Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0 [OLD VERSION]

by Chief Architect

Product Features

• Chief Architect Home Designer Professional is based on the Pro version of Chief Architect, with tools for Home Design, Remodeling, Decks, Landscaping, Kitchens & Baths, Interior Design, and Cost Estimating
• Advanced CAD tools such as replicate, line weights, point-to-point move, and custom patterns for detailing cross-section views with insulation, cross-boxes and more
• Create blueprint layouts with 3D, CAD, Cross-Section/Elevation, and Plan Views; ICC Residential Design Checklist allows you to check your plan against national building codes
• Automatic and Manual Building Tools for Roofs, Stairs, Dimensions, Framing, Foundations and more
• Over 5,000 free sample plans and over 80 tutorial training videos that will quickly get you started on your next home design project

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002D38TV4
• Item model number: P90-DN-0AZ1
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 12, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,394 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #86 in Software > Home & Hobbies > Home Design

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Home Designer Pro 9.0 is the latest release from Chief Architect, the professional software design company and the software of choice by more builders, architects and designers. Home Designer Pro leverages the same professional quality from Chief Architect making it the most powerful and easy to use home design, remodeling and landscaping software. Design Like a Professional!

Professional home design software for the serious home enthusiast. Click to enlarge.

Professional Software
Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0 is professional home design software for the serious home enthusiast. Enjoy the same tools that the professionals use for home design, remodeling, interior design, decks, landscaping and cost estimation.

Home Designer Pro has all the same great features as Architectural Home Designer, Interior Designer, Landscaping and Deck Designer plus advanced CAD tools, advanced building tools, the ability to create blueprints, manual framing and roofing and much more.

Designing like a Professional has never been so Easy!

Home Design and Landscaping Software
Create accurately scaled floor plans that automatically generate 3D models in minutes. Create any detailed view of your design using advanced 3D camera tools like Glass House, Doll House, Framing, Elevation and Cross-Sections. Create the Virtual Look and Feel Before You Build!

Manual framing tools for fully editable framing, including joists, rafters, trusses, beams, posts, and more. Click to enlarge.

Design in 2D and 3D. 3D Views are automatic with a point-and-click of the camera tool. Click to enlarge.

Artistic rendering techniques such as Watercolor, Glass House, and Technical Illustration Click to enlarge.

Powerful deck and patio tools allow you to design and visualize your new deck with 3D models and can help you estimate the costs. Click to enlarge.

Create Back-Clipped Cross Section and Elevation Views to limit your view to relevant details for precise plan editing. Click to enlarge.

Choose from over 3,600 plants with the Plant Chooser. Click to enlarge.

Design the kitchen of your dreams. Click to enlarge.

Glass House View provides a full translucent view of your design. Click to enlarge.

Use the Cabinet Designer tools to create unlimited cabinet styles. Click to enlarge.

Home Design Software by Chief Architect

• Choose from over 5,000 Sample Plans
• Choose from built-in style templates or create your own custom home design, or use the House Wizard
• Powerful building tools like automatic roof generation, dormers, stairs, framing and foundations
• Artistic rendering techniques for Watercolor, Glass House and Technical Illustration

Integrated Design Tools
Home Designer Pro makes it easy to design and visualize your ideas on your next home or remodeling project with over 8,000 powerful integrated tools. Use the automated building tools to assist you in your design process. The tools have commonly accepted defaults for most building practices to help you in your home design projects.

Get Started Quickly and Easily

• The Quick Startup Options Guide will help you begin with "How-To" tutorials based on your type of project
• Use the House Wizard for quick and easy layout of your rooms
• Select from the pre-designed Home Design and Landscaping Style Templates complete with colors, cabinets, decks and more
• The online help system provides detail information on all types of building projects
• Includes over 80 easy "step-by-step" tutorial training videos that will quickly get you started on your next home design project

3D Design Tools

• Design in 2D and 3D. 3D Views are automatic with a point-and-click of the camera tool.
• Glass House View provides a full translucent view of your design. Choose other Artistic rendering techniques for Watercolor and Technical Illustration views.
• Doll House View, a 3D overview without the roof, is an effective tool for space planning of furniture placement and traffic flow
• Create a Virtual Tour--draw your record line to Automatically Generate; or record your camera movements
• Visualize your home with day and night views
• Assemble a scale model of your design with Model Maker
• Generate shadows from the sun for realistic 3D views
• Point-and-click to remove wall surfaces, or use 3D Cross-Section Elevation Slider to quickly create a 3D slice of your desired view

