Drawing a floor plan of your home is an excellent way to get to know it better, and it can also be really helpful when you’re planning renovations or redecorating. That’s why we’ve put together a list of the best free online floor plan software, as well as how you can use them.
As well as the software listed below, you’ll find some floor plan tips on our page entitled How to Draw Floor Plans For Free.
Free Online Floor Plan Software: Computer-Aided Design Tools
There is a range of free design software programs that you can use when drawing floor plans. Most of these program’s range in price and can be used to create colour-coded floor plans, floor plans with dog legs, or even wireframe diagrams.
Some of the best programs for drawing floor plans include Autodesk AutoCAD, AutoCAD Revit, Onshape, Sketchup, and SolidWorks. These programs are quite powerful for the home-based designer or contractor who has custom floor plans requests.
In order to use the software listed above, however, you’ll need to be familiar with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) in order to make your plans look good. The software listed above is not very user-friendly, and you’ll need to know how to use CAD in order to get the best results. These programs generally require that you have a minimum of a high school level education in order to use them.
At-Home Floor Plan Software
There are a number of websites that can help you draw floor plans using their online tools and templates. Some of these sites are simple, while others offer you more choices when it comes to designing your home’s floor plan.
You can also purchase the software listed above that allows you to draw floor plans with more options. You’ll find some of the best at-home floor plan software and free print-ready drawings here.
Free Online Floor Plan Software: Floorplanner
A great choice not only for ease of use but is also easy on the pocket is Floorplanner. This tool works on all browsers and boasts about being easy and simple to use.
Not only can it be used for planning out potential additions to your home but can also be used to rearrange the layout of your home allowing you to view multiple potential furniture layouts with ease.
This online tool also exports 2d and 3d images of your layout. So, you can see what your work could potentially look like!
Free Online Floor Plan Software: Google SketchUp
Google SketchUp is a CAD program that has been around for several years, and architects often use it to design floor plans. It can be used for creating a 3D model of your home, which is helpful if you’re planning to build your own home from scratch.
Google SketchUp can have some steep learning curves, so it’s not for everyone, but you will find that there are a large number of tutorials available on YouTube, but the most helpful feature is that the program is free. You’ll need to download it first, or you can use their website.
The program will also allow you to work on projects offline which is great if you’re on a slow connection.
How to Draw Floor Plans for Free
Obviously, you’ll want to follow the steps listed above and choose a program that suits your needs.
But you will still need a pencil and some paper/erase board/drawing board to draw the plan. Many of the floorplan drawing software that we discussed earlier do come with their own tip guides, which usually includes many of their pre-drawn line drawings. So give them a look to get some inspiration,
Drawing a floor plan for free is one of the easiest things that can be done, but you’ll get the best results when you have the correct tools.
- Pencil
- Architects Graph Paper
- Measuring Tape
- Patience
To finish your project, you’ll need to make sure that you have all of the needed measurements plans before beginning to use one of the many free online floor planning software.
You can purchase the computer-Aided Design (CAD) programs listed above or use a simple drawing program like SketchUp or Floorplanner to make your drawings.
Finally with your measurements taken and your preferred software booted up, have fun and play around with your floor plan! This is the perfect opportunity to let your creativity run wild! As it states in the name it’s a ‘plan’ and plans tend to change very often when designing your home.
All these options will provide you with a great way to create an amazing floor plan for your home. Now that you know how to draw floor plans, you should work on any drawing project at home and complete it with ease.
Once you’ve drawn your floor plan, you’ll want to make sure that it meets all of the code requirements, which will make it legal in the area where the home is being built. You should check with your local relevant authority and any other agency which ensures inspection compliance.
In Conclusion
As you can see, making your floor plan doesn’t need to be expensive. There are many online resources that you can use to draw your floor plans for free, including the free design software mentioned above. If you’re on a tight budget and need help with how to draw floor plans, contact a professional builder near you who will complete the job for a small charge.
There are lots of options available to you, so be sure to choose the best one for your situation. Thank you for reading our article on how to draw a floor plan for free! While you are here why not read some of our other pieces including this article on 7 Beautiful Luxury Living Rooms and 8 Reasons People Love Open Concept Homes!