I used a few 2D drawing apps for a brief 10 years as RE Appraiser, i was fast (sans mouse used direct dimension input vs dragging) and was able to for fun draw 2D elevation of my O’Keeffe & Merritt 1950 stove w/a lot chamfer & knob details… whoop me!
Many years ago I tried SU when it was googly, i did a few designs. I wasn’t able to in a few hours create the concrete footing, stem wall and raised floor, so i skipped that and only used perimeter, interior, doors, walls, and windows. Mostly to create/clone various floor plans & roof lines… but did plans using pencil, paper, scanner to make perimeter prints to do different floor plans and the final pencil version was blown up & blue printed…
Now I have more time and want to try again…
In a perfect world I’d use a free version and be so happy that I’d get a paid version…
Is there a free version that I can use for endless time until my skills and money to do the remodeling peak?
You can use SketchUp Free, which is web based, for your personal projects. If you are doing remodeling and getting paid for it you would need to SketchUp Go or SketchUp Pro.
As a hobby user you might get acceptable results for your home remodeling projects with SketchUp Free.
Thanks… i actually “tried” a few times now, and the drive towards paid version is so pervasive that I didn’t get beyond the first few pages of SU
IMHO the idea of free is twofold, get newbies introduced, and time & energy to become proficient means folks will likely stick w/SU (or any other), but the excessive driving folks to paid drives some people away… if a product is really good, then it should be a soft sell.
The idea of the free version is to give hobbyists and students an option to create 3D models for their own use. There is a 30-day free trial period of SketchUp Pro and SketchUp Go for evaluation of the software, mainly for professionals who would use the software commercially.