Automated and Manual Building Tools

• Design roofs and walls in 3D
• Generate various styles of Automatic roofs or manually design any custom roof including curved roofs
• Use the Automatic Dormer tool to quickly place dormers--shed, gable, eyebrow and barrel
• Automatic Structural Dormers
• Unblock and manually edit Automatic Dormers
• Create any custom roof or ceiling plan with the Roof Design Tools. Edit and create roof planes to create a roof of any pitch and shape. Start with an automatic roof and then add custom details, or create the entire roof manually.
• Automatic framing tools
• Manual framing tools for fully editable framing, including joists, rafters, trusses, beams, posts and more
• Choose from several built-in wall styles with individual wall layers or define your own wall style
• Ability to read and edit files by Chief Architect Full Professional Software
• ICC Residential Design Checklist will allow you to check your plan against national building codes

Kitchen and Bath Design

• Design the kitchen of your dreams--move walls, create new cabinets, add appliances--Design your perfect workspace!
• Design your new kitchen or bath using the Cabinet Designer tools
• Plan the new layout of your bathroom with custom cabinets, sinks, showers and garden tubs. It's easy to visualize your ideas in 3D.
• Create custom cabinets in minutes by choosing your own colors, countertops, door styles and more
• Use the Cabinet Designer tools to create unlimited cabinet styles. Choose your own colors, countertops and door styles.
• Design and edit custom countertop shapes and styles

Chief Architect Product Comparison Which Chief Architect product best suits your needs? Review this product comparison matrix (PDF file).

Interior Design

• Smart Design Objects, Drag-and-drop from thousands of design objects in the built-in Library organized by category
• Material Painter lets you apply colors and materials quickly and easily
• Choose from thousands of colors and textures or create your own materials using a digital photograph
• Design for your lifestyle and personality--change colors, add lighting and choose furniture to accent your new room
• Choose from a variety of interior items--including chairs, tables, sofas, fabrics, accessories and more. Resize, change colors and materials to meet your exact needs.
• Import your own symbols from 3D file types including .SKP, .OBJ and .3DS

Decks and Landscaping

• Powerful deck and patio tools allow you to design and visualize your new deck with 3D models and can help you estimate the costs
• Design single or multi-level decks complete with automatic deck framing and an advanced deck framing option for more complicated deck designs
• Quickly lay out your deck with stairs and arrange furniture
• Deck foundations automatically generate to match sloped lots
• Plant Encyclopedia to learn more about the plants in your designs
• Choose from over 3,600 plants with the Plant Chooser
• Plant Hardiness Zone reference maps
• See what your plants will look like in 0--20 years
• Pathways--Use the Pathway tool to design curb-appealing landscaping using stone, pavers, or sidewalks--line with trees, shrubs, flowers and more

Site Planning & Estimating

• Use Automatic Build Terrain and Terrain Perimeter tools to create flat, irregular shaped, or sloped lots--use a GPS to import or enter elevation data
• Create plot and perimeter plans; automatically generate a 3D model of your actual terrain
• Export Material List to spreadsheet programs including Microsoft Excel
• Save snapshot Material Lists for different stages of the project
• Add detail to each individual component in the material list for a comprehensive cost estimate breakdown
• Master Materials List allows you to store and manage commonly used material prices
• Sprinkler Designer tools to easily layout sprinkler zones
• Fences and Driveways--With the Fencing tools you can choose a variety of fencing styles and custom gates. You will also find driveway, sidewalk and curbing tools
• Hill and Valley tools make it easy to add gardens, beds and slopes that automatically appear in 3D views. Choose from landscaping style templates or create your own.
• Define Terrain Elevation lines, Elevation Regions and Terrain Breaks

CAD Tools

• Powerful CAD tools to detail cross-section views with insulation, cross-boxes and more
• Advanced CAD editing tools such as replicate, line weights, point-to-point move, custom patterns and more (Compatible with AutoCAD patterns)
• CAD-to-Walls allows you to convert CAD lines from DXF file format to walls
• Layers can be used to separate key building components such as electrical or framing. Display or hide features of your design, set colors, lock layers and use reference layers for precise editing.
• Create Back-Clipped Cross Section/Elevation Views to limit your view to relevant details for precise plan editing

