Here's how to convert 2-D plans into 3-D

There are designers, architects and contractors throughout the country who are capable of drawing your house plans in 3-D on computer.

And for those of you who have trouble reading conventional blueprints, a 3-D picture can make all the difference by turning confusion into clarity. Even an experienced architect can have difficulties interpreting someone else's building plans.

If you have investigated this type of service you probably have already discovered that the going rate for computerized plans can often range in price between expensive and ludicrous.

But now there's another alternative. No, it doesn't mean you'll have to buy 3-D software and a computer or become an architect. But you will need to provide the set of plans.

Once you've designed your new home or room addition and before you send the plans out for bid we suggest that you take one extra planning step. And that is to check out Computer Integrated Building at cic.nis.gov.

CIB will use your drawings to create a set of 3-D pictures that will amplify what your architect or designer created for you. Be careful not to send them plans taken from a book that could result in copyright infringement.

In its program, CIB will send you a drawing of each and every wall, floor and roof completely framed part by part. And that's just one of the differences. All the guesswork is gone. The program that CIB has developed draws every stud, every block, every rafter, every header each and every framing member.

When you get your parts list from CIB it is accurate. The program optimizes lumber usage by cutting each part from standard lengths of wood or from wood length recommendations you provide from the lumber yard in your neck of the woods. For example: If a roof has a 3-foot rafter and an 8-foot rafter the program orders a 12-foot rafter. It knows that lumber is sold in even increments and therefore does not specify an 11-foot piece of lumber. It also tells you what your actual percentage of waste will be (how much firewood you'll be left with).

CIB's program will generate accurate lengths, widths, heights and volumes for wall, floor and roof surfaces. These values are very important in calculating siding, drywall, plaster, paint, flooring and concrete.

But no other drawing service that we know of can tell you room by room, wall by wall precisely what framing parts you'll need.

Since carpentry constitutes about 20 percent of construction costs, an accurate lumber list is invaluable.

The CIB program is a solid modeling overlay that operates invisibly over the decade-old CAD engine created by Silverscreen. It runs in the PC-DOS environment and the program files take up a whopping 7 megs of disk space. Each house drawing will use at least another half-meg. The program operates best with 8 megs of memory on board, and output can be listed to either a HP LaserJet or a number of different color plotters.

Pat Murphy, president of CIB who developed this highly innovative builder's software, tells us that his original intention was to provide architects and builders with an affordable program that would take most of the work and waste out of the design-build planning process.

Murphy feels that the program would be far too expensive for one-time users and for that reason decided to open his drawing service as an affordable alternative for do-it-yourselfers and small contracting and architectural firms.