Using Home Design Software - A Review

Home Designer ® by Chief Architect is a line of software programs for non-professionals. Intended to help the Do-It-Yourselfer (DIYer) create workable home and garden plans, these applications cost less than professional-grade software. Not simplified or simple-minded,  Chief Architect products can teach you more about construction and design than a semester course at the local community college. And they are fun to use. Advertisements promise that this software will save you from napkin sketching, thanks to an integrated mobile Room Plannerâ„ ¢ app which lets you measure and plan rooms on the go and then import the file into Home Designer. You might love napkin sketching, but youll still want to test out the next step in home design. For the inexperienced, try out the middle-of-the line product, Home Designer Suite. You may hit some bumps along the way, but youre sure to find some happy surprises. Heres the scoop on the 2015 version. Using Home Designer Suite Every year is a new version, but most applications work the same way. Download files from homedesignersoftware.com or purchase the DVD. Installation is the straightforward 10-15 minute process. Then jump right in. Create New Plan makes you choose a house style before anything else. This gets you thinking about what look you want for your new construction or what style your built house might be. Of course, the problem with style is that very few house styles are pure Colonial or Country Cottage or Arts Crafts. Select one of the style choices, however, and you get a simple illustration along with written content that defines what they mean by the style. For example, Urban Chic/Contemporary is described as clean and spare. When you first begin, the software prompts you to make decisions — for example, choose a core catalog for your library, framing defaults, exterior siding. Construction pros understand the need to know wall height and thickness before building. However, if you are impatient, you might feel frustrated by the need to choose style details before getting started. The house style you have chosen loads an array of default style choices. Not to worry, however — these defaults can be changed at any time. Still, the creative side of you  may begin wishing for the napkin part of the process — a distraction-free work area to sketch out your inspirations. Building, Not Drawing The default work area in Home Designer looks like a piece of graph paper, although this Reference Grid can be turned off. The unsaved file is called Untitled 1: Floor Plan, so you may want to get into the habit of saving your electronic work often, just as you would in any software program. The cursor is at the crosshairs, beginning at the 0,0 point of an x-y axis. Its all movable, so the new user may reasonably decide to draw a floor plan with a drag-and-drop motion. But Home Designer in 2015 doesnt work like that. The user of Home Designer software does not really draw or sketch a design, but builds and constructs a home. If you begin with the Build drop-down menu, you will see Wall at the top of the list. Each wall section is considered an Object, so once each object is placed, you can select and move it around. The program functions like a builder — it progresses one wall at a time, one room at a time. An architect often thinks more abstractly and conceptually at first — a sketch on a napkin. In contrast, Home Designer functions more like a builder. Using this software, you may feel more like Bob the Builder than architect Frank Gehry. Results: The Wow Factor The very impressive 3D renderings will amaze you. The floor plan that you build can be viewed in multiple ways — overhead like a dollhouse, different camera views, and even a virtual walkthrough along a path you define. This DIY software takes away the mystique of any architect, designer, or construction professional who tries to wow the public with a virtual reality presentation. Anyone can do it; its baked into the software. If You Dont Read the Directions First Remember this, if youre not in the habit of reading instructions before you begin (you know who you are):   (1) Use Build then (2) Select objects to move and modify. In addition to this Build and Select method, Home Designer Suite has two more ways to get your project going: Tools Space PlanningCreate Room Boxes to rearrange, then select Build House from the drop-down menu and poof — the walls and rooms are all there.Go to the Home Designer Samples Gallery and download a zip file of sample plans and renderings. One look at the floor plans and 3D views, and youll say, Yeah, I want to do THAT! A nifty aspect of these sample plans is that they are not static or read only — you can take designs that someone else drew and modify them to your own specifications. Of course, you cant professionally USE them in any official way, because that would be stealing, but you can get a jump start on the learning curve. Product Documentation Tells All Every new edition of Home Designer Suite has its own version of a Users Manual and a Reference Manual. A very, very helpful feature of the Chief Architect website is that the company doesnt throw away much  Ã¢â‚¬â€ from the Product Documentation page, you can choose your version of Home Designer from a drop-down menu, and a PDF file is available for your product and the version (year) of the product. If you read the Reference Manual first, a first-time user may better undersand the focus on objects instead of concepts in the software environment created by Chief Architect. The environment is built on object-based