Reno has a good summary of the development of CAD/CADD from the mid 80s or so. AutoCad, for example, started as a 2-D drafting program for engineering applications. It was much later that they bolted on programs that would allow 2-D architectural applications (for example, the intersection of intersecting walls in plan view with the intersections deleted). 3-D came much, much later for AutoCad, and initially consisted of an add-on program from other vendors, if I remember correctly. Early 3-D programs were mostly wiring diagrams which were hard to see and visualize, much less solid 3-d pictures. DataCad and other early programs were designed from the beginning for architectural design; the 2-D and 3-D was integrated earlier, but these vendors lacked the financial and marketing resoures of AutoCad. Then European software vendors entered the marketplace for both engineering and architectural users, with advanced features like finite analysis and light-ray applications. As the market developed, and low-cost computing emerged, applications began to focus on data base/relational applications and designing for architect in 3-D, rather than starting in 2-D and merging to 3-D. All of this is probably far beyond this forum for consumers interested in building their own home! The good news for most who visit this forum and thread is that a few of the major software manufacturers of engineering and architectural software have also marketed simplified versions of their software that will do 2-D and 3-D applications ranging from decks, to landscaping to fully integrated house design at reasonable expense. The bad news is that none of the software is "smart" enough to prevent mistakes and errors in the input process. It still takes substantial experience and judgement to make these computerized tools work efficiently and effectively. Good luck!

The first personal budget I ever made was done using a Excel spreadsheet. Then later I have tried many offline and online money management tools like Quicken, mint and moneyStrands for budgeting, investing, managing financial accounts and generating personalized money-saving ideas. But still I'm continuing my quest to find a solution that works well for me. Here is a link that might be useful: moneyStrands

Thanks, Cyn. I'll try that. I have a couple days left on my trial. Re Google Sketchup: I've just begun using it. There are some appliances and such like available. You can also pull them out of other kitchens people have uploaded. Not 100% conventient but not dire either. Also, it's really easy to make something that's pretty much box shaped. Here's a picture of my first model, of the 30" Sharp Microwave Drawer. First I saved the image from the web and cropped it to just the drawer using PaintShopPro (any image software will work). Then I drew a box the right size in sketchup, using lines and the Entity Info tool to get the size right. I'm still learning and I accidentally cut the back open, but that doesn't really matter. Last step, import the picture as a texture and fit it to the face of the box. It doesn't have the slight protrusion of the handle, but then even though I'm doing this to scale, it's not plan perfect, so it doesn't matter. The strengths of this program, once one really absorbs how to make boxes, make up for it. [IMG]http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l134/rummylands/30inchSharpMicroDrawerMODEL.jpg[/IMG] Does anyone know if you can make operable hinges? :D

This kind of software is often limited to an operating system. Contractors often use Windows and architects often use Macs. What is yours? You should ask your contractor to provide a schedule because you will be constantly hounding him for information in order to update the schedule and you don't want to usurp his responsibility for that aspect of the project. For tracking project costs there are many Excel templates available that only cost $25 or so and allow a free trial. It might be difficult to find a good one simply because project management means different things to contractors, architects and owners and there are so many different kinds of projects and delivery methods; for instance, yours is not a common one for home building.