OT anybody ever play with home plan software?
 

has anybody ever used one of those home plan software programs from office depot etc. If so which brand and what was the reults.

I have one made by Punch. These are great programs to give you some ideas. They will show floor plans, elevations, 3-D views, etc., etc., etc. But, they are only good for getting ideas and representations. If you plan to build anything major (house, addition), you will need to take the ideas/plans from this program to an architect/builder to get a full set of useable plans.

It depends on what your interests are. If you are looking to kick around some ideas for a new deck or kitchen, they're great. If you are looking to make plan changes, design a big addition, or to design a house, they suck. Besides, if you are in the latter catagory, I'd really recommend you consult a professional (and this doesn't necessarily include a design/build contractor) to keep things from getting royally screwed up. Whatcha looking to do?

Ive used Broader Homes. It is real easy to use and lets you lay in furniture so you can see how it is going to fit. I manage about 40k sqft of office space and use it to do quick layouts for prospective tenants. I just got a new version and the stockroom just dropped of the new computer 5 minutes ago so Ill give another update next week.
I also have AutoCad LT, very difficult to learn and wouldnt recommend unless business related.

Designing that Lake house, huh?
 

I've had two different ones and Cord is right. If you want to do something big, they are a lot of work and some have big learning curvers. I wanted to model my basement on the computer before remodeling. That way I could virtually walk through it change wall colors, all that. Spent way to much time d*k'n with the program (and I'm a computer guy). Got out the graph paper, my old drafting tools from college, and knocked it out in a few hours. I think if a person was a contractor and remodeled basements a lot, then it might be worth learning to use the program. But for a one time shot, it wasn't worth the effort.

If you want to borrow one, I'll see if I can find it buried in the closet somewhere. I got so pissed at the programs I deleted them from the computer.