Roofing 101: Are you hip, or a jerkin head? Part 1 by socalkdl «123...Next Go

socalkdl

One of the most daunting tasks many Simmers face is putting an attractive and convincingly realistic roof over their Sims’ heads. I have grown to immensely enjoy the challenge of creating roofs to span the walls of my houses. In first article I would like to share some of the styles and variations of roofs I have come across and how I create them with TS3 tools.
The basic roof styles available are flat, hip, gable, mansard, shed and gambrel. More exotic styles are dome, pagoda and round or octagonal peaked. Different styles of architecture favored different roof treatment, which is good to remember when you are trying to recreate a specific period home. Some period homes mixed different style roofs together. The Queen Anne style is a good example where the main roof might be a gable with adjoining smaller wings hip and a tower with a tall mansard top! Also the siding for the house can greatly influence how it is perceived, as a Queen Anne, Folk Victorian and Tudor may have similar roof layouts, but choice in siding may be the final determining factor.
Kirk

Part 2: <b>Roofing the Wilmington</b> can be found here:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/0/375888.page#5329796

socalkdl

I have laid out some basic ground rules for myself when I start a new Sims house. These are because I want to minimize rework and frustration. Once I have determined the style home I wish to build I decide if it is going to have a basement. Most of my homes have a raised foundation, so it is best to place the basement stairs before I build the foundation. Next I build my foundation around the basement stairs. If there is an attached garage I factor that in as well.
Another thing I have found to be helpful when building is to not start furnishing the house before the walls and roof shape is determined. I have found out the hard way that if I try to do something “tricky” with the roofing tools after furnishing, invariably the doors, stairs, paintings and furniture will get in my way and prevent me from placing a roof. I will test a room to see if temporary furnishings fit, but once satisfied; remove them to do my roofing.
Finally, I do a “water test” on my roof. I imagine it’s raining. Will the water or leaves collect and cause problems or does the roof look like it will do what it was designed for: protect the interior of the house. This may seem silly since weather in TS3 is always sunny, but it can greatly add to the credibility of your house.
Kirk

socalkdl

The next section of this thread I would like to devote to building roofs in TS3 and variations of styles that I have come across (like the jerkin head). I would be remising if I did not point you towards jisgr8’s blog: http://whyplumbobsaregreen.blogspot.com/ , though, where you can follow his construction of the amazing “Waddesdon Manor”. He discusses at length the use of “CFE” techniques, roof stacking and custom fencing techniques. A thorough understanding of “constrainFloorElevation false” is absolutely essential to building a custom home.
Kirk

socalkdl

Buildings usually have a main roof that covers the largest portion of the building. Common mistakes I see are homes that are covered by many small roofs of roughly equal size. A large central roof with smaller adjacent roofs is much more pleasing and realistic. This is why I never use the auto-roof feature. It does not produce good results on complex house shapes.





Kirk

socalkdl

Let’s talk about the basic roof tools in the game and how to get jazzier” results. Here is a gable roof. It is the third simplest roof design, following flat and shed roofs.

Kirk

socalkdl

There are a number of things one can do to spice it up. By adding a hipped eave you have a Dutch Gable or Gablet roof, very common on farmhouses and other Victorian era homes:

Or, when the gable is clipped at the roof ridge, it is a Jerkin Head or Half-Hip Roof:

Or one can add a small hip roof at the bottom of the gable eaves to form an “eave return.”

Kirk

socalkdl

Fairly common on Victorian homes were elaborate barge boards or verge boards. Basically a barge board covers the structural ends of the roof support beams. Unfortunately TS3 does not have them. On gable roofs they became a distinctive decoration on Carpenter Gothic and Queen Anne homes. One style can be somewhat represented in game though. The hooded gable that shows up on Shingle and Queen Anne homes can be approximated as follows:


Kirk

socalkdl

You will need to use “moveobjects on” cheat to locate windows that close to archways.
As you can see by the above, a small alcove is created by this technique. It would be easy to create a balcony under the extended gable eave if one desired:


Kirk

socalkdl

I almost forgot to mention another way to add drama to a gable roof is by creating a “salt box” roof. Basically it is an asymmetrical gable with one side of the roof extended much further than the other.


