Free Home Remodeling Design Software Comparison Review

When is ‘FREE’ really free? When it’s in reference to free home remodeling software! Heads up home renovators and remodeling enthusiasts – there really is something free in this world. Here are three home remodeling software packages with free versions that you can use with no strings attached:

• FloorPlanner
• Plan3D
• Google SketchUp

Looking for free kitchen design software?

Our 2D and 3D Free Home Remodeling Software Comparison Reviews

FloorPlanner

FloorPlanner is a very quick and easy tool for creating and sharing interactive floor plans. The free version is called My Floorplanner.

With My Floorplanner you are allowed one project made up of 5 different designs. Draw, save, share and print your 2D floor plans. Create a plan then add structural elements, landscaping and furniture. Customize surfaces, sizes and colors.

Sharing is easy:

After drawing and saving a plan, select the ‘Share’ tab. You have the choice of sharing via email, picture, widget or web. The email option allows you to send a personal message along with a link back to your design. Press the picture option to export a picture of your plan.

This is an exported jpg of one of my designs.

The widget option gives you a link so you can place your design within your own web. If you choose to share with the web, you will find two links that can be copied and pasted - one is to all of your designs and the other is to the current plan only.

View other people’s floor plans under the ‘Fresh’ heading.

Advantages/Strengths

Learning curve, what learning curve? If you do have any difficulties you can check out the forums, interactive manual or the weblog.
No downloads required.
Handy-dandy ‘undo’ and ‘redo’ buttons.
The tools can be relocated with your mouse so they don’t get in the way, but are still easily accessible.

Disadvantages/Weaknesses

Free account does not offer 3D options.
Free accounts can only export images that are 640 x 480.
Can only create single floor designs.

Pay Versions

There are two pay versions of FloorPlanner available.

Plus Membership
$30.50/year
Allows you to create up to 5 complete projects with multiple floors and save unlimited design variations within each project.

Pro Membership
$24.50/month with a 30-day free trial.
Geared towards real estate agents /interior designers. Allows for the creation of interactive floor plans that can be published with a branded template and company logo.

• unlimited amount of floor plans
• export high quality images for brochures and print
• view plans in 3D
• monitor statistics of floor plans
• use lead generation
• Publish credits – 1 publish = 1 credit – credits are purchased separately

My Opinion/Recommendations

My Floorplanner is an excellent floor planning tool if 3D is not a requirement.. It’s fun and so easy to use.

Because of the small scale of print outs and pictures, it’s easier to look at your floor plans when you don’t add in a whole lot of furniture, colours and textures. If you’re just playing around, then go to town!

Plan3D

With Plan3D’s free version you can design single or multi-floor buildings in blueprint mode and in 3D, or switch back and forth between the two. Trace your floor plans into Plan3D and turn them into a 3D model, then take a virtual walk through your model. View your model in different modes - overhead, blueprint, 3D, and elevation. Lighting and shadows add a realistic effect in 3D mode, as do the animated doors, windows and drawers. Enabling the ‘lock’ option means you won’t accidentally move or modify objects or building features.

System Requirements – Laptop or PC with Windows XP, Vista or 2000, minimum of 256 MB memory and a 3D video card

Advantages/Strengths

Plan3D is relatively easy to use once you’ve monkeyed around with it for a while. It includes a ‘tips’ window with 43 different tips to help with common functions. For more in depth assistance you can access an online manual through the help menu.

Disadvantages/Weaknesses

The free version doesn’t allow you to save any of your plans. You can print them for future reference - this is okay for a floor plan in the blueprint mode, but 2D printouts of 3D models are fairly limited in terms of what you can see. (It’s okay if you only want to get an idea of what the exterior of a design will look like.)

Examples of printed designs:

Some options/items can only be added in 3D mode. I had some difficulty getting a kitchen faucet to land on the sink ledge.
When using lighting and shadows, the editing speed is slowed down.

Pay Versions

There are two different options for paid subscriptions.

Option I
$15.95 for one month

Option II
$35.40 for one year ($2.95/month) Annual payment required.

My Opinion/Recommendations

Plan3D is a great tool for taking your plans to the next level. Too bad the free version doesn’t allow you to save your designs. The yearly subscription amount seems exceptionally reasonable if you really want the option of saving your plans. Shhhh, don’t say that too loud or someone might jack the price up!

Google Sketchup

Google SketchUp is a very powerful 3D modeling software. If you can picture it in your head, you can build it with this tool. The current free version is called Google SketchUp 6. Make simple conceptual models or create complete, complex, accurate and realistic designs. SketchUp is perfect for designing and building architectural, mechanical and landscape 3D models that can be shared in Google Earth or added to a 3D warehouse. The 3D warehouse contains thousands of 3D items that can be downloaded for use in/with your models. Export 2D images of your 3D models.

System Requirements

Here is an example of a 2D image of my 3D test model.

Advantages/Strengths

Google SketchUp is easy to learn and easy to use if you have a few hours to devote to the learning process. It offers lots of support for users – all of which can be accessed through the Learning Center.

The Learning Center is a window that opens up at the beginning of a session. It offers tips and provides quick access to additional resources. The first page of the learning center tips shows an animated example of using SketchUp and it includes a link to a SketchUp model where you can learn about and try the various tools for yourself. Under the Additional Resources Tab of the Learning Center there are links to SketchUp Help, an Online Help Center, a Quick Reference Card, the SketchUp Community (Forums), Send a Suggestion (for contacting help center) and Video Tutorials.

Disadvantages/Weaknesses

Lots of reading. There are so many ways of finding help it can be overwhelming (or maybe it’s just me).

Pay Version

Google SketchUp Pro 6 $495
Allows designers and planners to explore, communicate and present complex 3D concepts. It has speed and functionality suitable for use in professional environments. The paid version includes a beta feature called LayOut which enables the output of large-format, high-resolution documents.

My Opinion/Recommendations

Google SketchUp is an amazing tool, but you have to be prepared to invest a significant amount of time to learning how to use it. It may well be more than what you need, but the price is certainly right for the free version!

Jump on the Virtual Band Wagon!

So what are you waiting for? Now that you know that these free remodeling tools really are free, it’s time to try them out on your own. Plan your new addition, re-arrange your furniture, see what those new kitchen cabinets you’ve been dreaming about will look like in your space, landscape your property, or drag and drop a new Range Rover into your garage. The possibilities are endless!

Review by - 2GreenThumbsUp:

2GreenThumbsUp - Adventures in the garden, backyard and beyond…

2GreenThumbsUp was created for the purpose of sharing adventures about gardening and backyard living. It’s also a platform for reviewing and recommending interesting gardening and backyard living products (green whenever possible).

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