Thrifty builders' tips

[Chuckles_82]

I've been meaning to start this thread for a while, and haven't properly composed it yet, but I figured I'd get it started, and people can add their tips. I will regularly update the first post so it is easier for people to get all the tips without scanning possible pages and pages for the tips inbetween the conversation.

- When building foundations, build your outside edge, then go around the inside edge and cut out diagonal sections so that you have teeth shapes on the inside. Then, with at most 4 sqaures between, place pilons (1x1 squares of foundation) to cover the middle. Cut those in half with the diagonal tool aswell. Oila! Minimal cost of foundations

- When building a single story house, and I must stress single story, you can place the walls (if in edit in town mode, rather than with an active sim), place your roof, then remove the walls (you can't place rooves on foundations). If you have an active sim use columns instead and then sell them when the roof is done. Place foundation instead of walls for the entirety of the house, and use the CFE cheat to make them wall height. You can place dividing walls inside where needed. Use MOO to place doors and windows. Because foundations are cheaper than walls.

- The recolouring tool is your friend. Choose the cheapest $4 carpet and walls and choose just about any pattern you want. Or, use the FREE floor boards and panelling. At least then you don't shell out a thing and your sims don't get the undecorated debuff.

- Check out the topic on the beatifully decorated moodlet. There are some handy tips for getting the most out of this moodlet cheaply

That's all I can think of for now. Please add your cheap building tips!

[Sportsfan]

On the link you accidentally did a space between URL and =

Good tips! I'm a little confused about the foundation one though. what's a pilon?

[Chuckles_82]

a single 1x1 sqaure of foundation. I'll add that in for clarification. I just noticed the additional space myself too. Fixed as we speak

[Ausette]

This looks like a great topic, Chuckles! I thought it would be more appropriate on the Building and Construction board.

For cheap wall coverings, I like to use the Pool Wall under Tiling. It only costs three simoleons a tile, and it can be recoloured to anything you want. There's some free panelling under Misc that you can use instead, but for some reason any recolours of it you save cost eight simoleons to place. 

For another free flooring, you can use Flat Roof tiles. They're a good alternative to terrain paint for a driveway.

[Sportsfan]

Terrain paint is free though isn't it?

[danefaith]

Actually the first blip is incorrect.  A hollowed out foundation actually costs more than a standard.




I have no idea why, though.

[Seabody]

My biggest tip - if you're redecorating, or you've built and reconsidering a wallpaper/flooring choice - DON'T paint straight over it. If you remove the floor/wallpaper and then paint, you save money. Sometimes you make money doing it. Here's an example (copy pasta'd from another of my posts):

You make a 1x4 piece of wall and cover one side with a wallpaper that costs $2 each. You then decide against it and replace it with the same amount but it costs $1 each.
If you pasted it on, you spent $3 per segment, and $12 in total. However, if you removed it first, the game would refund part of it or all of it, so it would remove maybe $1 per piece. You go on to place a $1 per piece section on it. Therefore, you spend $2, get $1, spend $1, meaning, in total, you spent $2 per piece, or $8 in total.

This is the thread I posted it in originally.

[Twinmum]

Actually the first blip is incorrect.  A hollowed out foundation actually costs more than a standard.
....
I have no idea why, though.

Actually the foundation prices are a little crazy. It used to be that you could build the whole foundation then remove the middle section and be refunded for what you removed. Now it's all over the place in what it charges and refunds. Have a look at this thread where I showed some of the variation.

[Chuckles_82]

Actually the first blip is incorrect.  A hollowed out foundation actually costs more than a standard.

I have no idea why, though.

Gosh, I'm glad you told me that one. I've never noticed, I just figured that less foundation = less expense.

[Ausette]

Actually the first blip is incorrect.  A hollowed out foundation actually costs more than a standard.
I have no idea why, though.

Huh. Perhaps it's more expensive because it creates more walls? Speaking of walls, they're pretty expensive (seventy simoleons a piece), so it's best to use as few as possible.

Terrain paint is free though isn't it?

Yup! You'll get the Unfinished House moodlet if you use it inside instead of a floor, though.

[CSquared2]

I'll share this because I only download store content, so I know these must have come from there, but there are actually free walls and floors.  The floors fall under the wood category and there are three or four recolors premade.  The walls are under the miscellaneous category and are a metal frame filled with wide wooden boards, again with a handful of recolors.  When I start out, or if I'm strapped for cash, I un-paint the walls and un-pave the floors and get a refund and substitute them with that free stuff.  It keeps sims from getting the unfinished room moodlet without any cost at all.

ETA: In my game, these items appear as the very first option in each category, since they cost nothing and items are arranged by price, lowest to highest.

[Seabody]

I am about 93% certain that those came with Ambitions. I noticed them once I installed Ambitions, and back then I had only downloaded Riverview, if anything.

EDIT: I can't be sure because they don't have icons, so they look like they're base game content. I'm always hesitant using them if I might be uploading a house to the Swap Shop, because of this.

[Sportsfan]

They are not from store. I had them the whole time I've had the game and I didn't get store stuff til recently. I'll check to see in a bit.

[CSquared2]

I checked also and they're not labeled as store content.  I'm fairly certain they weren't in the game when I originally installed it when it came out; I remember being pleasantly surprised at a later date to find them.  They aren't labeled as belonging to a particular expansion pack, either, so my guess is they're a freebie thrown in during a patch.

[Twinmum]

Those free wall and floor coverings are not from the store, but I'm also pretty sure they didn't come with the base game, because I remember I used to always use the pool walls because they were the least expensive available then at some point these new ones turned up.
Because they don't have an icon and they show up when you use the filter to show base game items, I think they may have come out with a patch and not an EP. If that's the case it should be fine to put them in builds you upload, because providing whoever downloads them is patched up, they should see them.

Norma