Design Houses, where do I go from here?

Question

I've designed about 20+ houses since '94 (pure talent....no schooling). I was told by contractors, that I don't need to spend 5 yrs. in college to get Mechanical Engineering training, because it'll be a waste of time. So....some of my drawings are as big as 18"x24", and in order to copyright the floor plans is to shrink them, but that'll be VERY expensive.

How do I transfer my plans to some kind of CAD program without redrawing? I've just got so many questions about who to talk to, where to go, and what to do next.......I don't want to be taken advantage of before I get my stuff copyright protected.

I didn't even know it was Civil Engineering...they never even TOLD me that! One of the Universities that offer Mechanical said that I'd have to go the 5th yr. to get my Architectural Certification.

Now I'm really clueless!

Answer 1

From your post I assume that you have hand drafted plans.
There is currently no way to convert raster images to vector based drawings (which is what CAD drawings are). Some of the information will import, but editing is still required

Also, seeing as how you are a "residential designer" you only need to be licensed if you want to design houses over a certain square foot size or cost.

So a bachelors degree of architecture or structural engineering really won't benefit you much if you already have success with your designs. A degree in Architecture or structural engineering would allow you to design much larger and more complex designs and possibly refine your design process. The process to get registered as an architect is quite costly and time consuming. A minimum of 5 years of university education + a minimum of 4 years as an intern + some tests to pass. If you are already working and making a decent living....why? What that career path would give you is the chance, and only a chance in a very competitive market with very few positions to work your way towards architectural registration. Not many architects spend their energy on residential anyway. They are focused on commercial architecture and large custom residential typically.

It was my understanding that your designs should fall under intellectual property rights which means you technically don't need a copyright. Your contract of sale should spell out these points about plan ownership, etc. Not that any home design is really that unique. Unless you are designing "falling water" type designs most homes are all pretty similar. What you don't want are opportunistic contractors using your plans more than once for one fee.

If you are wanting to put your designs on line then converting your drawings to CAD is a step I can not see avoiding because the conversion to web friendly format is so easy once the drawing is in CAD format and reproducibles are much more convenient among many other advantages.

Answer 2

Why not just photograph them using a digital camera and resize them that way ? You can copyright the sketch ( plans) and that's all that will be protected. You cannot protect the floorplan and give yourself exclusive rights to it. By the way I'd find better contractors they are giving you bum legal advice and mechanical engineers don't do floorplans of houses. Architecture by the way was a 6 year degree at my college. It mixes structural engineering and design for esthetics.

Answer 3

" I was told by contractors, that I don't need to spend 5 yrs. in college to get Mechanical Engineering training, because it'll be a waste of time."

It's generally 4, and if you don't, you'll be paying an engineer to approve your designs. (And it's usually structural, not mech, doing the approving, and they usually have degrees in CIVIL)

Go to school for architecture. You'll still pay an engineer to approve your drawings, but you're going to be able to get a job.

As for copyrighting them, the LOC expects full-size reproductions. You can ge size C repros at a custom copyshop.

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ41.html
The above document is how to copyright architectural plans.

Answer 4

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