Am I out here all by my lonesome or is there another Chief user I can co-miserate with?
Printable View
Am I out here all by my lonesome or is there another Chief user I can co-miserate with?
I recently relocated from Illinois to N.W. Indiana. One of the companies that I work with is in Aurora, IL.
What type of work do you do with Chief?
With the Aurora company we do mostly remodels and additions.
Cool! Well, you aren't around me, but I certainly appreciate your response. I am a building/remodeling contractor in McHenry County. Right now, I'm doing quite a bit of kitchen/bath work but love historic renovation. I have worked mainly with AutoCAD and have owned CA since V10, just upped to X1, but don't have a good grasp of it yet. I am practicing on my own home, an 1870 Greek Revival knockoff, gable & wing farmhouse which desperately needs added space.Quote:
Originally Posted by TJD DESIGNS
BTW, my last name is Chirikos, ancestors from the central Peloponese. Are you Greek?
Nick Chirikos
Housewright Design-Build Ltd.
Sorry it took so long to reply. I have been having log-in issues with chieftalk. Something about my cookies. Anyway, the remodel sounds interesting. Have you modeled the house in chief yet? If you have any questions I could probably lend a hand.
I use only Chief for my work. I found out long ago that with chief it was easier to design and model a house than with CAD-for me anyway. But maybe that is because when I first started with CAD it was about 18 years ago-and needless to say-very frustrating trying to figure out the 3-D point when just trying to draw a wall. I love the ease of Chief-you want to draw a wall-you just draw it. SO I probably never gave CAD the proper time needed to learn all of the ins and outs of the program.
Anyway, I have been using Chief professionally for about 5 years now. I just received the upgrade to version X1, but have not installed it yet. I want to wait untill I have finished with a few projects I am in the middle of first. But it looks promising.
As far as being Greek-I am by marriage. My husband is 100% Greek, from Xios.
No problem. I've had my share of computer issues too. I am trying to model my house in chief now. I don't get how you merge a 1 story gable roof into the sidewall and roof of a 2 story main building. I'm learning the way I learned autocad- trial & error (probably the worst way to learn), but am considering Dan Bauman's online courses.I am so grounded in cad that I keep going back to it to solve issues, bu am trying to break the habit. As a builder, I've always worked in 2D: floorplans, and elevations. But now that I am doing more design/development, I am more involved with conveying perspective and concept. And I would appreciate any guidance you could give me with chief. I will say this: get to X1 asap. Many of the exta-cost add-ons of version 10 are now included, and things like mouse-button panning I could never do without.
To NICKC. I am a novice. I have been trying to use Chief Architect since v10. I stopped using it when I got tired of zooming in and out to move my plans on the screen. When vX1 included a mouse button grip it seemed worth the money. I feel like I just bought more headaches. I use Chief because it is a pain to to render in Autocad Architectural Desktop 2006. I have a law practice but in a former life spent 25 years in construction. Currently I live in Belvidere, IL.
Hi, Barry
I guess I am at about the same level as you. I bought V10 but never used it much, primarily because of its cumbersome interface and differences from autocad. When I up'ed to X1, the first thing I noticed was the mouse panning, which has been a staple of autocad for many years. My goal is to become more proficient in Chief than autocad (I have been with acad since 2.1, but quit at 2004 because of the upgrade cost/value.) Object-based design is the way to go, and X1 is a true powerhouse. I have seen the light, and am completely devoted to mastering it. I bought into Dan Bauman's training for one year ($595 - the best deal around, IMHO) and can't wait. So if you are an attorney, what do you do with home design? I have a small design-build firm, and work very closely with a small group of clients.
Nick
Nick, One of my clients is a developer that uses autoclaved aerated concrete for housing and commercial developments in combination with steel sandwiched foam insulated roofing. I set up some LLCs for them. Because of my construction background, I did the preliminary drawings in CAD and setup their Power Point presentations using Chief renderings. See http://www.aerconfl.com, http://www.safecrete.com/and http://www.metlspan.com for description of materials. I had used Home Architect 3,4,and 5 and new it was good for quick client presentations. The problem I run into is that Chief is really a residential program and we do no framing. Is is essentially slab construction. Chief is great for exporting 3d objects into my autocad.
Barry Andersen
1901 Union Ave
Belvidere,IL 61008
barryandersen@yahoo.com
Nick, One of my clients is a developer that uses autoclaved aerated concrete for housing and commercial developments in combination with steel sandwiched foam insulated roofing. I set up some LLCs for them. Because of my construction background, I did the preliminary drawings in CAD and setup their Power Point presentations using Chief renderings. See http://www.aerconfl.com, http://www.safecrete.com/and http://www.metlspan.com for description of materials. I had used Home Architect 3,4,and 5 and new it was good for quick client presentations. The problem I run into is that Chief is really a residential program and we do no framing. Is is essentially slab construction. Chief is great for exporting 3d objects into my autocad.