In Colonial American times the longer roof was to the back of the house, covering the back lean-to or porch area. But in my example I have reversed it to add character to the front of the cottage. It adds more “substance” to a small house like mine.
Kirk

socalkdl

Here's a house I created some time back but lost due to changes in the first Sims expansion. In it you can see jerkin head, gables, hipped, recessed dormers and eave returns:

Kirk

socalkdl

Attics and dormer windows:
Growing up in Southern California I am fascinated by attics with little dormer windows. Except for the turn of the century bungalows found in older areas of LA and Burbank we simply don’t have them. This is why most of my houses have working attics. The easiest way to build a working attic is to use the half-hipped tool or the half-gable tool. I usually move my attic walls one or two squares inward from the edge of the exterior walls.





Kirk

socalkdl

Dormer windows are either roof style or wall style.


Kirk

socalkdl

Roof dormers come in a number of “flavors”. They are gabled (doghouse), shed, hipped, or eyebrow.


Kirk

socalkdl

Gables can protrude or be recessed:

And styles can be combined:

Kirk

socalkdl

When building a working attic inTS3 remember there will more than likely be some “dead spots” inside that will have low ceiling issues. You will know they are there when you try to place furnishings in the attic and get a message stating the ceiling is too low. I usually turn the “moveobjects on” cheat on and place furnishings in the offending spots to keep Sims from having “pathing” problems.
This concludes part 1. I am working on the next part which will be entitled: “Building the Wilmington”. In it I will attempt to show how dramatically a house can change from simple roof and eave changes.
Thanks
Kirk

robotentity

Whoa, outstanding effort you put into this! It's very informative

SmokyTopaz

Hi Kirk, I am going to add a link to this thread in the tutorials list - its great!

k2m1too

Kirk -

Amazing information. I'm sure lots of people will benefit from your tutorial! If I could rec a thread, I would rec this one! :thumbup: (I'll bookmark it anyway!)

-k2

yanti68

Great tutorial Kirk! This is very helpful and you explained it really well. Bookmarked! Thanks for sharing! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

EMPRESSPAMELA

very helpful guide

jisgr8

Wow great tutorials and thanks for mentioning my blog . Such a cool idea with that one dormer combo with the shed and gable :thumbup:

svlyn

I have book marked this tutorial for future reference. Your so awesome for helping everyone with roofing lessons. If i could i would rec this over and over. Thank you so much.

socalkdl

Thank you so much everyone. Smoky, thanks for linking it in your tutorials thread. I have 3 more parts I am working on. I was hoping to get them done before the <b>"End of the World"</b> tomorrow, but maybe I can get the second part done tonight at least. Jsgr8, for your sake, I hope the Mayans were right and the end is coming Dec 2012 instead, because there is no way you'll be able to finish the Royal Palace for the Versailles project on TSS before then! <p>Yanti, the next tutorial is slightly less basic than this one and will again be posted on the EA site. In the two following tutorials I plan on actually building an 1886 Folk Victorian followed by a step by step build of a small Gothic Storybook build. Both have dificult roofs and I will mirror them both on TSS forum.</p>
For those of you have bookmarked this thread, you can always find it through Smoky's thread, and as I complete the next 3 installments, I will cross-reference them at the beginning of this thread.</p>
Thanks again,
Kirk

MaryJos

Wow, thanks for this thread. Very informative !

KittKat7147

This is AWESOME!!! I'm going to include it in the helpful links for BnS participants. Might be reading up on it myself a little

socalkdl

Thanks MaryJos and KittKat. Kitt feel free to post a link on Builders Boulevard, that would be great.<p>
Thought I'd post a small addendum to the first part...The roofing styles I have listed are only the most common. There are more obscure ones as well. For example, I came across this today while researching roof design. One last roof style worth mentioning is the <b>****** Roof.</b> <b> Charles William “C.W.” ******</b> (6 July 1871 – 25 April 1942) was an American architect famous for developing a distinctive style of Hawaiian architecture. The shape of the roof and the projecting eaves became such a ****** trademark that it became known locally as the "****** roof": a hip roof with a "double-pitch", that is, a shallower pitch at the eaves, as can be seen on the house he constructed in 1926:

<p> I am thinking a house with this design would be perfect for the Tiki set in TS3!<p> http://gb.store.thesims3.com/setsProductDetails.html?scategoryId=11488&index=0&productId=OFB-SIM3:35948
Or if pushed or exaggerated would be spot-on for a beachside bar or hamburger joint.
Kirk
Hmm, seems EA finds the name for this style roof offensive! Here's a link, LOL,
http://tikiarchitecture.blogspot.com/2011/03/evolution-of-hawaiian-style-roof.html