Paging Kitchen designers: Possible to import appliance models from Home Depot?

In the  design part of a kitchen remodel.  

As with all things I am not smart enough to just hand the job to an expert and write a check. So involved in the design stage.

Back when I worked for a living, there was this Cad program called Solidworks that let me import all kinds of hardware and sub-components at the click of a button; I could build entire machines by selecting motors and gears and screws and what-not from vendor websites. 

The new Kitchen is being designed with a graphics package called 20-20. Does anyone know if Home Depot products can be downloaded to test fit into the design?

I'm not familiar with 20-20, so I don't know what kind of file formats it can import.

With any luck, it will accept DXFs or better yet DWGs or RFAs.

DXF is a fairly universal 3D vector based drawing format

Autodesk is the 900-lb gorilla in the room.  95% of all architects and a decent percentage of interior designers use either AutoCAD (DWG files) or Revit (RFA files for objects).  That means manufacturers tend strongly toward publishing their objects in those 2 formats.  Some are great and publish in a variety of formats.

Step 1:  Figure out what you can import into your kitchen design software.

Step 2:  Search for your appliances make and model number with "DWG" and "RFA" or "Revit" included, or whatever file extensions your software will accept.  I very much doubt that Home Depot hosts these resources for public download, but many name-brand manufacturers do, including appliance, plumbing fixture, and cabinet manufacturers.

You will probably need to go direct to the manufacturers' websites and look for the professional resources section.  There are also a number of aggregators such as ArCat that may bring links together.

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask more questions.

In reply to Duke :

So in theory it might be as easy as it was with Solidworks if I can find a supplier who supports the idea. 

So far I cant find any hints that Home Depot does. Feels wrong when I think of how important it was to mechanical component suppliers to have this option if they wanted you to integrate their parts. I guess I could ask Home Depot and hope that I get someone with a clue.

I know nothing about that 20-20 design program, but a general rule of thumb is that all pre-built cabinets and cupboards come in 3" width increments starting at 9". A corner Lazy Susan is 36"x36". A matching corner upper cupboard is 24"x24".

The top of the counter top is 36". The bottom of the cupboards is 18" above the counter top or 54" (4'-6") above the floor and are usually 30" or 36" tall but come in 3" increments starting at 12" tall. Typical soffits are 84" (7'-0") so their matching cupboards are 30" tall.

Over the range microwave/exhaust hoods typically are 18" above the range but Mrs Heretic isn't all that tall so I put hers at 16" after chopping up her 70 year old built-in-place cupboard. 15" above the range would also work.

Start installing the cabinets/cupboards at the inside corner and fill in any gaps at the end of a run filled in with ripped-down end filler boards.

Edit: Ranges fit in a 30" cabinet space. Dishwashers in 24". Built-in ovens in 24" or 30". French door fridges in 36". 

You can design your kitchen with graph paper easily enough and then take it into the Home Depot kitchen lady and she will make it work and be able to suggest the best layout for food preparation work flow.

There are golden rules to kitchens, something about triangles...

Edit 2: Base cabinets are 24" deep and wall cupboards are 12" deep. I'm pretty sure all these measurements are the same in Canada.

Edit 3.1: Islands need 3'-6" between the cabinet faces of the island and the other cabinet's faces along the walls, not between the counter tops. NEVER put a sink, stove top or anything else in an Island counter top. Screwed down islands need an outlet in them. If there isn't enough room for an island and the walk-through/around space, I have no problem with putting the island on wheels, as long as there are no sex acts performed on the island, (that could cause them to flip over). 

No-Homes, give me accurate finished wall to finished wall dimensions of your kitchen including any doors and windows edges, or centers, and what you kind of want and I will draw up a 3D view of your existing structural room and design a kitchen. Well two, the one you want and the one I think you need.  It's the least I can do for a guy that can turn a Volvo 1800ES into a V8 powered 1800 Miata. Take lots and lots of pictures, some straight on and some fancy angle views.

Everybody here can chime in and help.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

Thank you for the design help. It was helpful when I did the deck and lord knows I can use all the backup I can get.

The project is confined to this space.

The sliding door goes to the deck and the pocket door to the living area.