Barry Andersen
1901 Union Ave
Belvidere,IL 61008
barryandersen@yahoo.com
Nick,
I've never visited this site before so I was surprised and delighted to hear of someone from McHenry County. I live in McHenry County as well. Algonquin to be precise where I also serve as a Village Trustee. I've been involved in many county organizations over the years.
I've been working in CA since version 9 and I am currently using X1 and would welcome hearing from you.
Jim Steigert
Algonquin, Illinois
Wow!
Hello, Jim. It's a pleasure to make your "online" acquaintance. I am a 32 year resident of Algonquin Township, making my home at the old Haeger Place at the corner of Haeger's Bend and River Road. It would be nice to meet you in person and swap stories. Feel free to call me at 847-658-3434
Nick Chirikos
Nick,
Called about 5:45 PM today. No answer so I thought I'd try the E-mail route.
I too have also lived in Algonquin for 32 years this April. Talk about coincidence! What are the odds. Your also on one of my favorite running routes although I don't run down River Road frequently because of the narrow road and traffic.
It would be great to meet up with you and nice to know someone else in the area working with Chief Architect. I have a love/hate relationship with CA but despite some of it's "bugs" it creates some fantastic looking drawings and renderings. I work out of my home in Algonquin. Sometimes it seems that all I do is work with Chief Architect 7 days a week. I'm at 847-658-0536. Located at 606 Legion Drive in Algonquin. Hope to hear from you as well
Jim Steigert
well, new to cheif but loving it. :)
I work for a Commerical Modular company, we have always designed in acad to this point. Cheif seems to offer a great deal more eye candy than acad but, doesn't seem to be able to support the level of accuracy we need for the shop.
anyway nice to meet you'll
Richard Mikesell
Project Engineer
Hi guys, my name is Mike, this is my first post. I'm out here in Crystal Lake, so you can add another CA user from the NW suburbs to the roster. I think it's great that there are a few users in the discussion group that are all within a stone's throw of each other (insert smiley emoticon here).
Unfortunately I've got a day so jammed up with chores that I may not be able to log on or respond before tomorrow. You know how it is.
Guys, have a great rest-of-the-weekend, and I hope to talk to you all soon.
-Mike
Hi, Mike. Thanks for posting. Feel free to email me directly and see if we can get together. Address: Nickc at housewrightdb dot com
Nick C
Mike,
It's great hearing from another CA user within the area. Like Nick, you can feel free to E-mail me at jsteig@sbcglobal.net. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Jim
Hello Jim and Nick, and all other Chief users from the NW suburbs-
A little bit about myself: I've been working in home renovations and property management for about four years now. Oddly enough, I was a graphic designer for six years previous. And for most of my life, I've pursued drawing and painting as a side interest.
NEVER in my life did I picture myself doing construction work.I'd always considered myself mechanically DIS-inclined, and was about the most un-handy man around. Though as my dad was reaching retirement, he decided that he wanted to stay active and busy, so he and I sat down and started talking about buying a house and flipping it. Long story short, he taught me everything I needed to know- from plumbing and electrical to drywalling and flooring. Ironically, I love what I do so much that I've often found myself wishing I would have started on this course 20 years ago.
After awhile we recognized we had a good thing going, and our property holdings also took quite a leap. So we (very recently) decided to incorporate our business.
Over time, my interest in building and architecture grew exponentially. Another long story short, I'd been wanting to purchase Chief Architect for a few years now, so not too long ago I went ahead and made the investment. One of the best decisions I've ever made. In fact, I will say somewhat reluctantly that I think I'm becoming a little obsessed with it... I wake up early before work, do a few hours of CA. I get home from work, do a few hours of CA. I've been measuring up the properties we're currently working on, then building them in CA. My girlfriend is starting to send me emails entitled "We need to talk..." I don't think I need to explain what THAT means.
I think this discussion group is a great thing. My work schedule is hectic right now, so I'm sure you'll understand if I seem a little slow to reply. Okay then, I'm gonna get back to Chapter 12, "Foundations"! Take care, fellas.
Mike,
Great story. It's good when you find something that you love doing.
I've worked with Chief every day now for about 4 years so I'm beginning to get the hang of it. Most of my work is designing home additions and Chief is a pretty powerful tool despite the occasional glitches that I run into.
If you run into any problems or simply want to know how to do something with Chief your more than welcome to contact me. I'd be more than happy to help.
