I need help with my first trial with building !

[jersygirl15]

I've moved through many homes but this is the first time I try to build my own home by myself,




but I faced a problem,  I can't make a basement! ... I tried to follow the tips in the basement topic here, but when I delete the foundation and put a ladder, there's a wall and my Sims are just trapped there!
I also need to know whether the free space is too much? Should I give the rooms or the pool more space, or make more balconies?

[Saltypaws]

That is a very nice house.  Personally, I like a lot of room because of the pathing issues, so open spaces are always a good idea.  It is kind of hard to put a basement in when you already have an existing foundation.  I just go right outside the door and make my basement and make a nice entryway to the stairs.  It looks like you have pretty much taken up all of the lot, maybe reduce one section just enough to make a door outside.  Or you could delete a portion of the foundation on the inside of the house and make the stairs that way, but that would take away your openness.

[Leto85]

There is a patch available to build basements underneath houses like this. With houses like this, I mean houses that are not build on the basement type that need a chair to access the first floor from the ground.
First I thought those only came with World Adventures or Ambitions, but I believe it was Pam who had pointed out for me in another post that there is also a patch available.

If you can't find it yourself you could consider asking her where to find it.

[samoht04]

It was included in a normal patch you didn't have to download a special patch for that one ability.

[Leto85]

It was included in a normal patch you didn't have to download a special patch for that one ability.

Than jersygirl15 must have overlooked it in the building catagorie ingame.

@jersygirl15: is that it, what I've mentioned right above here?

[jersygirl15]

I'm sorry but I don't really understand the question!
You mean if I have a special patch for basements? Or I have basements in my normal game!

[Leto85]

I'm sorry but I don't really understand the question!
You mean if I have a special patch for basements? Or I have basements in my normal game!

I wasn't really clear with my question I see now. What I was curious about to know is if you somehow have overlooked the basement tool in Build Mode? Because, you must have it in your game, after installing the latest patch.

[jersygirl15]

Yes it's there but I think the problem is in the way I'm using it! After putting a ladder I get lost !

[Pam]

Yes it's there but I think the problem is in the way I'm using it! After putting a ladder I get lost!

I'm not sure what you mean by a ladder.  Do you mean stairs?

As others mention, it's difficult to put basement with indoor stairs in a house already built with a foundation.  It can be done, but it's complicated, especially for a beginning builder.  I recommend Saltypaws' suggestion to have your basement entrance outside the house.  I've had my basement stairs in the back yard with a bit of fence around the opening and decorated with flower bushes.  Your Sims have to exit the house to get to the basement, but it works just fine.

Very nice house, by the way.  I like how you have the furniture placed at unusual angles in the rooms. 

[LlamaMama]

I came up with the same solution Pam mentioned, with fencing and flowers surrounding the exterior stairs down to the basement. I've also done it another way, building a small detached shed which houses the stairs. The door to the shed can be locked and have a burglar alarm.

[pallyndrome]

I just realised that the pool goes under the house. That's so cool!

What I did with my basement is I put the stairs down from ground level to the basement just outside the house, then surrounded it in foundation and walls so it's part of the house, put stairs from foundation to the ground level in line with the basement stairs, and wala! lol I don't know how to spell wala

[Pam]

I just realised that the pool goes under the house. That's so cool!

What I did with my basement is I put the stairs down from ground level to the basement just outside the house, then surrounded it in foundation and walls so it's part of the house, put stairs from foundation to the ground level in line with the basement stairs, and wala! lol I don't know how to spell wala

Voilą. 

[samoht04]

What I did with my basement is I put the stairs down from ground level to the basement just outside the house, then surrounded it in foundation and walls so it's part of the house, put stairs from foundation to the ground level in line with the basement stairs, and wala! lol I don't know how to spell wala

I did the same for the Characters because I couldn't get the stairs to go down through the hole in the existing foundation so I made a new room around it.

[Leto85]

I just realised that the pool goes under the house. That's so cool!

What I did with my basement is I put the stairs down from ground level to the basement just outside the house, then surrounded it in foundation and walls so it's part of the house, put stairs from foundation to the ground level in line with the basement stairs, and wala! lol I don't know how to spell wala

Funny! Wala is Arabian I thought, wich should mean something like 'by god' or something quite the same. At my highschool, the Marokan people mostly used 'wala' before saying something that the other person must convince to be true. That way, 'wala' could maybe mean something like 'without a doubt.'

Anyway, why is it so difficult to place a basement underneath a prebuild house? You can drag the line while being on the first floor, and everything that would take the size of the basement will turn blue. Drag it, left-click the mouse and 'voilą', you're done.

Wala, that is easy!

[Saltypaws]

They are talking about house with a foundation to it.  You can do it, but you have to have the room to make a basement, same principal applies, say you want to put stairs towards one side of living room, move any objects that might be in the way.  Delete a section of foundation, put stairs on any side, go down a level and build your basement, find a spot where you cut out your foundation, place stairs, there will be a platform where your first level is so you need to carpet the area.  You can build a wall with a door, sort of like a stair well or decorate it with those partitions.  It takes up alot of space to do this, I have done it before on an existing house, but it has to be a  big house.  The only problem, you have to go down two levels to get to the basement, but that does not bother me in the least.