Some images of what the wife-unit is envisioning.

What I would like to try is to populate the images with the actual appliances that we like.  Besides that there are a thousand details to be addressed i before ordering cabinets. 

Ensure that fridge door will open, we ran into that. It fit by a couple of inches, but the big refrigerator we wanted, one door would only open to about 40° because of the way it hinges into the wall.

In reply to z31maniac :

Hence the desire to insert the actual appliance into the design concept. 

The project is my wife working with a young designer  ( student) who is  friend of the family. Myself and the Wife-Unit have always employed the Marxist antithesis-dielectic design method that goes like this: (It works for us)

Wife: "What do you think of this?" 

Me: "I like it" 

Wife: "I hate it". I'm going with THIS option no matter what you think"

Me: (inside voice) "Good, we got that sorted and it wont be my fault when it goes up in flames" "Next..."

In reply to z31maniac :

It looks like whoever did that layout is allowing for a 2" filler between the fridge and the wall, so that's good.

Pretty much just have to go to HD and measure how much space you need with the door open 90d.

Looking that layout over in general, it's pretty decent for the size and opening restrictions.  It's going to be tight but pretty functional.

The only thing I might suggest is to extend the counter on the right wall another 15" and put a trash bin cabinet under it, unless there is other provision for refuse in the plan already.  That would give you another 15" wall cabinet for storage above, to, if you want it.

In reply to NOHOME :

I'm afraid AutoCad is much more generic than the program that drew your kitchen. I even had to make my own french door fridge and corner Lazy Susan corner cabinet.

It's odd that the kitchen design program they used measures the wall to the outside dimensions which doesn't really mean anything. Can you measure the inside finished wall to finished wall dimensions both ways at each corner? If you can't measure at the corners, than anywhere close.

I think that I would push the range over towards the pocket door and install a dish washer between the range and corner Lazy Susan while also squaring off the angled cabinet on the right side of the range. You could also extend the cabinets on the right wall by widening the tall pantry cabinets. 

Sorry it's taken so long to get this done, I have been busy trying to get all of my fall projects finished after hurting my back 5 months ago and while pulling a weed out of my yard and while waiting for the doctors to figure out what to do for me, it kind of healed itself.

1) I need the inside of finished wall to inside of finished wall measurements between the kitchen walls.

2) I will take some photos of my LG counter depth French door fridge which is enclosed in the same type of enclose except mine isn't butted up against a wall. A 2" space isn't enough room for my fridge to open 90 degrees before the door handle would hit the wall. It wouldn't matter with my shallow fridge as the soda pop drawer doesn't extend enough to interfere with the door. I don't think that you could pull out the draw completely to wash it however.

3) So, no dishwasher?

4) Depending what the actual interior bottom wall measurement is, I would maybe move the range to the right and add a 24" dishwater on the left side of the range looking at the floor plan. I would put cabinets all of the way up to the pocket door.

5) Which way is North on the floor plan for future reference?

6) Is there a formal dining room and/or will there be a table in the kitchen?

7) Ever think about getting rid of the table and using an island to eat at?

8) I think you could get away with having a 21" tall cupboard over your sink which would make it more useful.

I'm pretty sure 20-20 is the standard design software used by both Home Depot and Lowe's.

I know it can import specific products. They both use it to import their specific product lines. But I'm not sure of exactly how that works (like how possible is it to import products that are not in their inventory, or how difficult is it to customize)

I've done hundreds of kitchens. The easiest design method I know is to walk into any big box store and ask them for their help. (Just did it this week- took about 30 minutes).   I usually go in with a decent starting sketch and tell them what I want and they just draw it for me (with their product lines).  Their design specialist is usually pretty good (about 80% of the time), and they can usually catch me at a detail or two I overlooked, or offer a suggestion I didn't think of.  That's helpful.

The catch is that they don't like to release detailed drawings until they have your signature on a contract.  I can usually talk my way around this (and walk out with drawings).  I don't think I would win 3D drawings that way, but I don't actually like 3D drawings anyway.

Good luck!

Couple quick questions...

- Do the major appliances need to stay in these locations?

- Are you really gonna use a 27" sink base?    That's way undersized- no standard kitchen sink will fit.