Building Tools

• Customize construction methods for walls, floors, ceilings and foundations. Identify the exact placement of framing components, specify wall layers, floor structure platform height, mudsills and more.
• Advanced stair tools allow control of shape, starter treads, flaring, tread width and more
• Create pony walls and edit wall shape or create a stepped foundation in cross-section view
• Multiple-select editing. For example, select all your cabinets and change them all with one command.
• Use callouts to reference between details, plans and cross-sections in a blueprint layout
• Create blueprint layouts (up to Architectural C drawings 18" x 24") with 3D, CAD, Cross-Section/Elevation and Plan Views
• Rotate and Flip Plan
• Advanced dimensioning tools include angular, end-to-end and interior dimensions
• Fully editable dimension lines and configurable dimension editing allow you to change where dimensions locate walls, windows, doors and other objects

Product Description

Home Designer Pro 9.0 is the latest release from Chief Architect, the professional software design company and the software of choice by more builders, architects and designers. Home Designer Pro leverages the same professional quality from Chief Architect making it the most powerful and easy to use home design, remodeling and landscaping software. HOME DESIGN * Choose from over 5,000 sample plans * Powerful building tools like automatic roof generation, dormers, stairs, framing and foundations * Draw in 2D and 3D or both simultaneously * Record walk-throughs with the stylized views of Rendering Techniques AUTOMATED & MANUAL BUILDING TOOLS * Create any custom roof or ceiling plan with Roof Design tools * Manual framing tools for fully editable framing, including joists, rafters, trusses, beams, posts * Create custom ceilings of any slope and shape including vaulted and cathedral * Automatic Structural Dormers - builds dormers automatically with walls that reach the floor KITCHEN & BATH DESIGN * Create custom cabinets in minutes by choosing your own colors, countertops and door styles * Generate a custom editable countertop from cabinets that are in the plan * Choose from top name-brand appliances to add to your design * Cabinet Countertop layers allow separate control of countertop displays in 2D and 3D DECKS & LANDSCAPING * Design single or multi-level decks using automatic deck framing and an advanced deck framing option * Distribute objects in garden beds, populate your garden beds automatically * Choose from over 3,600 plants and see what your plants will look like in 0-20 years * Show plants with filled colors in your 2D landscape design SITE PLANNING & COST ESTIMATION * Automatic Cost Estimation and Materials list * Automatic Terrain tools create flat, irregular shaped, or sloped lots * Use a GPS to import terrain elevation data * Create rendered cross-section and elevation views with photo realistic textures

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not for the hobbyist designer, April 28, 2010

By 

L. Fleishman - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0 [OLD VERSION] (DVD-ROM)

I purchased "Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0" DVD-ROM after purchasing the Chief Architect BH&G Landscape Designer for our design and general contracting business.

A little background on me: I am proficient at 2020 Residential Design CAD, have a good working knowledge of AutoCAD, and as I mentioned, own and have used C.A.'s Landscape Design. In addition, I've used Plan3D and GoogleSketchUp in a pinch to create initial conceptual renderings for clients. What drew me to "Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0" was the ease and beauty of the landscape renderings from the Landscape program. For conceptual design, Landscape was very adequate to the task. What I really needed though, was a program that not only rendered images beautifully, but could create accurate prints and elevations. Bonus points if it was easy to learn.

If you're looking for an easy entry level design program, this isn't the product for you. Despite the 250+ page User .PDF manual, my own knowledge of CAD language, and my experience with crafting hundreds of plans, prints, and renderings over the years, "Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0" confounded me time and time again. I crafted a simple addition to an existing structure. Had I drafted the blue print by hand, it might have taken me 3 hours or so. It took over 12 hours using 9.0.

Why did it take so long?
I'll grant you, there's a learning curve to any new product of this type. And to C.A.'s credit, the step by step User .PDF manual was easy enough to read and understand. Problem was that every time I moved from one step to the next, it would change some thing I had already created. Specific example: My basic structure was drawn, and according to the manual it was time to move on to the exterior terrain. I input my elevation data and a helpful pop up window informed me that such a move would change the roof line and would I like to rebuild? No! But you can't click 'no'. Even clicking the little X at the top of the pop up to close it changed the roof line. What does the ground level have to do with the roof when the baseline is the 1st floor? You got me. I must have redrawn that roof a dozen times. In addition, implementing the Elevation Points, Lines, and Features is a real pain. Good luck with creating terrain for a split level with a walk out basement. Draw your terrain elevation lines a bit too long and the 'grass' appears to swallow the house, draw them too short and your house is floating in mid air. And then there's the roof thing, but I digress.

