The Sims 4 Building Tutorials:

Making Nice Roofs

by Norma Blackburn

Sims 4 Building How-To's: Roofs
Click to Enlarge. Many builders falter when it comes to building a roof on their Sim houses, but it needn't be a chore.

Roofs

With the base game, we are somewhat limited in the available roof pieces, but as the game progresses, more choice may be added. For now, we have eight choices of roof pieces made up of four different pieces and then a diagonal version of each one.

Gabled Roof

A basic roof, the gable can form the basis of many different roofs and is characterized by a triangular section of wall on two ends with two sloped roof sections.

Half Gable

As the name suggests, it is half of a full gable with only one roof section. The half gable is useful where a lower level of the building extends out from the upper level. A half gable can be placed against the upper wall.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: gable and half gable roof
Click to Enlarge. A gable and a half gable roof
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Hipped Roof

The hipped roof has four sections of roof. On a square building, the four pieces will meet at a point in the middle and on a rectangular roof, the two longer pieces will meet along a ridge with a smaller piece at each end.

Half Hipped

Half of a full hipped roof with only three roof pieces, the half hipped is similar to the half gable and useful for butting up against a wall.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: hipped and half hipped roof
Click to Enlarge. A hipped and a half hipped roof

Flat roof

Although the game does not actually offer us a flat roof option, we can still achieve that look if desired. To add a flat roof to a building, you will need to add an empty room on the upper level. This room needs to be the shape and size of the desired roof, so you may need to combine several empty rooms together. Once there is a room on the upper level, you can add floor covering and a wall trim to the outer edge.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: empty room with wall trim makes an interesting roof
Click to Enlarge. An empty room on the floor above together with a wall trim makes an interesting roof

Combine Roof Pieces

A lot of buildings are not squares or rectangles and the roof cannot be made using just one piece of roof. We will often have to combine different pieces to get a more realistic looking roof and one that is visually pleasing. The simplest combined roofs consist of just two pieces of the same roof type.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: two simple combined roofs
Click to Enlarge. Two simple combined roofs

More advanced roofing consists of a combination of different roof pieces. Have a look at pre-built houses in the game and study the way the roof is made, most often by combining several pieces. Another trick, is to look at buildings in the real world and try to visualise how it would be made using the sections available in the game. A little later on, we'll have a look at creating some different roof types.

Adjusting the look of a Roof

There is a little more to building a roof besides placing the right piece or pieces. There are adjustments we can make that can make a small or large difference. Note that any type of adjustment takes effect only on the section of roof highlighted. If your building contains multiple roof sections, you will need to adjust each piece.

Height adjustment

Adjusting the height is something we can do on all roof types and is as easy as grabbing the up pointing arrow when we highlight a roof section. Pull the roof up or down to the desired height and repeat with any other roof sections. With combined roof sections, try to match up the height so that the joins are not visible and the ridge capping flows smoothly from one piece to the next.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: adjust the height of the roof
Click to Enlarge. Adjust the height of the roof by pulling the arrow up or down

Changing the Bow

By default, roof pieces have straight pieces of roof, that continue from the top of the roof to the outer edge in a straight line at an angle that is determined by the height of the roof. We can alter this however by grabbing the bow tool, which appears as a ball when we select a roof piece. Pulling the ball up will result in the roof section having a convex curve. The degree of curve is determined by how high you pull the ball up. Pulling the ball down will result in a concave curve.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: adjust the bow of the roof by pulling the sphere up and down
Click to Enlarge. Adjust the bow of the roof by pulling the ball up or down

Changing the Eaves

Another alteration we can make is to change the length of the eaves, that's the roof that overhangs past the wall. We can only make this adjustment on gable and half gable pieces. When we select a roof piece, there will be a small arrow at each corner following the direction of the roof slope. Pull this arrow away from the roof or push it back towards the roof to adjust how much overhang there is on that piece. This will adjust the eaves on both sides of the roof. If you want to adjust one side, hold the shift key while making the change.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: length of the eaves can be adjusted
Click to Enlarge. Adjust the length of the eaves by pulling the arrows away from the roof

Trims

Adding a trim to the roof adds that finishing touch and can hide what may have been an unattractive area where roof meets wall. Hover over each trim to access the color palate for that trim and make a selection. Once selected, just click anywhere on a section of roof to apply the trim. You will need to add the trim to each roof piece separately.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: roof with and without trim
Click to Enlarge. Roof without trim and with trim

Different Roof Styles

With the different types of roof pieces coupled with the different adjustments that can be made, we are presented with numerous different roofs. Here are some varieties of roof and how to achieve them. Note that these instructions are for the basic creating of the roof types, you may need to adjust roof heights to get the desired look.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: domed roof
Click to Enlarge. Domed Roof

