Wandering the frozen wastes of Skyrim can be exhausting, and sometimes an adventurer needs a warm place to live. When Bethesda released Hearthfire, the second official add-on for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, players were able to build their own home in their little corner of Nordic land. Building your own manor through Bethesda's unique interface can be fun, and it also brings several benefits to your character.
Step
Step 1. Purchase and install Hearthfire
This add-on can be purchased directly from The Elder Scrolls website if you are using a PC, or for console gamers, it can be purchased on the Playstation Store or Xbox Live.
Step 2. Talk to the minions in Morthal, Dawnstar or Falkreath and buy a plot of land
You need 5000 gold to be taken from your inventory.
- You may have to complete several quests in each city before the Jarl will allow you to buy land.
- If you're having trouble deciding where you want to build your house, remember that buying one plot of land doesn't stop you from buying another two.
Step 3. Follow the quest marker to your new home location
There you'll find the materials you need to build your house: a drawing table, a carpenter's workbench and a treasure chest full of the materials you'll need to start building a house.
Step 4. Read The Beginner's Guide to Homesteading
This book, found on a carpenter's desk, will help you understand how to build a new home.
Step 5. Use the drawing table and select Small Home
This will make the various components of the small house that can be used to build with the carpenter's workbench.
Choosing a project to build on a drawing table is resource-intensive, so don't worry if you don't have the wood, iron, and other materials you'll need
Step 6. Use a carpenter's workbench and build the components of your little house
Once your little house is built, you can decorate the interior using the built-in carpenter's workbench.
Step 7. Continue adding to your home by selecting Main Hall from the drawing table
This will increase the size of your home enormously and turn the structure of a small house into a driveway.
Since the structure is now much larger, the large space will require you to collect additional materials
Step 8. Get the materials needed to continue building
- Timber can be purchased from one of the many wood mills in Skyrim, including the Deadwood Mill in Falkreath, Agna's Mill west of Windhelm or the Solitude Sawmill in Haafingar.
- Clay can be found near your house. Look for reddish-brown layers in soil and mines, this clay is just like any other mineral in Skyrim.
- Excavated stones can also be found near each house. Look for layers of gray behind rocks or mountains. Like clay, you need a pickaxe in your inventory to mine it.
Step 9. Complete the large space and select the wings you want to add to the house
These additions can bring additional utility and a more personal feel to your character's residence.
- In the north wing, you can choose from a storage room, a trophy room or an alchemy laboratory.
- In the west wing, you can choose from a greenhouse, spare bedroom or wizard tower.
- In the east wing, you can choose from the kitchen, library or armory.
Step 10. Decorate the interior of the large room and wings using a carpenter's workbench, just like when you decorate a small house
When you select an item to build, the required components will be in the list.
- There are plenty of beauty options for décor, including wall-mounted horror heads and metal chandeliers.
- There are also many functional options for decoration, including magic and alchemy tables.
Tips
- Once your house is built, you can hire a maid, invite your spouse to move into the house and even adopt children.
- When building and furnishing your home with furniture, you will have to stock up on a large amount of iron. You will need 238-301 iron ingots to build and furnish your home fully furnished, depending on your choice of wings.
- Build your house to complement the type of character you play. For example, the warrior character will get better if you use the armory, while the thief character will be better suited to the garden because he can use his ingredients for poison.
