Cantheallmighty Builder Application

Cantheallmighty

Storyteller
Guest
I finished the challenge Ark! I tried something slightly more challenging this time by trying to do a curved roof and it turned out great! I had a tough time finding cooper's houses on the server so I don't have that much in the build to enforce the idea, but I hope it's fine as it is :) I also built it next to my first server application build since they're all Duskendale style and create some sort of composition. I also tried to replicate a downwards angled road but I don't think I quite accomplished that as well as the roof -oh and there are a few more photos than usual :)
 

Arkilstorm

Dowager Countess of Grantham
Staff member
Hi Can! Sorry, this took so long to get back to you.. I strangely didn't get a notification about your bump or your Christmas message! I should have checked this a bit sooner, but Covid/Christmas has kept me very tied up!

- Your Daub and Wattle pattern could do with being a little simpler - there are a lot of diagonals going on but the centre of the build seems very empty. Remember that the timbering is meant to be structurally supportive, rather than just decorative.

- Your floor heights seem a little strange from the outside - It may be that the interior has a small step level, but from your first image, it seems like the upper floor is very tall, with the window ledge being 2 meters above the stone level, suggesting that the floor may be a bit too high.

- Your main ground-floor room looks nice, but there are a lot of wood-types going on. Try to stick to one for all the structural elements and then another for the furniture/workshop materials. If you're having built-in kitchen bench units, make sure the wood you use to support them is oak or jungle and it corresponds with the floor/stair supports or other wood types in the room.

- Your fireplace in the main room seems a bit big for a workshop. Simplifying this hearth would make for a better layout and indicator of the working environment. I'm also not sure why there are a kitchen seating and cooking area without a stove in this downstairs room. Coopers need a lot of space for storing wood, iron bands for the barrels, and would avoid wasting precious workshop space with household amenities - These would be found in the 'living quarters' above the shop.

- The step down into the workshop would prove a real problem for a trade like this - barrels are heavy and would be loaded by cart outside the shop to be sent to their new home, so I'd probably have had a set of double doors onto a storeroom, rather than a small side door onto a sloping alleyway (sloping away from the road too).

- With your upper floor, I'm not really sure about the layout and how the rooms flow. As mentioned before on a couple of your builds, the living quarters for most tradesman was always on the floor above the shop. Sometimes a kitchen would be on the ground floor but it'd be at the back and separated from the crafts-room. Your upper floor should have a family dining/ sitting room at least, and then at least one, but possibly two bedrooms if it's not too difficult. The beams in the ceilings on this upper floor are a little confusing but can be easily fixed with a little tweaking.

- A couple of practices which should be avoided: Placing heavy objects in hard to reach places...The crate above the bed doesn't really make sense. Also, the roses in the wall are visible from within the inside of the building so should also be removed.

- In your attic space you've added chests and chairs, but you have no supporting rafters to hold up the roof. The believability of the structural integrity is more important than what space there is for storage in the attic. Make sure that your roof is fully lined before placing the floor below, to work out what space you have to play with.

- Overall, I appreciate the huge amount of effort and work you put into this house and the extra mile you went to build a little street scene to accompany it, but as I've mentioned in each of your builds so far, there are still some basic structural principals that I'd rather you absolutely nailed first, before trying things more ambitious. You very clearly have the skill to build interesting houses, including curved ones, and on strange uneven roads.. but there are still some issues with realistic layout, facade materials, heights, and roof support that could all do with polishing up!

This is a great build! Just a few little things to spruce up! I'm aiming for this to be your last challenge, and I'll happily walk you through the details in-game again if you'd like. But for this challenge, I'd like you to please build a middle-class chandler's house, in the style of Fairmarket - in particular, the houses off the central market square.

Good luck!
 
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