design  Ã¢â‚¬â€ object-based design technology means you place and edit objects, rather than work with the many individual lines or surfaces used to represent them. The environment is 3-D drafting, a three dimensional coordinate system...using the X, Y, and Z axes. The current position of your mouse pointer displays in the Status Bar at the bottom of the program window. Architectural objects take up space in all three dimensions and their height, width and depth can be specified....In addition, the location of objects can be precisely defined using coordinates... How Easy is Home Designer Suite to Use? When the video says, Its that easy, well, its not that easy. For the uninitiated DIYer, a half-days worth of fiddling and training is recommended to become even semi-productive. Even after a full day of fiddling, front porch columns may go through the roof or stairways may end up as high as a rooftop. Although there may be easier ways to draw a floorplan, Home Designer software really gives a professional look to even the simplest of floorplans. While designing the floorplan, its very easy to switch to a different view, such as a 3D overhead called a dollhouse. When viewing the outside of your design, you can easily place your new home in a stock photograph setting or its even more fun to choose your vegetation from a list and do your own landscaping. The online Support Center and drop-down Help menu are phenomenal. Help documents are constantly being updated, including: Frequently Asked Questions and Knowledge Base, a database of FAQs and solutions to specific questionsHome Designer Getting Started Resources, which may include access to too much informationClassroom Training, Webinars, Online and Mobile Training VideosCustomer Service Telephone SupportHome Talk forum and discussion group specifically for Home Designer software users The newbie might want to start with a quick tutorial and then reference the online Users Manual and the Reference Manual. 5 Reasons to Use Home Designer Software It makes you think about design, how elements/objects fit together, and how standard sizes and shapes of appliances can dictate interior design.It may save you money when you use an architect that charges by the hour. If you can conceptualize your ideas using the language of the professional designer or architect, communication will be faster and your expectations can be better thought through.The many standard features will keep you busy for weeks. The uninitiated will not outgrow this software anytime soon.Not only does the software integrate with the Room Planner app, but users can import photos of their own homes for landscaping and remodeling projects.Great support. Affordable price. Other Considerations Once you get the knack of using the software, its just too easy to make complicated designs. Walls and juts are easy to add, but theres no on-screen calculator to show you the immediate construction costs of what you are doing. Beware of sticker shock! Three-dimensional renderings include a snazzy ability to record a virtual walk-through. However, you will not be able create the simple yet elegant line drawings found in the work of professional architects. For that type of elevation drawing, youd need to move up to the Chief Architect product line created for professionals at chiefarchitect.com. Too many options can be paralyzing. Take your time and build your knowledge. Green initiatives and Green Building Software Tips are available online for the Chief Architect professional software. It would be nice to see these tips directed to the everyday consumer, too. Chief Architect, Inc. offers two lines of software products: Home Designer for the Do-It-Yourselfer consumer and Chief Architect for the professional. Both product lines are by Chief Architect, and both are described as Home Design Software. Which program to purchase could be confusing, so check out both the Home Design Software products and the Chief Architect product comparison. Chief Architect has been making professional architectural software since the 1980s. The Home Designer line builds on years of experience with a complex interface. The heftiness of the manuals and the need for so much support suggests the possible need for a more intuitive user experience. Fortunately, the documentation is excellent. After a day of tinkering and discovering what is possible, anyones imagination should soar.  Home Designer can be challenging to master, but well worth the effort. Cost The Home Designer family includes multiple products that range in price from $79 to $495. Students and academic institutions can license the products when adopted as a teaching tool. Trial downloads are available, and Chief Architect backs all products with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If your home projects focus on remodeling or interior design, Home Designer Interiors might be a better purchase at $79. Internet access is required for installation, license authentication, deactivation, video, and library catalog access. Internet access for license validation is required once every 30 days; for Home Designer Pro, license validation is required once every 14 days. Sources Chief Architect Home Designer Suite 2015, User’s Guide, http://cloud.homedesignersoftware.com/1/pdf/documentation/home-designer-suite-2015-users-guide.pdfChief Architect Home Designer Suite 2015, Reference Manual, p. 21, http://cloud.homedesignersoftware.com/1/pdf/documentation/home-designer-suite-2015-reference-manual.pdfRendering examples by Jackie Craven Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.

