flexiblefullpage
interstitial1
Currently Reading

Enhanced Reality: A Closer Look at Chief Architect Room Planner

Advertisement
billboard
Sales

Enhanced Reality: A Closer Look at Chief Architect Room Planner

This app helps you take measurements for making as-built drawings for estimating, as well as create 3-D renderings to help homeowners visualize the project


By By Sal Alfano October 13, 2015
An example of using Chief Architect's Room Planner digital libraries
This article first appeared in the PR October 2015 issue of Pro Remodeler.

Remodelers spend a lot of time taking measurements and making as-built drawings to use when they’re estimating projects. Increasingly, they also use 3-D digital renderings to help homeowners visualize what their remodeled home will look like. Wouldn’t it be handy if there was an app that would help you do both at once?

At last year’s Remodeling Show, I tried out an app from Chief Architect called Room Planner that does exactly that. I recently talked with Gary Doski, owner of 3D Home Design Services, a design/build firm in Sandy Hook, Conn., about how he uses the app in his day-to-day business.

When Doski first visits a client’s home, he brings up the Room Planner app on his phone, selects a room shape (freehand drawing is also an option), pairs a laser distance meter to the phone via Bluetooth, and imports dimensions as he walks around the house. 

“Once I have the information I need, I can save it and upload it to the cloud,” Doski says. “When I get back to the office, I download it into Chief Architect. But I’m a one-man show. If I had designers in the office, they could start working on the design even before I’d left the client’s house.”

Room Planner has many of the tools found in the Chief Architect desktop application, so you can create a fairly detailed design on the spot if need be. You can add and merge rooms and create bump-outs. You can use digital object libraries to drag and drop architectural elements, such as doors and windows, stairs, or fireplaces, and adjust their dimensions on the fly (below). Other libraries contain objects such as cabinets, furniture, and appliances.

architect room planner virtual sketch

You can change dimensions for walls and most objects either by dragging their “handles” or by direct entry through the keypad. And you can add labels and notes to call attention to details such as bearing walls or vent stacks that may affect the design. 

Take a Walk

But wait, there’s more. Once a completed design is loaded on a mobile device, a patented feature called “Sojourn” uses the device’s built-in gyroscope, inclinometer, and camera to create three visualization “Experience Modes.” Two are familiar: Dolly Mode allows you to “look around” in the 3-D model, and Fly Mode introduces motion, either using the app’s “thumbstick” controls or by tilting and rotating the device to change the direction.

The third mode is called Walk Through, but “Enhanced Reality” may be a more appropriate name. It uses the device’s camera to display the existing space but superimposes the new design. A client holding the device at eye level can not only see the new design but can also “experience” it while literally walking around in the existing space (below).

architect room planner virtual sketch

“I still use a laptop to project the 3-D walkthrough up on the wall,” Doski says. “But Sojourn is a fun feature that really increases client engagement.” 

---

Read about other high-tech tools for home improvement pros

This app helps you take measurements for making as-built drawings for estimating, as well as create 3-D renderings to help homeowners visualize the project


written by

Sal Alfano

Executive Editor

Sal Alfano is executive editor for Professional Remodelersal.alfano@gmail.com, 202.365.9070


Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

Related Stories

Today’s Consumer is Your Biggest Competitor

Understanding the real competitor allows you to sharpen the correct skills

How to Create Urgency with the Reverse Timeline Technique

On this episode of Remodeling Mastery, host and industry advisor Mark Richardson walks you through how to close more sales by utilizing a reverse timeline

7 Don'ts for Remodelers to Remember in Today's Market

The only sure thing about the current environment is that it will change. Here are some guidelines to help ride the wave of uncertainty

4 Qualifying Questions For When Clients Come Calling

Asking the correct questions impacts your ability to plan well—Are you covering these bases on the first call?

Cracking the Remodeling Sales Code

What's the secret to great remodeling sales in today's market? Mark Richardson offers 10 suggestions

Contractors Release App Made for the “Remote Quote”

RENDR is a new app built by contractors, for contractors

Words Matter: What to Say and Avoid in Remodeling Sales

Industry advisor Mark Richardson says to stop using "contract" and "change order." Read why and what to say instead

5 Sales Techniques to Master

Use these techniques to master selling in today and tomorrow's market

2023 Game Plans: Modest Growth Expected in Bathroom Remodeling Market

Remodeling industry Thought Leaders share their perspectives on growth, challenges, and plans for the new year

10 Questions to Filter Clients

The more you can differentiate between good and bad customers, the healthier your company will be

Advertisement
boombox1
Advertisement
native1

More in Category




Advertisement
native2
Advertisement
halfpage1