What do you use to draw your reno plans?

To date, I've always generally just used pencil and tracing paper, and then (if required) gone to a drafty to draw things up "properly". As I'm now doing more projects, I'm interested in being able to draw the proper plans up myself - looks more professional and easier for other people to review.

So my question is, what software would you recommend? Are there low cost options for non-professionals? Would you recommend doing some training or are there some user-friendly options out there?

 

I use SketchUp and love it.
Much easier than CAD and does both 2D and 3D. Heaps of youtube training videos available for it too.

 

I've been using Revit since 2007. It is incredibly powerful but the basic skills are reasonably easy to learn. Instead of drawing lines and shapes like other generic packages, you work directly with objects such as walls, windows, doors etc. It is fully 3D. Even when you create 2D views they are only references to the 3D model, so everything is always automatically coordinated.

Revit also allows to keep track of project phases, so you can set up stages such as "Existing", "Proposed", "Stage 2", etc. Then you can show them in different pages or overlay in the same view as required.

The LT version is ideal for non-professionals and costs only $70 per month.

I used AutoCAD in the past, but never looked back after moving to Revit. I tried SketchUP but found it a bit limited for what I do, although I agree that it is extremely easy to learn/use and for a large number of people it may be sufficient.

 

Thanks @Fabs and @alps - will have a look into both those options.