Examples Of Family Rituals - 1475 Words

Family Rituals Proverbs 22:6 states, â€Å"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it† (King James Bible. 1973). When you train your children, you are passing doing rituals. Rituals that you learned from your parents and your parents learned from their parents. Some people think that they don’t have any family rituals. However, they do not realize that everyday task that you do with your family can be considered a ritual. From eating meals together, watching a favorite show each night, to all of the birthdays and holidays that you celebrate with your family. With further investigation and research, we will look at what a family ritual looks like in a family setting and some examples of what family†¦show more content†¦These family rituals will help establish an open communication and let the family feel express their opinions so there can share their beliefs (Direction: Rituals and Family Strength, 2017). Even the celebrating of birthdays and some holiday are considered family rituals. With this being said all families, no matter their ethnic background has similarly family rituals that they practice that reflects the unique interactions with their individual families. Family rituals reflect the family and shape the meaning of their family values and beliefs, but implanting the past and incorporating it into the present and then the future. Family rituals also can have different functions within a family. Some families may under-ritualize family rituals by not showing interest in family gatherings, they choose to be distant. Then you have the family that rigidly ritualize family rituals and do not want things to change with time. They are the families that have to do the same thing over and over again and everything is organized and have special times to do each event. Sometimes there can be a skewed misconception about family rituals. You may have one family member wanting to celebrate o ne holiday and then the other family member wants to disregard the holiday. This skewed perception often occurs in mixed marriages. The last function is the hollow family ritual. Where they just celebrate because they are obligated to.Show MoreRelatedBehavioral Patterns Of The Family System1558 Words   |  7 PagesEvery family has a unique system with a set of rules, mostly unspoken, that govern their behavior and interactions. In dysfunctional families, the symptom of their dysfunction is typically sourced within their family system. The symptom also has a function – it protects family members from uncomfortable conflict. Dysfunctional families and couples often maintain negative patterns of interacting, and are unable to transition into new behavioral patterns without therapeutic intervention. 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Laboratory Techniques and Measurements Free Essays

Name: Kensley Shelley|Date: 9-17-12| Exp 2: Laboratory Techniques Measurements|Lab Section: 0000| Data Tables: Step 1: Length and Measurements Object Measured|Length in cm|Length in mm| Key|5. 15 cm|51. 5 mm| CD|12. We will write a custom essay sample on Laboratory Techniques and Measurements or any similar topic only for you Order Now 0 cm|120. 0 mm| Fork Spoon|18. 05 cm 16. 30 cm|180. 5 mm 163. 0 mm| Step 2: Warm Temperature Measurements Hot tap water temperature49. 50_? C Boiling water temperature __immediately:104. 5; after 5 minutes: 103. 0__? C Step 3: Cold Temperature Measurements Cold tap water temperature_24. 5_? C Ice water temperature after 1 min:4. 5, after 5 min:1. 0 ? C Step 4: Volume Measurements Volume of half filled graduated cylinder__12. 5__mL Volume of completely filled small test tube __n/a__mL Number of drops in 1 mL___14_drops Volume of the micro pipet __28__ drops_2___mL Step 6: Density Measurements Part A Mass of empty graduated cylinder_16. 9_g Mass of graduated cylinder and water 21. 1_g Net mass of the water __4. 2_g Density of the water_0. 84_ g/mL Part B Mass of graduated cylinder and alcohol _20. 4_g Net mass of the alcohol __3. 5_g Density of the alcohol__0. 7__ g/mL Part C Mass of graduated cylinder and salt solution ____g Net mass of the salt solution____g Density of the salt solution____ g/mL Part D Volume of half filled graduated cylinder__8. 0__mL Volume of half filled graduated cylinder and metal bolt_9. 1__mL Volume of the metal bolt_1. 1_mL Mass of the metal bolt __7. 2__g Density of the metal bolt__6. 