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Product Description Chief Architect Home Designer Landscape & Deck 2014: Let Home Designer Landscape & Deck by Chief Architect Software help you plan and design your perfect outdoor living space! It's easy to quickly design the virtual look and feel of your backyard, deck, patio, pool or other outdoor project. Create beautiful landscapes, terrain features, gardens and decks quickly and easily! Get started today! Plants: Landscaping is easy with over 3,600 botanically accurate flowers, trees and shrubs - from tropical to desert. Create gardens, pathways, hills, valleys, ponds and more for your perfect landscape. Decks & Patios. Powerful Decking and Patio tools allow you to design and visualize your new deck with 3D models and help you easily estimate the costs. Landscaping: Create beautiful landscapes, terrain features, gardens and decks for your perfect outdoor living spaces. It's easy to create the look and feel you desire for your deck, landscaping and outdoor living spaces. Terrain: Use Automatic Build Terrain and Terrain Perimeter tools to create flat, irregularly shaped or sloped lots. Use a GPS to import elevation data. You will find several terrain tools to create your lot's shape, elevation and contours. Site Planning: Create any shape lot. Enter elevation data, hills, valleys and flat regions to create your virtual lot. Get Started Quickly! The Quick Startup Options Guide will help you begin with "How-To" tutorials based on the type of your project. You can also choose from over 40 easy "step-by-step" tutorial training videos that will quickly get you started on your next home design project. Live online training webinars are available on a weekly basis and you can access this training via the Internet. Home Talk is a User Forum you can ask question from the community of users. Finally we offer great technical support by qualified in-house professionals. From the Manufacturer Home Designer Landscape & Deck 2014 Let Home Designer Landscape & Deck by Chief Architect Software help you plan and design your perfect outdoor living space. It's easy to quickly design the virtual look and feel of your backyard, deck, patio, pool, or other outdoor project. Create beautiful landscapes, terrain features, gardens, and decks. Plants Landscaping is easy with over 3,600 botanically-accurate flowers, trees, and shrubs - from tropical to desert. Create gardens, pathways, hills, valleys, ponds, and more for your perfect landscape. Choose from over 3,600 realistic plants Plant Chooser lets you quickly locate and learn detailed plant information Plant Hardiness Zone maps for North America, Europe, and Australia Plant Growth Slider Tool lets you visualize how your plants will look in three, five, or even 20 years Search for plants based on a variety of attributes such as bloom time, water and sun needs, height information, plant type, and color Decks and Patios Powerful decking and patio tools allow you to design and visualize your new deck with 3-D models. Make your new deck or patio look exactly the way you desire. Use the Deck Designer tools to quickly design the layout of your deck Define the details for your decking - borders, planking direction, overhand, and planking gap Place and arrange outdoor furniture to correctly size your deck or patio Design single or multi-level decks including free-standing, tiered, and post-and-beam Deck foundations automatically generate to match sloped lots Landscaping Create beautiful landscapes, terrain features, gardens, and decks for your perfect outdoor living spaces. Choose pre-arranged landscaping or flowerbeds for inspiration to jump start your own ideas Import digital photos such as family portraits or backdrops of your lot for realistic 3-D views Drag and drop thousands of items from the Library Browser, and choose plants, pavers, windows, doors, outdoor accessories, textures, furniture, and more Use the built-in Plant Schedule as a list of plants for your landscaping project, by common or scientific name Terrain Use Automatic Build Terrain and Terrain Perimeter tools to create flat, irregularly-shaped, or sloped lots. Use a GPS to import elevation data. You will find several terrain tools to create your lot's shape, elevation, and contours. Create water features for your landscaping projects using the Stream or Pond tools by simply clicking to place and then resize Use the Terrain Wall tool to create terraces or divide your terrain slopes Drag elevation lines or set specific elevation points to create your contoured lots Visualize designs with day and night views Site Planning Create any shape lot. Enter elevation data, hills, valleys, and flat regions to create your virtual lot. Use Raised, Lowered, and Flat Region tools to precisely model your terrain. Create plot and perimeter plans and automatically generate a 3-D model of your actual terrain Manual dimension tools measure any distance, including dimensioning to individual plants Sprinkler Designer tools let you easily lay out sprinkler zones Define terrain elevation lines, elevation regions, and retaining walls for accurate modeling Fences, driveways, and sidewalks follow terrain contours Create borders around plant beds with terrain curbing User Resources Download bonus library content Free online training videos Free training webinars Free technical support System Requirements Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP 2.4 GHz processor 5 GB of disk space 2 GB of memory 256 MB of dedicated video memory, supporting OpenGL 2.1 or higher High-speed Internet for registration, video access, and content downloads Plan and design your perfect outdoor living space view larger 3,600 realistic plants view larger Plant Hardiness Zone maps for North America, Europe, and Australia view larger Define terrain elevation lines, elevation regions, and retaining walls for accurate modeling view larger Find the Perfect Home Designer for You Professional Architectural Suite Landscape & Deck Interiors Essentials Home Design Interior Design N/A Remodeling Decks and Landscaping N/A Kitchens and Baths N/A Professional Tools N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
W**R
I would not recommend buying this software as a download or at least ...
