10-12-2006, 03:12 PM
Aloha Kapohocat & Punatics,
Yuppers, those sound about like the right numbers for drafting. I generally charge $300 a page and don't really care what's on it - residential, commercial, whatevers, but it all comes out to about the same. Per page is a lot easier to figure out than per square foot, too. I think the absolute lowest quoted rates are around fifty cents a square foot, but those are only for certain jobs from what I understand. I don't do the calling around myself, usually clients will have already done that before they call me and they like to share information.
AutoCAD is not an easy to use software program, but it is the standard. If you go through the effort to learn to use it, you'll have a career afterwards if you wanted to continue drafting. Chief Architect has good reviews, but I don't have a copy. I did get an evaluation copy of Chief Architect where projects can't be saved or printed and looked at it briefly, but if I can't save or print and aren't going to put out the couple grand to buy the program, why bother?
Ah, Punagirl, for the sixty five cents to a dollar and a half per square foot prices, I don't think you are going to get someone to do a "fly through" type view or even a materials list. Perhaps if they were charging by the hour then they would do additional work?
You can email your file to Hilo Blueprint and they can print it out for you and have it ready to pick up when you go into town. You will have to call them first to get the type of plotter they have so you can configure your file to that type of plotter. Or you can email the file to HonBlue in Honolulu and they will mail prints to your house. I've done both before, but now I have a plotter here, so I haven't had to do that for awhile.
You can also go to www.wwpa.org and get a "Western Lumber Span Computer" to help you size up lumber. Handy little "slipstick" type "computer". And there is a lot of information online on the Hawaii County website about getting building permits, too.
A hui hou,
Cathy
Hawaii Drafting Service
Yuppers, those sound about like the right numbers for drafting. I generally charge $300 a page and don't really care what's on it - residential, commercial, whatevers, but it all comes out to about the same. Per page is a lot easier to figure out than per square foot, too. I think the absolute lowest quoted rates are around fifty cents a square foot, but those are only for certain jobs from what I understand. I don't do the calling around myself, usually clients will have already done that before they call me and they like to share information.
AutoCAD is not an easy to use software program, but it is the standard. If you go through the effort to learn to use it, you'll have a career afterwards if you wanted to continue drafting. Chief Architect has good reviews, but I don't have a copy. I did get an evaluation copy of Chief Architect where projects can't be saved or printed and looked at it briefly, but if I can't save or print and aren't going to put out the couple grand to buy the program, why bother?
Ah, Punagirl, for the sixty five cents to a dollar and a half per square foot prices, I don't think you are going to get someone to do a "fly through" type view or even a materials list. Perhaps if they were charging by the hour then they would do additional work?
You can email your file to Hilo Blueprint and they can print it out for you and have it ready to pick up when you go into town. You will have to call them first to get the type of plotter they have so you can configure your file to that type of plotter. Or you can email the file to HonBlue in Honolulu and they will mail prints to your house. I've done both before, but now I have a plotter here, so I haven't had to do that for awhile.
You can also go to www.wwpa.org and get a "Western Lumber Span Computer" to help you size up lumber. Handy little "slipstick" type "computer". And there is a lot of information online on the Hawaii County website about getting building permits, too.
A hui hou,
Cathy
Hawaii Drafting Service
Kurt Wilson