I purchased this about a month ago. I consider myself very computer proficient and have had no trouble learning the program. It is amazing the detail you can create with the program although it is very detailed work that takes patience. The instruction book that comes with the program shows you the basics - to get complex designs, visit the website where they show pictures of elaborate rooms with brief summaries of how they were created.

With that said, it is much harder to design a house than I thought. I started off with a floor plan I found on line, created it in the BHG program, then started my modifications. My purpose in using the program is so I can walk through the house with my husband - he doesn't "see" the plan as easily from 2-D drawings as I do. All the details of building started to occur to me as I designed. For instance, how much wall space do you need above and below a window? If you don't know how houses are framed, then you have to find that information. That is just one of the many, many building details you need to know.

I'm sure there are lots of users out there who learned how to design a plan to the degree that a builder can work from it. That wasn't my purpose in buying the software. I just wanted it mainly for my own entertainment and a chance to play with my design. When the time comes, the floorplan from this software MAY be useful when we ask Don Gardner Homes to make the modifucations we want.

Nan

I'm using the same software. I agree with Nan. It can be very time consuming to figure out how to do certain details. I'm getting there in my design, but I don't have a lot of free time to play with it. I have enjoyed using it so far though, and it has been very helpful as I work with our builder. We are actually using my design for him to build off of. He has taken our latest rework to the engineer and architect to make sure everything works and to design the trusses.

It has also been very helpful for me to decide on details, since I am a very visual person, I need this. I have a hard time visualizing something from a verbal or written description.

We found ours on clearance for $40