- Cabinets over the sink are unusual (but I understand with your limited space)

- Any chance of moving the doorway?  You could massively improve the workspace by getting that door out of the corner. You'd lose 2' of counter next to the stove, but you'd gain 5'-9" of counter on that blank wall (or actual tall  pantry cabinets)

I'm not sure what you are doing in the corner upper cabinet- looks like a standard wall cabinet (but has no label).  Consider an actual upper corner cabinet. 

If the stove can be moved, it would work much better in the RH wall. Put the door where the stove is. 
 

Add a cabinet over the fridge. 
 

Im really not sure what that label is trying to tell me on the base cabinet next to the fridge. Is starts looking like a 15" drawer base, but then looks like it becomes a Greek translation of a Chinese hieroglyph rendered in Assyrian.

No dishwasher?  No microwave?

I'm pretty sure Duke is right. I doubt HD will supply the downloadable files. 

So, finally looking at the original kitchen floor plan and mine next to each other, I see that the dimensions that appear to be outside of wall dimensions are actually inside of wall.  I will finish the other side of the room.

I also agree 100% with SV reX.

Are we assuming 36" width for the fridge in the original plan? That seems like a lot of food storage for a smaller kitchen.

Would a bottom freezer configuration be an option?

You still get all of the access benefits of a standard french door, and this example is 26 cuft, but it's only 33 inches wide.

Narrowing the fridge footprint by 3 inches will add 3 more inches of counter space, plus 3 inches more storage in both the lower and upper cabinets.

OR

That 3" of width can be added to the sink base, for a 30" width instead of the 27" width. That extra space could be a big deal with no dishwasher.

Either of those options sound like they'd add way more functionality to a small kitchen than an extra cubic ft or two of food storage.

And if the narrower fridge is an option, it might be nice to see it modeled with the back on the top wall, just to the left of the sliding door.

If you've got just over 5ft from the corner to the sliding door, and the fridge is 33" wide, you might be able to just barely squeeze more cabinets/counter space into the area where the fridge currently sits.

Might run into issues with fridge depth causing problems , or simply making things feel too claustrophobic, but I'd want to see it in electron form just to consider all possible options for maximizing storage and working space. I really like SVRex's idea of moving the door too, but that is a more invasive route.

And just to add to the issues, a 36" wide x 36" deep french door fridge won't fit through the 2'-6" pocket door or the sliding patio door. I'm not sure if a 36" wide x 32" deep counter depth french door fridge will fit either even if you take off the fridge doors.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

Most standard depth refrigerators can be stripped down to a cabinet that's under 30" deep after removing doors, brackets, etc.

The skinny door would be annoyingly tight for my taste just for daily use, but it might not be a deal breaker for a fridge. But the prints make it seem like it could probably be widened 2-4" without much issue, which could be a nice change.

In reply to STM317 :

Thanks STM317, yes, I would like a 32" swing door in the corner if not in the middle of the kitchen if it would fit like SV reX mentioned. I don't know how to hang cabinets onto a hollowed out pocket door. Do you even need a door or would just an opening be OK? 

It would be nice to see a couple of photos of the kitchen.

How about something like this but with a 28" counter depth french door fridge? I would also recommend just an opening instead of the door, depending what's on the other side of the door.

In reply to VolvoHeretic :

That is close to one of the designs we are considering.

The plumbing is already in place where you put the stove, but that is not a huge deal with a complete tear-out.

The missus already ahead of you on the fridge selection. Our current deep fridge seems to fill up with random condiments at the back that get tossed out eventually. The smaller fridge might avoid some of that waste.

Not going to have a dishwasher; have not used the one we have in many years.

The door to the kitchen is a pocket door. I really like the option of closing the pocket door to the rest of the house and opening the sliding door when I reverse sear a steak on the stove; the smoke is amazing!

No need for any sitting space in this kitchen.

By the way, i had not noticed that the measurement I show are for the outside of the walls. I have no idea how they could be accurate when measuring from inside the room, but they are when I go back and measure myself. I have to ask about that next time I see the person who did the drawing.

Thanks for taking the time to do the layout. Sending to the little woman.