Subject Sketch

[EDWARD BERRY]

ME thinks the greatest advantage of Apex is the more accurate calculation of floor space.

I do not have time to count squares on graph paper, only the meets(distance) and bounds(direction).

I put all partitions, closets, door swings (as FHA required 25 years ago)

Piece of cake.

My next project is to use the PDA, if the house is larger that one screen i will use another page, etc. (a public domain graphic program).

It cooler in the office to complete the final.

Happy bytes, ed

 

[Stone]

Now I make field drawings on a manila file jacket and then re draw with apex sketch, it isn't perfect but it's better than wet paper.

I ordered the "rite in the rain" paper last year. I have graph and blank paper from them and it is the most wonderfull product. I use their pen and it can be pouring out and the ink doesn't run. When it arrived, I went and drew on it under the sink faucet and it worked great. The blank paper goes through the laser printer just fine, so I have my inspection sheet printed on it. I keep a few graph and inspection sheets in the car and never have to worry about wet paper.

I also use apex when I get back. I stopped doing interior wall sketches a couple of years ago, when I realized that my clients couldn't care less. I simply label the rooms, unless there is some sort of functional issue with the layout.

 

[Ben Vukicevich SRA]

Yikes Ed,

Partitions and door swings on an FHA????? Not in my field office.

Does this old form bring back memories???? The 1979 2065 It was an example given out at an FHA indoctrination session....

Hell, don't you wish we could still do these today..handwritten in the field..no PDA's, computers etc.

http://us.f1.yahoofs.com/users/f30d2a46/bc...CfmYM_A4SqVxPCv

You may have to log-in to Yahoo if they won't allow direct linking from here. It's OK to have a tear......

Ben

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

Originally posted by Bobby Bucks@Aug 6 2003, 04:33 PM
... Give your self a raise and stop wasting 15 minutes per report adding all those cute walls and icons. That saved time equates to about 2 more reports per month. Time is money. I hope my favorite appraiser down Crowley way is reading this.

:lol:

Bobby, I may continue drawing interior walls just to stay under your skin for eternity. Besides I just don't feel right if I don't put those modern amenities like indoor toilets on the sketch. Actually, I probably spend less time drawing those interior walls than you do arguing with those phone monkeys wanting comp checks. Plus, I know things are laid back and slow out there, but it really does not take 15 minutes to draw interior walls in Apex, unless I have had a few too many and the chair and screen won't stop spinning. Just how long does it take for you draw out all those double wide's anyway?

 

[DianaOKC]

We're really lucky that the two counties that I work in most often have online access with sketches. I print out their sketch and then make adjustments in the field. Most often they are spot on. It sure saves me from trying to read my own drawings. I am also stuck on the old wintotal sketch as I just never really liked apex when I first tried it and haven't taken the time to relearn. Man it was hot today, over 100 again and will be for the next several days.

 

[Jo Ann Meyer Stratton]

My hint to prevent graph paper blowing away in the wind--put the bottom of the page of the tablet under the clip on the clipboard, not the glued end. Never lost a page in the spring breezes of Hobbs, NM--and if the paper stays on your clipboard in that area--the idea must work! Always have a nice smooth, solid piece of paper to write on that way--no breeze waving!

 

[larryhaskell]

To add to Jo Anne's comments, I keep a big rubber band around my clipboard in case I have a large house I can turn the graph paper over to save paper. Based on earlier comments from last winter, I followed someone's advice (Jeff Horton I believe) & I also carry a clear piece of plastic for rainy weather.

 

[Tim Hicks (Texas)]

I don't use a standard clipboard. I use a portfolio that folds over the paper in wet weather keeping it covered until it is time to write.

 

[xm39hnu]

Graph paper in the field, AppleWorks sketches in the office. Do the GLA by hand, using color fills to key complex floor plans. Keep the paperwork on the clipboard with a rubber band around the bottom margin and the clipboard. Don't inspect in the rain. Holly and yucca should be illegal, or at least heavily taxed.

We draw in the interior and bath fixtures, sometimes the kitchen layout. Door swings and windows are added from predrawn symbols and just duplicated as needed in the drawing. (This is also the method used for appliances and cabinets where it might prove helpful (i.e., functional issues or support for better (or worse) than average classification.)

Question for you more experienced folks: If room count is a characteristic of comparison in the market approach, why is it OK to leave the arrangement of those rooms out of the sketch?

Ed Berry, can you provide the name and URL of that public domain PDA graphics program you referred to?

 

[Stone]

Jim - I always label where the rooms are, I just don't draw lines for the walls anymore. I do draw some lines, particularly on older houses with non-standard (by todays construction) room divisions. I have never had a single question or complaint about only using the words instead of the lines.