register it online for it to work. You only get 5 registrations before you have to call the 1-800 number and get special access. That sucks when you have had 3 HD failures + other hardware issues in the last 3 years and you've already used up your 5 registrations like I have.

[MTL_4runner]

There's a few out there for him to use and as a GC he certainly doesn't need a $2-3K piece of software because there's alot more out there now than there ever was. If he's only using them to create general plans (not doing any seriously complex 3D rendering or anything like that) then here's a few I'd recommend.

TurboCAD Pro V12 - ($500) You can get the Deluxe version but for a GC it's too watered down IMHO, here's a comparison of the two side by side http://www.turbocad.com/whatsnew_v12.asp?mcid=370 ). The full version is quite sophisticated and can do alot of things including 3D rendering if needed.

The rest are from Autodesk

AutoCAD 2007 full or Architectural Desktop 2007 - (very expensive) This is probably what the GC was talking about when he mentioned software being $2-3K per seat, it's very expensive but has excellent 2D and 3D capability. For a GC they are probably overkill though.

AutoCAD LT 2007 - ($800) This is really a standard in the drafting field and has been around for a long time. If you're looking for a really professional drafting tool, this would be the better choice (has more features to save you time when drafting like auto dims or perspective view).

AutoSketch 9 - ($100) This is strictly a 2D program and it's quite limited but if you need something really cheap and will never need to transfer drawing files or do any 3D work, then this program might be ok.

Either TurboCAD Pro or AutoCAD LT would be my choices for the GC, but be careful buying student versions because they often have features cut out. You're better off paying more for the non-academic version (at least with AutoCAD) because when you print stuff out it will put "Student" all over your drawings and often tech support goes seriously lacking when you call and give them the S/N and it shows student version. Neither is good in a professional setting.

[DHC6twinotter]

I've used AutoCAD 2000i Architectural Desktop. Not sure how much it costs now, but it was pretty expensive new. Good program though.

Just my $.02.

[reggie 00]

Thanks for all the inputs. I definitely would not have had any idea on whats what, and if they would have been any good.

When i get back in the office i will show him what everyone has said.
Really appreciate all the inputs. It so much nicer to get peoples opinions about stuff like this than to gamble on written reviews from the sellers website and what not.

[Erich_870]

There's a few out there for him to use and as a GC he certainly doesn't need a $2-3K piece of software because there's alot more out there now than there ever was. If he's only using them to create general plans (not doing any seriously complex 3D rendering or anything like that) then here's a few I'd recommend.

TurboCAD Pro V12 - ($500) You can get the Deluxe version but for a GC it's too watered down IMHO, here's a comparison of the two side by side http://www.turbocad.com/whatsnew_v12.asp?mcid=370 ). The full version is quite sophisticated and can do alot of things including 3D rendering if needed.

The rest are from Autodesk

AutoCAD 2007 full or Architectural Desktop 2007 - (very expensive) This is probably what the GC was talking about when he mentioned software being $2-3K per seat, it's very expensive but has excellent 2D and 3D capability. For a GC they are probably overkill though.

AutoCAD LT 2007 - ($800) This is really a standard in the drafting field and has been around for a long time. If you're looking for a really professional drafting tool, this would be the better choice (has more features to save you time when drafting like auto dims or perspective view).

AutoSketch 9 - ($100) This is strictly a 2D program and it's quite limited but if you need something really cheap and will never need to transfer drawing files or do any 3D work, then this program might be ok.

Either TurboCAD Pro or AutoCAD LT would be my choices for the GC, but be careful buying student versions because they often have features cut out. You're better off paying more for the non-academic version (at least with AutoCAD) because when you print stuff out it will put "Student" all over your drawings and often tech support goes seriously lacking when you call and give them the S/N and it shows student version. Neither is good in a professional setting.


Well said MTL_4Runner! :thumbup:

We just upgraded our AutoCAD to 2008 and it was over $2200 per seat. If we were to buy a stand alone copy it was over $3000.

The network license set up adds an ADDITIONAL $1100 per seat to the cost.

The most economic way to keep your full blown AutoCAD is with a subscription. You pay a yearly fee of a little over $500 and they send you the latest version.

We ended up paying over $500 more for the jump from 2002 to 2008 when compared to paying the yearly subscription. Also, like Bamachem said, starting with 2005 you have to get network licenses directly from AutoDesk, so they can prevent people from running multiple copies of the same licence.

Erich