It's good to find other Chief users in the area and I understand perfectly if your slow in your responses. My work schedule is likewise frequently hectic. Not only do I design homes but I'm also a Trustee for the Village of Algonquin and sit on a Hospital Board as well.
Anyway, good to hear from you.
Jim
Just purchased X1, joined Chief Talk, read the NW Chicago Suburbs posts and suddenly they stopped in July. Has the idea of a Chicago area users group faded? I live in Bloomingdale and get up to the Crystal Lake area every couple of weeks. I have been doing kitchen and bath design and remodeling for 24 years, and bought Chief to replace a tedious combination of TurboCad and 20-20. Just learning it, but am liking what I see.
Would be interested in hearing from you others.
Nick
Hi Nick,
I can't speak to the interest level of others but if I see a posting from someone I'll respond. Quite frankly, I don't know how many Chief users there are in the area. It would be nice to see more interaction among users in the Northwest suburbs.
Anyway, congrats on getting Chief X1. It a very powerful tool. If you have questions or problems feel free to contact me. If your up in this area I would be more than happy to walk you through any problems you may encounter.
Best of luck,
Jim Steigert
Jim,
Thanks for the reply and the offer of assistance. I will take some additional time during the holidays to train on Chief. Have a happy and prosperous new year.
Nick
Nick,
Enjoy the holidays to explore Chief. Any problems you may also reach me at jsteig@sbcglobal.net or 847-658-0536.
Happy New Year to you as well.
Jim
Hi All,
I just picked up Chief X1 a month ago. It's a love/hate relationship since I'm still in the training mode. I live and work in Chicago in the Stone & Tile industry as an Account Manger for a high-end supplier. I have a passion for good design and architecture, yet do not have much formal training. I find that industry experience and expertise in my field has taught me more than I need to be successful at what I do.
I recently acquired my first interior design project outside of my full-time job. It's a great project, renovating a 4000 sqft home built in the late 1900's in Wicker Park. The materials and construction budget of over $250,000. My project involves all aspects of renovation, so I found the need for a rendering and space planning tool. So far, it's been very helpful, but I do find that some of the details can be frustrating. Attached is an elevation of the master bath vanity area. It's just a start, I know I have much more to learn.
I look forward to hearing from other users and creating a larger network here in the Chicago area. There's got to be more than a few of us out there.
Jennifer
Jennifer,
Hi and welcome to this forum. First off let me begin by congratulating you on the very nice project you picked up. I'm somewhat in awe that you are doing this project on the side while learning Chief Architect. Your pretty gutsy.
I'm also impressed with your bathroom elevation. It reflects considerable sophistication.
Anyway, it sounds like you have your hands full. Chief Architect is an incredibly sophisticated piece of software with a wide range of capabilities. I've been using it daily for several years and have yet to explore all of it many dimensions.
If you run into any problems, please feel free to contact me and I'll help walk you through them.
Best of luck,
Jim
Hello all,
new to the chief talk forum. I have been using CA off and on for the past 4 years. Started with 9.5 and currently using v10. Just wanted to get into this thread to let everyone know about another CA user in the NW 'burbs. it's good to know about other chief users in the area.
Tom
Hi Tom,
Welcome. Looks like we're relative neighbors. I see your in Elgin. I'm from Algonquin. It is good to see others nearby.
Hope to hear from you again.
Jim
I am in Wayne, IL. Don't do much drawing work. Develop and sometimes build.
MD Construction in Roscoe does good work with Chief.
Hi Dennis,
I see your fairly close by. I'm located in Algonquin. How's the construction business doing these days?
Jim Steigert
Hey, I don't check in too often, but the buzz about X2 has got me back on the discussion group. I'm a GC in Evanston, moving slowly into offering clients some design capabilities. I am still very much a novice CA user, but am looking to make it a core technology of my business. I'm interested in networking with architects who are using CA and recognize the sales value of renderings. Also, very open to teaming up with liscened architects on some of the larger design work that beyond what I can handle in house. Anyone move on to X2 yet?
Paul
Hi Paul,
I just started working with Chief four months ago and have found it very useful when selling my design concepts. I'm currently working on a 4200 sqft home in Chicago and would love to pick up more projects. I am not a licensed architect, but an interior designer with vast knowledge of kitchen and bath remodels. If you are interested in discussing a joint venture, let me know.
Good luck!
Jennifer
Could you please send me an e-mail so I can communicate with you directly. tomunderly@aol.com
mike f could you e-mail me your phone number of where I can get in touch with you. My e-mail is tomunderly@aol.com Phone 312-504-5581