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The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

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03 11 17 7 51 43 PM

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

In Sims 4 rooftops is an aspect of building that tends to get overlooked by new builders.  While in many ways, building overall is easier in Sims 4, roofing is one that can be a bit of a challenge.  We no longer have an “auto-roof” feature, and roof styles are still a little limited even after 3 expansion packs and 4 game packs.  However, the features that are available are easy to use, and tend to be less finicky than it’s predecessors.

If you’re new to building, this article explores how to take one fairly basic house and make it more interesting with different styles of rooftops that are easy to create.   No custom content is used, and the only cheat turned on is “bb.moveobjects on”.

Some general tips:

  1. Use the cheat code “bb.moveobjects on” to place objects where they are normally restricted by the game.
  2. Don’t forget about the roof trim.
  3. Don’t worry about creating unused rooms to make the tops of the houses more interesting.
  4. Use friezes and build decor liberally.
  5. Be inspired: look up at the roof tops in your real life neighbourhood.

Roof 1 (Gabled):

Here’s our base house:

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

This is a basic 2 bedroom house on a 30×20 lot in Newcrest.  It has the familiar gabled roof, my go-to rooftop for most of my builds.

The layout is a rectangle. Nothing too spectacular.

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

 Roof 2 (Gambrel):

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

This really simple adjustment changes the entire look of the house.   This gambrel roof was created by simply using the roof curve function, changing the roof pattern and trim and adding the weather vane roof decor object from Get Together.  The round window makes use of the empty space and is a bit of a contrast to the blocky windows on the levels below it.

sims 4 roof 1

Tip: Windows,weather vanes and finials are like jewelry; when dressing your home, never forget the accessories.

Roof 3 (Dormers):

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

Roof 3 is another easy roof top.  Build it by turning the existing gable 90° and adjusting it to fit the roof.  Add another smaller gable perpendicular to the large roof to create a dormer.

sims 4 roof 2

Roof 4 (Mansard):

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

If you like a more classic “Second Empire” look to your home, you can try building a mansard roof.  Do this in game using the half-hipped roof.

  1. Build a smaller room on the roof about one or two squares from the edge of the building
  2. Line up a half-hipped roof against the wall and adjust the length and height.
  3. Copy this roof and use it for the other edges of the building, adjusting the length as needed

Sims 4 Roof Building

Sims 4 Rooftops Mansard Roof

Tip: Use friezes and trims to create interesting roof tops.  Most friezes can be used on the middle and highest wall height and are added to the top of a level.  Exterior trims are only added to the bottom of a level, so you will need to create a “space” above the top level to use these. You might use exterior trims instead of friezes if your upper level is the shortest height, or if you’d just like to use a smaller or less ornate frieze.

sims 4 rooftops difference between friezes and trims

Roof 5 (Modern):

Sims 4 rooftops - a leanto roof

A very easy roof with a big impact. It already makes the house look more modern even though nothing else about the building  was changed.

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

Roof 6 (A Tower):

Sims 4 rooftops with a tower

To give your house a little bit of Victorian schoolhouse charm, add a tower!   One of the easiest ways to determine when a building was built or it’s architectural influence is to look at it’s roof top.

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

  1. Build a square room above your highest level.
  2. Copy this room and stack it above. Delete the ceiling of this room and replace the walls with fencing.
  3. Add a mansard roof. Use the curve tool to adjust the curvature of the roof if you’d like.
  4. Add wall texture, a frieze, and a window.

Of course, all of these are basic examples with self-imposed limitations (e.e. not touching the house at all), but it shows how many looks even the simplest of lots can have.  Once you get comfortable with building, you will find yourself incorporating the roof in the planning stages of your layout.  You’ll also be more comfortable with making adjustments along the way, finding out what works, and what does not.  Soon you’ll be addicted to building and creating elaborate rooftops like the example below.  (I call this lot “So Many Gables”).

The Sims 4 Building Tips: One House, Six Rooftops

Just have fun with your builds and share what you’ve got!  If you have any other fun tips to share, let us know in the comments!

Find the full speed roof building video on Youtube here:  Sims 4 Building Tips – Rooftops

About the author

Jovan

Reticulating splines...

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