How To Build In The Sims 4 (20 Useful Tips)

20 tips for building in The Sims 4!

1. Hold CTRL and redraw a wall to delete it
3. Hold ‘alt’ to freely place and rotate objects
4. Use TS3 camera to get better angles
5. Use ‘0’ and ‘9’ to raise objects up and down
6. Set camera positions by pressing CTRL+[NUMBER]
7. Fix object slotting by placing an item on the counter, moving it off, and then it'll remain at the same height
8. Use [ and ] to size up and down objects
9. Use F5 to place objects on quarter tiles
10. Use angled brackets to rotate objects and flooring
11. Hold alt to place wallpaper on just one wall, and shift to place it in an entire room
12. Build from Manage Worlds to have infinite money (or use money cheats - 'kaching', 'motherlode', and 'money [amount]')
13. Hold shift to adjust just one side of a roof
14. SHIFT+C gives more roof control options + smooths it
15. Use alt on roofs to get a more specific placement
16. Hold shift to place trim or friezes on just one wall
17. Make open landings + fix roof clipping inside houses
18. Save money by deleting the fence + underside of stairs on porch
19. Access custom cabinetry to have more options

Find me elsewhere!
★ Sims Gallery: lilsimsie

This video is family friendly, but The Sims 4 is rated T for Teen and this video is intended for an audience aged 13 and up.

[SunflowerSpectre]

My dad (who is 61) just started playing Sims 4 and I sent him this tutorial. Thanks for making a tips video which is accessible to brand new players

[cola_hann]

Now I want to see Kayla try to build something using the sims 4 camera haha

[TechSynapse]

When you're in build mode and are placing an item that has multiple styles/swatches, you can press + or - to cycle through all the styles. Saves you from having to click through each one.

[Bandwagons]

I've been playing since the base game launched, even since TS1, and I literally never knew about the custom cabinets. All this time, I've been trying to figure out how people got such pretty cabinets in the Gallery houses. Thank you for this!

[rowanrooks]

I love how excited the Sims community is to welcome new players. There's a lot to learn about this game, but there's also so many people like LilSimsie who make helpful resources like this!

There is one more shortcut that I think is worth mentioning. Ctrl+F can be used to cut floor tiles in half diagonally. It's great to use to make custom floors or to create a clean edge where the floorboards meet in the corner of a wrap around porch.

Also, the fish, frogs, and insects from the debug can be placed in the world and they will be inside little aquariums. The fish can be mounted to hang on the wall.

There are also feathers in the Cats & Dogs expansion that can be hung on the wall and they turn into little framed pictures of of the birds. (I don't know if the bugs and birds are available in base game. Bugs would probably be in Outdoor Retreat?)

[lumikinos]

7:05 in case you have a scandinavian keyboard,
size up with å and size down with ` (that's the key next to question mark)
9:20 rotating with a scandinavian keyboard is also a bit different, if those shown in the video don't work for you, try using . and,

I hope this is useful

[ravent]

For those who have a hard time building a home that makes sense, I suggest using floor plans. You can find so many online and create your own with graph paper. Just remember to think of the scales, too!

[Mars-qecg]

another thing about debug she didn't mention: if you want more than one of an object, make sure you grab as many as you want and just kind of pile them on top of each other. you can't duplicate debug objects and its so much easier than trying to find it again 😭

[puredemon]

I always like these videos because while I do know most of the tips by now, there's always at least _one_ thing I didn't know. This time it was the alt placement for roof heights. I had no idea that was a thing. I usually got annoyed when I would try to line up the roof with the wall and it just wouldn't work. I would end up rebuilding or reshaping the house lmao. Now I have a solution! 😁

[tiritrro]

0:28 hold CTRL and redraw a wall to delete it
1:14 use ‘bb.moveobjects on’ to freely move objects
2:15 hold ALT to freely place and rotate objects
2:44 use TS3 camera to get better angles
3:44 use ‘0’ and ‘9’ to raise objects up and down
5:16 fix objects slotting
7:00 use [ and ] to size up and down objects
8:15 use F5 to place objects on quarter tiles
9:17 use < and > to rotate objects and flooring
9:40 hold ALT to place wallpaper on one wall and SHIFT for the entire room
10:15 build from manage world to have infinite money
10:38 money cheats
10:55 roofing intro
11:09 hold SHIFT to adjust one side of a roof
12:25 use ALT on roofs to set a more specific placement
12:57 hold SHIFT to place trims or friezes on just one wall
13:48 make open landings + fix roof clipping in houses
15:19 save money by deleting the fence and underside of stairs on porches
16:28 access custom cabinetry options
17:27 get more landscaping and items using debug cheat ‘bb.showhiddenobjects’
18:25 more debug items using ‘bb.showliveeditobjects’

[caseygoltz]

I have over 1000 hours in TS4 and I still learned several things from this. 🤯 Thank you Kayla!!

[thatenglishgal]

Veteran Simmer here who mainly does building over gameplay - this was helpful even to me! There were a few tips I didn’t know, the Shift+C for roofing especially!
What a great guide for beginners and experts alike

[iris]

Another tip I learned is that by pressing ctrl when placing stairs upstairs, it makes it so much easier to see where the stairs can be placed from above instead of struggling to see it from below

[Shyxnne]

I’m always coming back to videos like these because I have a tendency to forget build features. THANK YOU

[mattandsarahaschan]

I know you don't usually use or mention mods, but I feel like pointing out that Twisted Mexi's mod "Better Build Buy" organizes and names most the debug and live edit options, so instead of searching debug, you can search "trees" and it will give you all the debug trees.
It just makes your debug tips a lot easier cuz they're more organized

[sociallymaddie]

i’ve been playing sims for a few years now, and there were quite a few tips in here that i had no clue about!! I’m so happy to see simmers making things easier for new players coming into the community and being so welcoming!!

[btrzcouto]

I got a little emotional with this video. I play sims since the sims 1, and it was so important to foster my creativity and open my mind to diversity since I was a kid. so happy that more people will have this experience. ❤

[oinats]

I play the sims since I was 12 (now I'm 28) and I didn't know MANY of these tips. I loved the roof tips, OMG my houses going to be so beautiful now. Thank you! <3

[Spanishclass]

I was one of the people who requested this video because I was always wondering how you make things big and small and how you place them nicely on the walls, etc. I am so glad you took your time to prepare this helpful tutorial. Thank you very much. I learned a lot and I always get back to this when I forget something.

[TheEsuritio]

Omg. Thank you for this. Just downloaded the sims 4 when it became free 2 days ago. I was overwhelmed with the controls. You make it look all so easy. But I was having a heck of a time. Thank you for this video.