The product description states that one is buying Home Designer Landscape & Deck 2014. What I actually got with the 170MB download was a December 2012 version, build 15.2.0. I installed the software and it asked if I wanted to get the latest version and then it downloaded another 170MB file which after it was installed I got another message asking if I wanted to update to the latest version. It was not clear at first but the company is discontinuing the Landscape and Decks software after 2014 and so if directing anyone who installs the software to spend an additional $100 for an upgrade to their Chief Architect software.The application itself works reasonably well though it is necessary at times to refer to a 200 plus page manual and a 400 plus page reference guide. Even then it is a bit of a trial and error process. The library is very basic that is provided with this software and most people will want to pay for additional libraries or use something else.Overall for what I needed to produce an as-built drawing for my house and decks and yard area with elevations that I could output to a PDF (using third party software) the $80 cost was neither high nor low.
M**H
Not very good for xeriscaping
I figured out the software pretty easily without use of the manual. If I had to explain even basic concepts to my in-laws and even some of my friends, though, I would be tearing my hair out. This is NOT for everyone. Consider this: if you constantly pester your kids or your IT/tech-savvy friends with basic computer stuff, just stick to pen and paper and your mind's eye.There are many, many plants, trees, shrubs. Many, many. I thought I read a previous reviewer claim there were only 50. Wrong. If you are looking to add an addition or a deck and some flower gardens and such, then this might be for you. If you're like me and seeking full xeriscaping ideas, save your money now.I assumed incorrectly that a "Landscape and Deck" edition of a designer software would provide much more flagstone, paver, brick ideas. There are some, but very limited in patterns, colors, etc. I am very disappointed and would return this if I could.
A**W
Pretty good for affordable software.
The 3D plant library is good, not great. Most plants are 2D images that rotate to give a 3D effect. It's only convincing in views where you're looking up towards a plant or perfectly straight at it. Any top down component to the view instantly ruins the illusion. Also this is a problem for climbing plants like vines, roses, and hydrangeas. These plants look best as 2D images with this program so that they don't appear to be growing perpendicular to their trellises or walls. The feature that allows you to grow plants just makes them all larger. It doesn't really seem to account for the maximum expected size of a plant. The library of additional materials and items is very nice; I hope they continue to expand it. Some materials look silly because the image is too small for the intended application or the repeating image looks like rectangles all over whatever you painted.
D**H
Works well
It's not too hard to use. It does have a bit of a learning curve. I have been able to make a fairly accurate model of the outside of my house. Then I created several different deck ideas with it. Once I figured out how to get the camera down like I was standing on the deck, it was very useful to see what the options would look like.If you're doing a big deck project, it's worth the time to model it first.UPDATE: I've shown my designs to several contractors, and they found them usable. I still have to get real designs done, but this was much easier than just describing what I wanted. Next we'll see how the new deck comes out.
T**A
NOT intuitive with poor instructions
I consider myself very technical and extremely savvy with computer programs, but there seems to be little hope with this software. After too many hours/attempts of trying to figure this out...I am deleting this software and calling it a complete loss.I just want to to draw my home with a new deck and new landscaping. Instead of helping me design my projects, this software is making it more complicated and difficult than it needs to be. The results I have produced could have been more easily drawn on paper or any free drawing software (i.e., Paint) and definitely more accurate.Unless you live on a flat piece of property with a single floor, square house...good luck!
A**R
Pretty happy with Home Designer for Decks
I was able to create the back of my house, add the exiting patio room and current decks. Then make all the changes I want to make and show how that would look in 3D view. The deck tool shows all the framing and supports needed for the new decks I plan to build. It would be nice to have blue print views but I think that is a bit much to ask for at this price point. I did have a complete list of materials that I will need and measurements. You can also add more measurements which I needed because one of the decks is 'L' shaped. I am pretty happy with what I got.
F**N
Good, but...
There is no way of escaping a learning curve with capable design software, and this is no exception. It not only requires time to learn the tools but also requires a mental transition from drafting concepts to CAD concepts. It is a sub-set of Chief Architect, a professional CAD program.The software would benefit enormously from dual-monitor support as well as some conventional drafting capability. For the price, it's pretty good.
Trustpilot
1 day ago
1 week ago