This is the closest we get to a domed roof at the moment in the game. It is simply a hipped roof that has the bow pulled up into a high convex curve.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: pagoda roof
Click to Enlarge. Pagoda Roof

Add some Asian flair to your buildings with this roof. It's just a gable roof with the bow pushed down to form a concave curve.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: awning styled roof
Click to Enlarge. Awning Style Roof

This style is good over a porch, however, it does not go well around a corner. Use a very low half gable roof and pull into a concave bow.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: simple tower roof
Click to Enlarge. Simple Tower Roof

Seen on the tower of the Goth house in Willow Creek, this is made simply with a hipped roof. Pull the height up as far as you want and then adjust the bow into a concave curve.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: gambrel and barn roof
Click to Enlarge. Gambrel and Barn Roof

These two both start with a tall gable roof. Adjust the bow to form a convex curve. For the barn type roof, pull the eaves down to touch the ground.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: Gablet or dutch gable roof Sims 4 Building How-To's: Gablet or Dutch gable roof
Click to Enlarge. Gablet or Dutch Gable

This style of roof is seen a lot in Willow Creek and is very easy to make. It is simply a gable roof with the gable ends at the front and back with the front end set back a few squares from the front. A half hipped roof is then stretched from one side to the other at the front. The eaves of the gable roof need to be pushed up to match the (non-existent) eaves of the half hipped roof.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: start with a gable, stretch a half hipped roof
Click to Enlarge. Start with a gable and then stretch a half hipped across the front
Sims 4 Building How-To's: Mansard style roof
Click to Enlarge. Mansard

Best built on square or rectangular buildings, start with a room on the roof level, two or three squares in from the edge.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: Adding a half hipped roof. Customize your home

Add a half hipped roof along one edge. Adjust it to be flush against the wall of the room and pull it up to the same height. Repeat on all four edges.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: finish roof with trims

Finish with trims and a small fence around the top if you want.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: clearstory roof Sims 4 Building How-To's: clearstory roof
Click to Enlarge. Clearstory Roof

An interesting roof that is designed to let light in while retaining privacy. Unfortunately, the windows don't let in much light in game. This roof is made up of two half gables of different heights. The eaves need to be pulled right back and you will need to use the moveobjects cheat to add the windows.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: clearstory roof 2
Click to Enlarge. Clearstory Roof 2

This roof is similar to the first Clearstory roof, but is used on a building with two levels. The windows let light into the upper level and depending on the height of the lower section of roof, there is often no need for a cheat to place the windows.

Start with a two storey building with the upper level not as wide as the lower section. Add a gable roof to the upper section and a half gable roof to the lower section. Add windows to the wall above the lower roof section.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: almost round roof Sims 4 Building How-To's: almost round roof
Click to Enlarge. Almost Round Roof

At the moment, we don't have any round roofs, but with a little bit of creativity, we can get something close. This gazeebo roof was made using two square hipped roofs - one regular and the other diagonal. This one was made with a four by four roof and should work with any size as long as there is an even number of grid squares along the side. Place the two squares on top of each other and adjust the height so they are both the same.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: full wrap-around porch roof
Click to Enlarge. Full Wrap Around Porch Roof

The wrap around porch and its roof is often seen on country homesteads. Begin with a half hipped roof dragged out the full width of the house and porch.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: tutorial for roofs

Add a second half hipped roof along the next side of the house overlapping the first piece at the corner. Make sure both pieces are the same width and height so that the ridge capping matches up.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: porch roof

Continue in this manner on all sides of the house so that all of the porch has a roof. Sims 4 Building How-To's: full roof section

Add a full roof section in the centre to cover the house. I've used a gable roof here, but you can use a hipped roof, it depends on the look you want.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: roof height Add roof trims and play around with different roof heights until you are happy with the look. You will get a nicer join between the main roof and the porch roof if you drag the inside edge of the porch roof in one square so that the main roof and the porch roof pieces overlap by one square.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: dragging the porch roof to meet the main house roof
Click to Enlarge. Drag the porch roof pieces in one square so they overlap the main roof piece

If the porch roof is not going all the way around the building, there are a couple of ways to end the porch roof as seen in the next image.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: finishing the roof

On the right hand side, we have just used the half hipped roof and ended it where the porch ends. On the left, we have a slightly different finish that I think looks a little better.

Add a half gable over the end of the half hipped roof section so that it ends with the porch.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: trimming the roof

Lower the half gable piece to match the rest of the porch roof and pull the eaves right in. Finish it off with the same trim that was used on the rest of the roof.

