Reply #5: Google Sketchup is what I'm using to build plans to remodel half a house.

[politicat]

It's a nice piece of software, and if they can ever get the Mac port to work at even 80%, it will be a stellar piece of software. (I have to use the 'doze version, but I'm only bitching a little bit.) I can send you links to some of the pieces I've built with it. It's free, here: http://sketchup.google.com/index.html. Make sure you use the tutorials first so that you can get a feel for how the software works, and from experience: if you have to build a complex solid, do so from the ground up rather than top down.

There are a LOT of user-created objects and templates, so if you want to show a refrigerator or a set of book cases, for the most part, you don't need to rebuild them.

That's a floor plan piece of ware, though. For true architectural, blue-printable drawings, you're going to need someone with drafting skills, or a pro program, like one of the CADs.

You will definitely need to get the county building code and city code so that you can incorporate what they will require. Earthquake tolerances and regs mean that greener materials may not be legal yet.