Roofing question

[Frey]

I'm trying to build this house: http://www.theplancollection.com/house-plans/home-plan-9232
Well, actually I'mn not trying to make it exactly the same, since I'm adapting it to my sims' needs... but I would like it to look as similar as possible from the front side of the house. I already managed to get the attached garage and the stair through the foundation to the basement  (I'm so proud of myself!).

Anyway, I have a question for more experienced builders: how can I get that little three-sided roof to the left of the entrance door to look right in the game? I tried octogonal roof, and using several sections of diagonal roof, but it looks really odd. Roofing isn't really my strongest skill in building so I'm at a loss here. Is it actually possible?

Thanks in advance! 

[norenegonc]

Hey Frey (it rhymes hah)! I am no guru on roofs, but from what I can see the best way might be to create an octagonal roof with a gable. Create the octagonal roof on the front, but only cover the front half of this room and then create a gable or tall gable (whichever gives you the right look) and then adjust the roof heights to match and align. It might be a bit off in terms of how many sides show in the front, but it should create a very similar look. Cheers

[Twinmum]

Yes, a combined roof is probably the best bet. I can't put a link in at the  moment because I'm on my ipod, but if you go to the links across the top and click on the one for The Sims 3 Guide, you will get a drop down menu. Select build and edit. From that page, select Roofs and down that first. Page, I show an example of a roof similar to what you want to do.

[samoht04]

Yes, a combined roof is probably the best bet. I can't put a link in at the  moment because I'm on my ipod, but if you go to the links across the top and click on the one for The Sims 3 Guide, you will get a drop down menu. Select build and edit. From that page, select Roofs and down that first. Page, I show an example of a roof similar to what you want to do.

Here is the Link to the Main Roof Page. I also looked on Roof Tips Page and saw something further down where Twinmum combined an ordinary roof with the octagonal style as well. That might be useful.

[Frey]

It worked!  in the end I used an octogonal roof at the front and then a tall gable to the middle of the section. Then I adjusted the heights of both so that they looked as just one roof section and... ta-da!

You're all the best 
Maybe when I get to finish the house I will upload some pics to the showboat thread  Right now I'm not doing it because I'm puting the wall coverings and honestly it looks hideous so far   

Thanks to all!

[norenegonc]

Anytime

[Hosfac]

It worked!  in the end I used an octogonal roof at the front and then a tall gable to the middle of the section. Then I adjusted the heights of both so that they looked as just one roof section and... ta-da!

You're all the best 
Maybe when I get to finish the house I will upload some pics to the showboat thread  Right now I'm not doing it because I'm puting the wall coverings and honestly it looks hideous so far   

Thanks to all!

Why not post a screen shot if you get a moment?  I'd love to see how well this worked out.  Roofing is still something that gives me a hair pulling moment or two (I can do it, but usually only after I play around with it for hours lol).

[Frey]

Sure, here it is then  .



The wall coverings are looking a bit better now but they still look plain and boring... I've been struggling with the patterns and colors but I still haven't found a combination that works. The windows, stairs and roof patterns are not right either and I haven't even started with the landscaping, so it's pretty much a big empty boring shell for now, and it's not looking as similar to the pic as I would want... but I'm getting to it, I think. I never build much in the game, so I think it's ok for a start  .

Anyway, the octogonal roof looks good I think, it gives an interesting look to it. I'm not so sure about the rest of the roofing though. It's not as pretty as in the picture, but I doubt it ever will be, since we don't have those roof "decorations" in the game.

[Hosfac]

Yes, I think that did turn out well.  The only thing that looks weird to me is the right side of the upper most roof (directly above the garage) being so much lower than the left side.  Other than that, I think the roof at least looks fantastic.

[Agneza]

Frey - your work with roofs is great ! I think it would be good if you change the roofs color to grey. Maybe some of the masonry pattern will be good for the outside walls..  Light yellow walls will look nice with grey roofs. You can recolor windows to grey too.  it's only my sugestion after I saw a plan house.

[Frey]

Thanks to both . I have to say roofs are mostly a pain to me! Not too long ago I was still using auto-roofs because I couldn't figure out how the roof tools worked  . Yay for the roofing guide!

Anyway, I agree, the right side of the roof looks weird, it's just that when I make it higher it looks odd too, it kind of pops out through the left side of the roof. I'm figuring out how to fix that.. maybe making the right side higher and the left side a bit lower, I think. I will post a pic later when I fix it.

I will also try the grey roof and light yellow walls . Windows and doors are white because at first I tried to recreate the house's original wall covering and all, then I just didn't like how it looked and started looking for something else. I probably will recolor them to grey or light brown, they look kind of boring in white, in my opinion.

EDIT

OK, I finally fixed the right side of the roof. The second floor was too assymetrical at the back and that was why the taller roof looked odd, so I  remodeled a little bit upstairs and it worked . I still have to fix windows and patterns and all that, but it looks better already. I have another question for you though:  I noticed that the front side of the roof had a hole in it so I had to build it again. I think I like the second one better, but I miss the covered porche a little  . I guess I could also keep the original front roof, if I figure out how to cover the hole. So, what looks better?

[Hosfac]

I've always been a big fan of covered porches, but I don't think this porch is big enough to make it look right if it covers the door as well.  So I think the second picture looks better.  And I can't really tell:  you are using the half-gable roof for the window awning section on the front, right?

I think the color theme is absolutely perfect.  It's very pleasant to look at.  The only thing I would change is maybe the actual patterns you're using.  The big block brick face you're using doesn't seem to fit...it makes the house look a bit less interesting.  I would experiment with a couple of the smaller brickwork patterns by recoloring them with the theme you're using now.  You could even experiment with some of the fabric textures and use the pool wall to try to create a stucco look for those areas (but I think brick might be a closer fit).  I'd also eventually considering doing something to make the foundation a little more obvious (using a different pattern of brick, or one of those brick wall coverings that has the border at the top), and maybe use a vertical slat paneling on the porch, recolored to match the stairs and rails.  But don't bother with any of that until you're completely satisfied with the actual structure of the house. 

All in all, this is an extremely charming build that I'm convinced you'll be able to turn into something special. 

[Frey]

Thanks Hosfac

Yes, it's the tall gable roof. The normal gable wouldn't go to the front because the section is rather square, so I used the tall one and adjusted the height so that it wouldn't be too tall.

I actually changed the wall coverings already and I think it looks much better. I think it could still be better, but I kind of have the perfectionist trait so I doubt I'll ever be a 100% satisfied  . In the end I downloaded some patterns from The Fat Strawberry and made them into Sims patterns with the Pattern tool. I used a yellowish stucco with a grey mossy stone pattern.



I wanted to play around a little with the terrain elevation around the foundations, but it didn't work, even without the plants and windows. I didn't even try with CFE because I was afraid it would ruin the rest of the house, so I just gave up. I may recolor the foundations though, but I think I'm going to finish the rest of the landscaping first and then decide about that  . Thanks for the help and tips!

[warr2098]

You MUST upload that house its a star! 

[Frey]

Thanks warr!! Maybe I will! I was having some crashing issues that I just fixed, so I haven't finished it yet. I will have to take a look at the Swap Shop rules though, the house has custom patterns (made by myself though) and I have no idea what the rules say about them