Mastered the basic basements but found they lacked functionality?

Want to have access to your basement from the outside? Want to hang pictures on the walls? Want to place windows so you can look at the dirt outside?

This advanced tutorial should help.

This tutorial was produced for The Sims 2 Microsite at bitbob.com and may not be used elsewhere without permission.

To obtain permission, PM "nyaren" at The Sims 2 UK (www.thesims2.uk.ea.com/forum).

I'm Beccy Basement. Billy is kinda busy at the moment, but I'm just as good, if not better.

Start with just a one tile square of foundation, this will help you find the correct depth for your basement.

Now, find a wall covering with a marked base or skirting, like those shown here.

Apply your chosen wall covering to the foundation.

Now, lower the terrain next to eh foundation untill you reach the base of the wall covering.

Now, remove the foundation, we don't need it now.

Drag your basement from the lowered area. When you drag it to the desired size, the terrain will be lowered for you. Handy huh?

Now that big ditch running around your basement not only looks ugly, but its pretty dangerous too. Better cover it up.

Here we make use of the foundation tool again.

Apply a foundation all the way around the basement walls. Now that ditch is covered up nicely.

You can use both types of stairs for internal access.

Apply a normal staircase, or if you preffer the style, use connecting stairs.

Connecting stairs also have the advantage of not needing a perfect ceiling height.

Either one will work well.

Now that we have sorted out internal access, lets build upwards a little.

There, finished.

Nice and small looking, yet with a very large room underground.

Notice how you can now make full use of the walls to hang pictures, telephones and alarms.

Now, internal access id all well and good. But it can be a pain if your sim is outside and wants easy access to the basement. So we can create extranal access.

You will need to either extend the basement walls, or remove a one tile strip of foundation (and walls) from the main house.

You should be left with the bare walls showing.

You're doing well so far.

Now, make a small patch of terrain on the outside of the walls level with the inside terrain. This will create a good place to put your staircase.

Now, apply connecting stairs from the high terrain, to the lower terrain, level with the basement.

You can now place a door, even windows if you want.

Your sims can now access the basement from the outside.

There goes Beccy, testing the new door.

I've finished off the external access with a barrier. We don't want any Sims falling into the basement in the dark.

This tutorial was produced for The Sims 2 Microsite at bitbob.com and may not be used elsewhere without permission.
To obtain permission, PM "nyaren" at The Sims 2 UK (www.thesims2.uk.ea.com/forum).