55__g/mL Part E Mass of half filled beaker__89. 0__g Mass of water displaced by metal bolt__90. 1__g Volume of the metal bolt__1. 1__cc Density of the metal bolt__6. 55__g/cc Mass of half filled beaker__89. 0__g Mass of water displaced by magnet__89. 8__g Volume of the magnet _0. _cc Mass of the magnet __4. 0_g Mass when dropping the magnet in the beaker__92. 9__g Density of the magnet__5. 00__g/cc Calculated volume of the magnet using dimensions of length x width x height__0. 78__cc Density of magnet using the calculated volume_5. 13___g/cc Conclusion: Questions and Problems: A. Which method of determining density is more accurate, the water displacement method in Part D or Archimedes’ principle method in Part E? Why? For t he metal bolt, I received the same answer for both experiments, so I would say both were equally accurate in my experiment. B. What is the relationship between mL and cm3? They equal each other; mL = cc C. Everyone knows that water is supposed to boil at 100Â ° C. Why did your water sample boil at a different temperature? Water boils at different temperatures depending on the altitude. The higher pressure in the air keeps the molecules from escaping as easily. D. To help you get a feel for metric measurements, you need to know the relative magnitude of a few basic measurements. For example: 1 mm = thickness of a dime, a penny weighs 2 ? grams, and 20Â °C = normal room temperature. Determine the following: . What is the mass in kilograms (kg) of a person who weighs 143 lb? 64. 86 kg 2. What weighs approximately 1 g? dollar bill, paper clip 3. What is approximately 1 cm long, wide or thick? fingernail is 1 cm wide 4. What weighs about 100 g? 20 nickels, 40 pennies 5. What weighs about 1000 g? 1 liter of water Conclusion: The experiment was designed to help acquaint the student with proper laboratory measu rements and techniques. This was done by allowing the student to use the different lab tools in a variety of ways, such as: heating, measurements, volume, and density. In completing this lab, I am better aware of the different tools which will be used and how to properly use them, because a slight mistake in measuring can skew your data. I witnessed this in the density calculations in that the wrong mass or volume could greatly skew the results of the density. I first recorded 7. 6 g as the mass for the metal bolt, but on second glance I realized it was only 7. 2 g. While this may not seem significant at first, having a difference of 0. 4 g is very significant in determining the correct density. I also observed how important it is to account for one uncertain digit. When measuring items using the cm side of the ruler, I had to account for an uncertain digit when it measured in between two lines. Accounting for this uncertain digit helps to gain a more accurate reading. Also, reading at the bottom of the meniscus is also very important when measuring. When I first used the beaker, I did not get down to eye level and therefore I could not properly see the meniscus, but after putting it to eye level, I could see that I was slightly off on my measurement. I also learned how to determine the mass of certain objects that are not easily measured. I did so by first measuring the cylinder’s mass and then measuring the mass of the cylinder with the liquid in it. I was then able to subtract the two and get a good measurement of the mass of the liquid. Another technique practiced was using displaced water to determine the volume and subsequently the density of an object. By putting the object on a string and placing it in the water, I was able to record the mass of the displaced water (90. 1 g), which i was then able to convert to the volume of the object (1. 1 mL). This number along with the mass of the object (7. g), could then be converted to the density of the object (6. 55 g/cc). There were a few potential errors that could have occurred while preforming the experiments. First, when calibrating my at home scale, I had to place an object that was 500 g on the scale. While I believe the object I placed on it was close to that mass, it could have been off slightly which could have skewed my results. Also, there is always the possibility of miscalculations when I was determining the volume of the magnet using the ruler. There is always the chance of miss counting something which can led to inaccurate results. 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