I’ve been planning (code for procrastinating) a bathroom remodel in my house for some day now.

Well, earlier that week my wife and I sat down at the table to form a plan. With a ruler and graph paper, we started plotting where we wanted things to go. A couple of minutes later, I’d worn down a perfectly good eraser and made a heck of a mess out of the graph paper.

There’s got to be a better way, right?

There is. And it’s free. Hey, wait a minute, did you say free?

Thanks to the citizens at Google, there is a great drafting
program called

SketchUp. It is PC and Mac compatible, and downloads
pretty quickly. With that program you can now create your own
architectural, woodworking, or landscape designs that are clean, clear
and to scale.

The program doesn’t replace an architect or
engineer–but it can help a knowledgeable DIYer produce some very
workable shop drawings.

Like any new program, there’s a learning curve. And whether you’re the
type that has a VCR still flashing 12:00, there’s some terrific on-line
tutorials. These tutorials additionally happen to be free. You heard that
right, free. The tutorials, clearly presented by master craftsman Gary
Katz, are available at GaryMKatz.com.

Original post by James Kidd