So I finally get the layout where I want it. By this time I'm really wanting to strangle some one, but I must press on. I've made a decent monetary investment, you see. As my frugal father might say, "I PAID GOOD MONEY FOR THAT!!!!!" It's now time to send the plan to layout. Basically what you have to do is set your printer settings to a .PDF creator, at which time the program creates a printable copy of your plan. Kinda handy if you need to run blue prints for a job site. So I download Adobe, I set my printer to it and.... it doesn't look like an industry standard blue print at all. I dig back into the Manual. 'The user must create all borders and title blocks.' Crap. Okay. I create a 'template' so that when I export my plan to layout and elevation it looks like a blue print should look. For the record, every other CAD program I have used has a ready-to-go templates for this sort of thing including a standard copyright notice, the name of the company, the print view name, the date, etc... None of this on C.A.'s product, however. You gotta make the thing yourself. I spent an embarassing amount of time creating title blocks that matched in size, configuration, and font size from one print to the next. A hint in the User manual tells me to check out page 500 and something for more details. Might have been helpful, but the manual is only 250 or so pages long. (Actually, this was a problem through out the manual, referring to pages that weren't there.)

Anyhoo...now it's time to create a layout! By this point I'm as excited as a kid at Christmas, I'm almost done! Unfortunately when I exported the plan to layout, the plan was so large that it covered up all of my lovely title blocks. Crap, again. Although the User manual didn't specify exactly how to solve this issue, I was able to draw on my prior CAD experience to make it work. Someone who doesn't have any CAD knowledge would have never had a chance to resolve this issue without calling the Chief Architect hotline.

So at the end of the day I had a technical blue print ready for the field. W00t! It took me far more time and faaaaaaaaaar more patience than it should have. Some of this had to do with the default settings of the program, some of it had to do with constant SEC errors, some of it due to the User manual referring to pages that weren't there, and some of it to learning curve. I have little choice but to master this program now. The investment has been made. And again, I can't stress enough how beautiful and quick the 3D renderings really are. It's just getting to that point that'll drive you to drink.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Be aware of software glitch with this program. Still useful program., May 9, 2010

By 

OlyNomad (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0 [OLD VERSION] (DVD-ROM)

We upraded from Home Designer 7, a program we really liked and had no problems with. The weekend we upgraded to this version, we started to use this and spent the whole weekend having problems with getting the dimensions right using the templates provided. We went to their help board and could find no mention of this problem, so we started a new thread on it. When we checked back on that thread on Sunday, someone had deleted our thread. After many back and forths with the company, we discovered there was a glitch with the software that affected the dimensions using any of the templates other than default. The company had been fully aware about this since it's release last year and did not notify anybody about it or correct it. Also, apparently someone was deleting references to it on the help board. We continued to go back and forth until they agreed to put a notice about it on the help board that there was glitch so that people wouldn't have to go through what we did in hours wasted and frustration thinking they were doing something wrong and not knowing it was a glitch.
Other than that experience (which left us with a definite bad feeling for the company but there are not a lot of options out there for similar programs in that price range), I think the program is pretty easy to use and has a lot of tutorials and help available if you run into any questions. It has a powerful roof designer, has solid CAD details, and the 3-D imaging is great.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars program is designed to disable itself...surprise!, October 7, 2010

By 

JV - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Chief Architect Home Designer Pro 9.0 [OLD VERSION] (DVD-ROM)

If you think you are purchasing fully functional version of this software think again!! Much to my surprise and after paying about $500 for the software did I learn that the computer running the software must 'check in with' Chief Architect at least every 2 weeks or the software is DISABLED. This is unlike any other software I have purchased, and has created quite a problem for me because I run it on a laptop that is not usually hooked up to the internet. I have already been locked out once when I really needed it when I was traveling. Once it locks you out you have to re-register and must have all the registration materials on hand. They should make it clear that you are not really purchasing it, but are leasing a sort of keyserver version. I'm sure that's somewhere in the fine print, but it needs to be made clear up front. I would not purchase anything from Chief Architect again.