Designed by a home building designer

My name is Alan J Maki, owner of Beyond Basics Drafting & Design and I have been using MacDraft since 1985. Growing up in a family owned chain of Home Centers I have learned the building industry inside & out. I started my career doing marketing for our Home Centers and in 1990 I started my own Drafting & Design company. Since then I have been designing libraries that allow me to be more efficient in the design process. Thanks to MacDraft I can produce an average of 160 plans a year working a 10-15 hours per week. Using a  library of common components I have developed what I call Builder Pro and along with MacDraft software you to can get you started in the right direction.

What is Builder Pro

Builder Pro consists of 100's of commonly used libraries that can be dragged and dropped into any working plan in seconds. It is designed for speed, so Builder Pro carries only what you need to produce fast floor plans, sectional views, foundation plans and elevations. When building a plan I found myself using the same components time and time again (i.e decks, porches, garages, family rooms, stairs and entrances). With MacDrafts easy to use libraries I created all the different plan components needed to create a working plan. With Builder Pro and its complete libraries you will find that completing a full set of working plans can be done in hours, if not minutes. To see the libraries included in Builder Pro click here

The real world

In the real world all plans that go to permitting are 2D drawings . You'll find a number of software programs available from $80-$2000 that offer 3D renderings however this is not necessary and it only complicates the design process. With MacDraft and my libraries I concentrate on what is really needed and so I produce drawings in a fraction of the time it takes other  home designers.

MacDraft stands alone

MacDraft is designed to make you feel like you are working on a drafting table. With easy to use tools that help with the layout process, you will be up and running in no time. It uses drag and drop libraries of commonly used clip arts that are quick and easy. With MacDraft, it allows you to build pages based on your needs that can be used time and time again. Now with Builder Pro you'll find a lot of the work is done for you and very easy to import.  With other programs on the market for $1000's of dollars, MacDraft is still the one that reminds you of how drafting should be done.

Only time will tell

Through the years I have tried, at one time or another, most of the other software that is available for drawing plans.  I have attended numerous builder shows throughout the area and have brought with me samples of a completed house plan done on MacDraft (4 elevations, 2 floor plans, 2 sectional views and a foundation plan).  After showing these plans to the vendor that I had produced with Builder Pro in 3-5 hours. I ask "how long would it take you to do a set of plans like these"?  Most reps would dodge the question totally and others told me "I could produce these plans in under a week"

The following are times I spend producing a complete set of working plans with my libraries, before purchasing any software see how they match up:

The above times do not take in consideration the over 200 complete libraries that literally take minutes to complete.