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Home Landscape Design Software?
I'm interested in finding some software that'll help me decide how to
landscape my yard. No CAD experience here. I would like something that'll help me visualize and compare some different ideas I am kicking around. It seems that every package I have found has mixed user reviews. I am in the process of sketching out some ideas, but a 3D visual would be more helpful. Is anybody out there using something they would recommend? |
#2
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meexie wrote:
I'm interested in finding some software that'll help me decide how to landscape my yard. No CAD experience here. I would like something that'll help me visualize and compare some different ideas I am kicking around. It seems that every package I have found has mixed user reviews. I suspect that each package will have plusses and minuses depending on who is reviewing.. I've done two major "home renovation" type of projects involving outdoor landscaping and have used two different software packages. First one was some work on the outside of my parent's new home. I used Broderbund's Home Architect 3.0 for this one, packaged in a suite which included some landscaping stuff. I found it clunky and rather difficult to model anything accurately outside and I think I gave up on it. Second project was my own deck and screen porch addition, for which I wanted to accurately model my own actual backyard and topography. Since my disappointing experience with HA3, I bought the Punch! Master Landscape software; while I first bought a small inexpensive suite, I soon upgraded to the Punch! Professional Platinum Home Design 4.5.1 suite (I think it was about $100). This allows defining multiple slopes running different directions and at many different angles to each other, which greatly helped model the terrain: the basic package I originally bought had a simple "one angle" thing, so all you could see was an even, smooth "wedge" of downhill. With 4.5.1, I was able to get the terrain right (mostly), fit in some plants and planters to see the effects of time and growth on where I wanted to locate new trees, and see a nice 3-D version of the whole house on my lot - I did go through the trouble to correctly locate most of the exiting large trees and plant features and felt that I could really tell it was my lot and land surrounding the house. Don't get me wrong - this took a *heck* of a lot of work to model correctly (and definitely wasn't ever 100% accurate - 3 steps became 5 to reach the ground, etc, etc) but it was a vast improvement over the HA3 software I used to see how my parent's deck and waterfront would/should look. It was probably overkill and I really just did it because I wanted to see what could be done. I never did upgrade either software past the levels mentioned, so both may be much better than they once were several years ago. Or perhaps worse - one never knows! Punch! did have quite a helpful user forum set up and I would start with them again if I ever have another project to compute on... I am in the process of sketching out some ideas, but a 3D visual would be more helpful. Is anybody out there using something they would recommend? -- Brent Harsh - KD4PBO /"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign: Say bharsh at ncroadrunner \ / NO to HTML in email and news. ------------------------X------------------------------- Cary, NC, USA / \ Read my mail with fixed fonts. |
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