SketchUp is going to be it for the free or low cost. The software that the pros use is in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Or, there's always the old standby of graph paper and pencil.

I could not get the hang of sketchup either. Graph paper really is the easiest.

I'm a graph paper fan here too. I never knew when I would have a few minutes to think about my kitchen plans - I carried notes and graph paper around in a folder in my purse for about a year.

Thanks for the reply, live_wire_oak, debrak2008 & annkh.

My wife and I both tried to learn Sketch-up but gave up after numerous tried as well as day. My only problem with graft paper are too many lines and it hard on my eyes. I'm guess I'm out of luck.

By the way, how do I locate my previous posts as I reposted this thread due to not being able to locate it?

Google is the best way to find anything on GW. Put in google something like this....."gardenweb renosarefun cabinet". That would find thread such as this one.

Graph paper really is the best. I googled graph paper and found different sizes and types of layouts. Attached is a link to some that appear bigger and easier to read.

Here is a link that might be useful: graph paper

I used the link below. You can create an account and save your designs. I've included a design that I created with it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Software used for layout and drawings

Try Autodesk homestyler which is free:

Here is a link that might be useful: autodesk homestyler

IKEA also has a free planner tool where you can put in their cabinet system, countertops and then turn it on 3D view so you can get a 1st-person experience. The 3D view really helped me figure out the awkward corners, what wasn't working, etc. I think the cabinet frames are pretty standard so it may be helpful even if you're not going IKEA.

I accidently made a double thread and wish I could delete the other one..........sorry.

Thans for the suggestions, I'll start trying them tonight.

I was looking for something similar to below so that I could see if everything adds up as well as make a cut sheet.;

Please note this is not my kitchen, only a sample;

This post was edited by Renosarefun on Mon, Oct 21, 13 at 18:28

I tried the autodesk homestyler which seems to be the easiest to use, but when i started with the corner base cabinet, I couldn't find the style I want to use. It's the type with 2, 12" doors on a piano hinge that are one piece.

I'll keep trying.

I'd suggest a truly revolutionary hi tech approach- a pencil. No graph paper.

Get a portable drafting board, a triangle and a couple of mechanical pencils, a scale and a calculator. Total investment under $100- pick up a book at the library- free. Only disadvantage is no 3D.

Easier than learning software, will be far more useful as you get around to building since you will then be able to draft details and have a better understanding of construction. I have maybe 15k in software with years of training and I still use one. It's more fun and often faster for details- big advantage- never crashes only requires new lead occasionally. Yes I'm a dinosaur.

Here is a link that might be useful: studio drawing board

Folks, you are confusing layout software with cabinet drawing software. They are NOT the same. A software capable of generating an actual drawing of the cabinet itself plus the cut list runs to the thousands, if not tens of thousands. And that's what's needed if you're going to do your own cabinets and can't deal with Sketch Up, or Paint, or graph paper or just plain pen and paper. (You don't have to be a dinosaur to prefer the original cabinet "software". You just have to actually understand the job involved.)

Really though, I have to say, I'd question the capabilities of the OP to do this job if the layout and cut list can't be easily figured out. It really ain't hard for someone who does woodworking and someone that actually understands how to design a kitchen. There's no software that will tell you the right way to do this. Any software is only as good as the person inputting the data, which if you've seen one dysfunctional builder's kitchen that proves this, you'll understand what I'm saying here. There's such a thing as biting off more than you can chew here.

Posting your layout on here can help with getting that right, but there are plenty of pitfalls left for someone who wants to make their own cabinetry. Chiefly the room to do the work, the right tool$ to do the work, and the knowledge to combine those things in a successful manner.

Thanks for the reply hollysprings,

As mentioned in my original post, I "need a layout with dimension to aid and ensure everything will fit and help with my cut sheet." In other words, I'm not looking for a cut sheet, I will do that myself.

I understand that you would question my abilities, but I would at least appreciate that you hold off on judge me after the cabs have been built. Heck why not critique the whole kitchen installation also.

I figure if I can rebuild an engine to doing a body off restoration on a 40 year car, to doing oak stairs, building a bar, and totally redoing two thermostatic shower bathrooms among many other reno’s, I feel I'm more then capable of doing this kitchen especially since I already have all the equipment/tools.

Again, all I ask, is you hold off on judging me since you feel you have the right.

This post was edited by Renosarefun on Wed, Oct 23, 13 at 16:07

I admit that I missed the part of "making my own cabinets". I know there are posters here who made their own cabinets. I suggested started a new thread as a call out to those people. Something like "Calling all cabinet makers!", "Need help from cabinet makers", etc.

Also try the woodworking forum.

Hello debrak2008:

I appreciate your suggestion and am sure I would get a few replies, but I'm not looking for feedback on construction methods and installation, I've already decided how I'm going to build and install them. Or maybe you were suggesting asking there methods of producing drawings other then long hand, I figured that's what I was asking in this thread.

The reason for this thread was simply to find an easy way to layout frontal views mainly so that I can better organize and plan the build. In other words, envision what I'm going to build and hopefully help me make a cut sheet by knowing the size of each cab among other things.

debrak2008, sorry for the tone as I feel this thread has taken a turn and as a newbie, I wasn't expecting it.

I was suggesting that the other DIY cabinet makers could share with you how they did their drawings.

Most here really are trying to help. Sometimes as with people IRL we are just having a bad day : ).

