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How to Build a House in Sims 4

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how to build a house in sims 4

Imagining life in any game without a base is hard. Players need a safe space, especially in a game like Sims 4, that they can call their own. They can also have a baby and settle down with their family in the same house. But building a house can be an overwhelming task if you don’t know how to access the Build Mode. Luckily, we’ve covered everything you need to know to build a house in Sims 4 in this guide.

How to Enter Build Mode in Sims 4

Build Mode in Sims 4
Image via The Sims 4

Build Mode is the place where you can buy every stuff, including house parts. Players familiar with the Build Modes in previous Sims titles might notice a change in Sims 4. This is because of the enhanced user interface and newly added features. Moreover, the game now detects rooms and automatically adds floors and ceilings to the rooms. Players must enter the Build Mode to start building the house.

Firstly, press F3, a menu will appear on the top right of the screen. Next, select the hammer option from the menu, and you will enter the Build Mode. In Build Mode, players will see a grid on their land and an icon of a house on the bottom left of the screen. By interacting with different icons on the menu, players can start building their homes from scratch.

Every item placed or built has a cost. As long as a player is in Build Mode, they can replace or remove any of them, without worrying about the cost. If they leave the mode, the stuff gets placed permanently, and it requires extra money to replace or demolish them.

How to Construct a House in Sims 4

Select a Plot of Land

Sims 4 offers players a wide variety of worlds, with the DLCs increasing the tally even more. However, players cannot build their houses in every world. The game allows players to start construction on the worlds available with the base game — Willow Creek and Oasis Springs. 

There are three empty plots of land in each of these worlds. Players can buy them in the range of $2000 to $5500. The price depends on the size of the land and the quality of neighbors in that area. Also, a lot of pre-built houses are available in Sims 4, enabling players to buy any of them. In that case, players simply need to buy land and place their fully-fledged home on it.

Foundations

foundations in sims 4
Image via The Sims 4

There is no foundation when players start building houses. To raise the house to some extent, the Foundation tool in the building menu comes in handy. Upon selecting the Foundation tool, the menu shows available foundation designs, and also shows a slider to adjust the altitude of the foundation.

Additionally, a built foundation is applied to all buildings on a particular land. Using the design menu, players can apply distinct designs under different rooms. But, to apply a single finish all around the house, players need to do it separately for every room.

Make Rooms Using Build Mode

Image via The Sims 4

After selecting the land, the game will transition into the Live Mode. Sims will walk around and observe their new place in this mode, and when they are done, you can open the Build Mode to make rooms.

Rooms are the fundamental building blocks in Sims 4. In the earlier Sims titles, rooms were built by placing four walls separately, which was very time-consuming. Therefore, players are given a room tool for ease of building in Sims 4. To use the room tool, drag out the size of the desired room and click wherever you want to place it.

Like pre-built houses, premade rooms are also available in the Build Mode. You can use these rooms to select any of the room shapes and make your desired house structure.

Build Ceilings

ceilings in sims 4
Image via The Sims 4

Apart from the rooms, your house needs to have ceilings. Players can add or remove the ceiling from a room when selected. To add a ceiling, use the select tool to highlight room borders, then move to the next building level. Like the floor view, a yellow frame will be visible to players. Click on the border to get a popup to make a ceiling. Players can’t place Roofs until they build ceilings.

Make Roofs

roofs in sims 4
Image via The Sims 4

In Sims 4, the Roof might be a tricky part for players looking to build their house. They can build either a flat ceiling or an appealing one. Choose from the available Roof styles and adjust them in the desired way. Players must ensure that the room has a ceiling for the Roof to be placed properly.

As of now, we have a total of eight types of Roofs. Four are distinct, and the other four are their diagonal versions:

  1. Half Gable Roof
  2. Gabled Roof
  3. Half Hipped Roof
  4. Hipped Roof

Resizing a Room

Image via The Sims 4

Players can see arrows on every wall of a room. Grab the arrow on the wall you want to move and drag it inside or outside accordingly to change the room size. For furnished rooms, moving the wall will move any object close to it. These items will move into your inventory if they don’t fit your room.

Lights in the House

Image via The Sims 4

Adding proper lights is a crucial part of completing your house. For that, each room must have at least one light source. Players can add additional lighting in their place by making windows and adding electric bulbs.

Amazingly, you can add invisible lights to your room by simply applying “bb.showhiddenobjects” cheat. After implementing the cheat, go to filters, choose content and debug. It will show multiple lights according to wall and ceiling sizes. 

Furnish Your House in Sims 4

Till now, you have built only the structure of the house, and it is not enough if someone is going to live inside. Like humans, Sims require more than just an empty compartment.

Moreover, Sims demand to fill the place, according to their aspirations, with wall decorations, paintings, and some expensive stuff like that. Players can purchase this stuff later in the game when they have more money. To buy more stuff you can do the following:

  1. Go to the Styled Rooms sections of the menu to check out some pre-built rooms. These rooms contain different items that are necessary for the survival and hygiene of Sims. Players can select these rooms and add any item of their choice.
  2. Select the Rooms button on the bottom left menu of the screen, below the Build option. This will display a catalog of different items. Choose from these items and place them anywhere in the room.
  3. Select the Function button, below Objects by Rooms. This will show a bunch of items categorized by their function, like a variety of beds, tables, or decorations. It’s the best option to find something specific to add to the house.

What Are the Necessary Items for a House in Sims 4

Finally, a home is built by people and not just bricks. Sims’ houses should represent their personalities and can vary from player to player. With that in mind, here are some of the basic requirements a house needs in Sims 4:

  • A Bed
  • Side table
  • Couch
  • Light sources
  • Microwave
  • Fridge
  • Smoke alarm
  • Bathtub
  • A mirror
  • Television
  • A sink
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AUTHOR

Nikhil grew up playing Street Fighter II on SNES and developed a love for games at an early age. Now, he enjoys writing about the games he spent countless hours playing.