It is fun to build a home in Skyrim's furnace expansion, but the game does not explain how the player started. This is what you need to know.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim includes three DLC packs, all of which are included in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition. One of the underrated is the Hearthfire expansion pack, which allows players to build their own houses in one of three different locations. Unlike Dragonborn and Dawngaurd, Hearthfire may be difficult to figure out because there are no tasks directly related to it.

First, the player first needs to decide where they want to build their house. There are three locations available, and each construction site is located in a different part of Skyrim: Wan Bai, Falkreath and Hjaalmarch. Each of the strongholds is located near a city that previously had no own property. The nearby cities are Dawnstar, Falkreath, and Morthal.

Related: Has Bethesda's creative club lived up to the hype?

There are some significant differences between the three different construction sites, and each site has a unique set of nearby resources. Due to the supply of clay, iron, stone and corundum, many people believe that Falkreath's lake view manor is the best. There is a Stormcloak and an imperial camp near Windstad Manor in Hjaalmarch, which are used to purchase supplies instead of harvesting. Finally, Heljarchen Hall, the construction site of The Pale, has the best surrounding landscape but the fewest nearby resources.

No matter where the player wants to build, they first need to unlock the ability to buy a house in the right location. This can be done by performing side missions for Yarl in the fortress and earning the title of Housecarl. These tasks vary from fort to fort, and can usually be obtained by directly talking to Yarl or Yar's Steward. Players need to spend 5,000 gold coins to obtain a piece of land, the price of which is roughly the same as other purchaseable houses. However, not only do players need to buy prefab houses that only require gold to decorate, they also need resources to build houses from scratch. However, the advantage here is that players have more customization options.

Once the player has purchased a piece of land for their home, they should go to its location and mark it on their map for quick travel. Players may trigger some special random encounters when they visit. They should see a drafting table and a carpenter’s workbench near any unique workstations attached to the plot; the drafting table is used to pick what to build, and the carpenter’s workbench is used to actually construct the selected project.

Related: Skyrim and Oblivion: Which is actually the best Elder Scrolls game?

From there, the player will have to build a small house layout. The construction site should have a box containing everything the player needs for this. The layout of the small house will teach the player how to build Skyrim. After that, players will want to add a main hall to their home. Collecting building materials can be the trickiest part of homestead management, because different materials can be obtained in different ways, including looking for ore while exploring, buying sawn wood from a supplier, or making your own hinges.

The main hall needs 55 pieces of sawn wood, 86 pieces of quarrying stones, 85 pieces of nails, 16 pieces of clay, 1 piece of iron, 1 lock, and 1 hinge. After completion, players can choose to turn their small house into an entrance hall. Players will also provide some furniture options on the carpenter's workbench, but if they plan to turn the small house into an entrance hall, it is recommended not to build furniture in the small house.

Building the main hall will unlock the option of building wings, which is where more customization options are provided. Remember that there are three types of wings-towers, basements, and terraces-whether the player can only build one type. The tower wing can hold a library, an enchanting tower, or an alchemy laboratory, limiting the types of crafting stations that players can have in the homestead. The basement wing can be a greenhouse, trophy room or kitchen. Finally, the terrace wing can contain bedrooms, storage rooms or armory. These options allow players to customize their homes according to their needs, whether it's storage space or family residence.

Related: The Elder Scrolls: How Morrowind’s Argonian invasion connects to Skyrim

The wing is the last room the player can build, and the remaining available options are outdoor furniture. Players can build things like animal enclosures and gardens that they think are suitable outdoors, and each outdoor option has a practical purpose. Each homestead also has an exclusive outdoor option, although these options only allow players to collect certain types of resources from their homestead.

Finally, the homestead can accommodate certain NPCs. Longyi can marry a spouse of their choice, or even adopt children, and they will move to their homes. It is also possible to hire butlers, bards, and carriage drivers for the player's home. Most followers can become butlers and remain adventurous partners. Bards and carriage drivers can be hired by talking to the butler. The butler can also buy animals and resources for the homestead.

Continue reading: The Elder Scrolls: Who (or what) is the Grey Fox?

Becoming a CBR writer since September 2020, Jacob Creswell is a lifelong writer and gamer. Wrote for local and global publications. Lovers of Animal Crossing, Undertale, Team Fortress 2, and a little professional wrestling. It can often be found that more research has been done than his video game theory needs. You can also find it on his Twitter, @Creaology98