This forum is wonderful as a big family can be so I hope you stick around. While my husband and I are just about all DIY we did not make our own cabinets.

Thanks again for the reply debrak2008 as I wasn't sure how I was being received.

Building a cabinet box really isn't difficult as long as you have the equipment and realize that one the most important aspect is to ensure its square and solid. There are several good methods of cab construction; I thought I would combine a few so that it would be better built then what we looked at while shopping for a kitchen. Having a plan and working that plan makes it all the more easier.

Before I begin I wanted to ensure I was prepared with proper drawings and this would help with making my cut sheet. It would also allow me to make simple changes once my wife saw the first plans.

For now, I'm going to take a step back as I may have been perceived in a different light which wasn't my intent.

My Dream

I fully understood what you asked for and why. If a friend, or one of my kids asked I could hand them an extra laptop loaded with software. I wouldn't though. I'd tell them what I told you.

FWIW-I may have built a cabinet or two among other things in the past.

My favorite is graph paper, pencil, & eraser. I recommend the graph paper that's made up of dots at the vertices rather than lines because the lines are distracting.

The whole point of the graph paper is so that you can do the sizes and layout however your kitchen needs. When you use someone else's layout software, you're limited by the sizes and styles that they have available. Most cabinet lines won't have a 14 1/2" wide cabinet, but since you are creating the cabinets you can put one of those in if you want to. It's the same with the fillers. If you use a drawer base that has clearance issues with the hardware around the L corner, then you can do an extended stile on both cabinets at that corner to avoid that interference rather than do a filler.

But, most software won't even tell you that there could be a problem with the drawers being able to clear the adjacent hardware on the cabinet. That's where experience with cabinet design comes in, and that's where the ability to customize what you need your kitchen to be comes in. Graph paper frees you from the pre-sized constraints that the typical cabinet lines use.

It's the same with the typical issue of adding decorative door panel to the cabinet boxes to finish off the sides. Some lines don't have any way of doing that but adding that 3/4" as an applied door to the side after the fact, but if you're doing the cabinets, you can create that as an integral part of the side, saving you that 3/4" of an inch to be used for storage inside the cabinet. The overall dimensions won't change, but how the cabinet is constructed changes, and it's the difference in how the different lines and different software that would lock you into one approach vs. the other.

Graph paper doesn't have that issue. You're still dealing with standard appliance dimensions, and standard sizes for some things because that's how the products have evolved together to work as a system, but you're not imprisoned to someone else's measurements or ideas of measurements.

You should draw out the floor plan of your kitchen as your first exercise. Without any cabinets at all. Think meta layout of the elements first. Don't get bogged down into thinking "I want a 15" drawer base next to the range" when the position of the range itself may not be in the best spot and could be moved and the workflow improved. If you'd post your bare bones layout, you'll get lots of help from many people. It's not that people here are putting down DIYers abilities, it's just that this is SUCH an involved project that most people have no idea what they don't know about it yet. And, you haven't really shared any projects that you've worked on that could show that you really do have the DIY skillset for this. Without knowing you, it's hard for us to know what it is you know or don't know about tackling this. Building cabinets is a lot more than just making square boxes, which is something that you said that is really worrying if you think that's all there is to the job.

For instance, what tools DO you own? I'm a tool junkie myself and own plenty, mostly automotive and basic construction oriented, not woodwork specific. My talents don't lie in that direction, even though I could probably cobble together something basic if I had to, and I can do trim pretty decently. I'm better at spatial relationships and designing the project than physically creating it. I know my limitations and I'd rather let an expert do something he's done a million times and just pay him to do it rather than wasting my time and money on practice projects that turn out badly. :)

Thank you for the replies GauchoGordo1993 and live_wire_oak I had all but given up on this thread.

live_wire_oak:

That was my problem with the programs, I couldn't add specific dimensions to make them custom kitchen cabinets or they didn't have the styles I'm looking for. I'm sure the more complex software had them but that would be more difficult as well as time consuming to learn.

Thanks for the suggestions as I'm not going to start this project until the new year. We were planning on purchasing all the appliances at the end of the year but I'd like to have a plan and know that the appliances we've selected will fit perfectly.

I agree that building cabs can be difficult but it's all relative. Some may think that working on cars are hard as some won't even change their oil but it came natural to me.

As for tools, there are too many to list, but I'll mention a few.

Dewalt Biscuit Joiner.
Dewalt DW 718 12" Double Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw
Dewalt Chop Saw
Milwakee Chop Saw
Leight 4DR
Dewalt cordless drills (8)
Drill Press
Compressors (2)
Nailers (2)
Festool Router
Mikita Router
Festool Domino Joiner.
Sliding table saw.

Only to mention a few.and the automotive tools are quite a bit more since it's been a hobby all my life.

Thanks again live_wire_oak

This post was edited by Renosarefun on Wed, Oct 23, 13 at 21:30

I must confess I still don't know what it is you're looking for. I build cabinets. I draw floor plans and elevations on graph paper, utilizing a lot of tracing paper in the process. I layout the cuts for the sheet goods on graph paper. I draw the cabinets on plain paper. I make a spreadsheet using those drawings for my hardware, sheet goods, rough lumber, etc. I can't imagine any kind of drawing software that would help. I use sketchup, but not for building cabinets. Drawing it by hand is not difficult and I find it is actually helpful.