If your porch has in inside corner, it easy enough to add a roof to it too.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: eaves

Use a half gable piece and have it start at the wall and continue till it just overlaps the half hipped roof at the front. Lower it to the same height and pull the eaves in.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: tutorial for roofs

Add another half gable over the last area of porch. Pull the eaves in and lower it to match the other pieces. When it is the same height as the other piece, you will have a nice corner join. Finish it off by adding the trim.

Sims 4 Building How-To's: height adjustment leads to great looking roof for the home

Other Building Guides

Sims 4 House Building
Building Cheats
Counters and Islands
Decorating Inside Homes
Decorating Outside/Landscaping
Island Living (Stilt Foundation, Glass Floors)
Roofs
Split Levels and Lofts
Stairs and Basements
Terrain Tools
Platform Tool


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Comments (11)

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Regular
Joriasays...
Norma I would like to see exactly how you made the star shaped gazebo roof. Not quite enough info in the explanation as to how the diagonal and regular shaped pieces are placed. Excellent job on showing how to do the porch roof.Unsure
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Regular
Normasays...
Sorry Joria, just saw this. I'll do a step by step later today to explain better. I'll put it in the build section of the forum and add a link here.
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Regular
Normasays...
OK, A more detailed how to for the star shaped roof can be found here -
http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,24284.0.html
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New
Mariesays...
Thank You!Smile
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New
nataliasays...
Smile hi
iam having issues with roof pieces pocking through the walls inside of the house was trying to make a roof over the house entrance .tring to make a small front porch

thanks
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Regular
Normasays...
Is this happening in live mode too? While you are in build mode, roof pieces will be visable inside rooms, but once you go to live mode, the pieces usually dissappear.
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New
Claudiasays...
Is there any way to keep the roof trim from appearing on the inside wall of the second floor when adding a half gable roof over a porch? I had to remove the trim to keep it from showing in the upstairs room since it showed right through the wall covering. By-the-way, great tips on roof building!!! Thanks for all the ideas!
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Regular
Normasays...
That should dissappear once you go to live mode.
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New
Dellenasays...
For the room where the roof trim is showing through, is there any fencing used in that room?
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New
Ashsays...
I changed the size of my rooms after making the roof and now I can't see the roof, no matter what I do, to change the size and get back a bit of money. I can only see it in Live mode and it looks ridiculously big....?
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Regular
Normasays...
After you changed the size of the room, did you go back up a level to where the roof is?
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New
Dellenasays...
Also, make sure your walls view is in Walls Up mode.
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New
Joshuasays...
How do you put glass on roofs
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Depending on what packs you have their are some items that while are not technically a roof can be used as a glass ceiling. The dance floors form Get Together are an example of this. They are as easy to place as just putting one on a flat ceiling will allow sunshine into the room below.
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New
simmie212says...
I have a house with a flat roof. When it rains, they bring out their umbrella even when they are inside the house. I checked everything, there's no gap and all walls are connected. What do I do?
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Admin
Playlotsays...
I'd delete the roof and rebuild it and see if that fixes it. Smile Or place down an umbrella stand, make all the sims put away their umbrellas so they simply don't have one!
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New
Kasturi Monesays...
How do you delete the roof walls?
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Admin
Playlotsays...
You should be able to click on them to delete them using the sledgehammer tool.
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Regular
Simmersays...
Maxis faved a lot today, which I placed in my neighborhood to see how they did the roofs. The bubbles that adjust the bow of the roof is normally just one row of four, but on these roofs there were two rows of bubbles, so the roof could bow twice!! How do I do this myself? When I place a roof there is just one row of bubbles. I don't know how to get more bubbles. Do you?
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Admin
Playlotsays...
Hit the keys 'shift' and 'C' at the same time. This brings up anther set of manipulation points (bubbles). This feature was added in a patch late last year.
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New
The simmersays...
How do I remove a ceiling when the roof is in place?
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Admin
Playlotsays...
Grab the arrow on the roof piece, pull the roof back a few squares, click on the ceiling you wish to remove to delete it, if you accidentally remove the room just hit the back arrow. Now that the ceiling is deleted, just pull the roof back in to place.
Sometimes you may need to do it this way: pull back roof a little, drop down a level, click on room, move back up a level and click on the yellow outline around the ceiling to delete ceiling. Pull back the roof to the original size.
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New
Aprilsays...

Hi! So I tried making a flat roof, but there is an extra ceiling floating above the house. Do you know how to get rid of it?

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Admin
Playalotsays...

Click to take your camera up the next level. Click on the 'box' that the floating roof is on top of, click the yellow lines and choose 'remove roof'.



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