To build a house in Skyrim, you need the Hearthfire add-on: buy one of three plots of land from the Jarl’s steward in Falkreath, Morthal or Dawnstar, travel to it, pick a layout at the drafting table, and construct it piece by piece at the carpenter’s workbench. Everyone starts with the Small House, then expands into a Main Hall with three wings.
This guide covers Skyrim Special Edition and Anniversary Edition on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, all of which include Hearthfire. Below we explain how to unlock each plot, the exact build order, where materials come from, and which rooms are worth building first.
Where You Can Build and How to Unlock Each Plot
There are only three plots, and each costs 5,000 gold. Per the community wiki, the Jarl of each hold has to like you first:
- Lakeview Manor (Falkreath Hold, between Falkreath and Riverwood): complete Jarl Siddgeir’s Kill the Bandit Leader task, then buy from his steward, Nenya. If the Stormcloaks took Falkreath, the new steward sells it instead. Unique extra: an apiary.
- Windstad Manor (Hjaalmarch, north of Morthal): finish Laid to Rest for Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone, then buy from her steward, Aslfur, at Highmoon Hall. Unique extra: a fish hatchery.
- Heljarchen Hall (the Pale, on the edge of Whiterun Hold): finish Waking Nightmare and Jarl Skald’s giant-killing task in Dawnstar, which the community wiki says does not appear until level 22. If the Imperials installed a new Jarl, she sells it without the tasks. Unique extra: a grain mill.
Around level 9, a courier may also deliver a letter from a Jarl that starts the quest Build Your Own Home. There is no plot in Winterhold or in any major city.
Step-by-Step: Building the Small House
- Buy the land. You receive a deed and a map marker.
- Travel to the plot. You will find a drafting table, a carpenter’s workbench, an anvil, a chest and a log pile. Per the community wiki, the chest holds 30 clay, 30 quarried stone, 6 iron ingots and 1 corundum ingot, and the log pile holds 20 sawn logs. Take everything from the chest.
- Use the drafting table (E on PC, A on Xbox, Cross on PlayStation, A on Switch) and choose the Small House Layout.
- Forge your hardware at the anvil. Its Building Materials section makes nails (10 per iron ingot), hinges (2 per ingot), iron fittings, and locks, which also need a corundum ingot.
- Build at the carpenter’s workbench in order: Foundation, Wall Framing, Walls, Floor, Roof Framing, Roof, then Door. Per the community wiki, the whole Small House takes 17 sawn logs, 14 quarried stone, 4 clay, 30 nails, 2 hinges, 1 iron fittings and 1 lock.
- Furnish it using the smaller workbench inside the house.
The starting materials are enough to build the Small House but not to furnish it, so plan your first supply run before you move in.
Gathering Materials Without Losing Your Mind
- Sawn logs never enter your inventory. They sit in the Log Pile, which is shared across every plot you own. Per the community wiki, lumber mill owners sell 20 for 200 gold and deliver them for free; your journal points to Hert at Half-Moon Mill, but any mill owner works. If a mill owner likes you, you can cut 10 logs at a time for free.
- Quarried stone and clay come from deposits on your own plot that never run out. Both are mined like ore, so carry a pickaxe.
- Iron is the real bottleneck. The community wiki estimates a fully built and furnished house eats well over 200 iron ingots. Buy out every blacksmith’s iron ore and ingots, and smelt ore whenever you pass a smelter. Forging all those nails and hinges also levels Smithing.
- Straw, glass, goat horns and pelts are needed for furniture. General goods merchants and Khajiit caravans sell building materials, and a steward can tell you where the nearest shop is.
Coming from Oblivion, where homes were bought or earned rather than built (compare our Oblivion house guide), this is a much bigger project, so treat each room as its own shopping list.
Expanding: Main Hall, Cellar and Wings
Once the Small House is done, return to the drafting table and choose the Main Hall. Per the community wiki, its construction alone needs 47 sawn logs, 36 quarried stone, 16 clay and 85 nails before any furniture. The Main Hall includes an alchemy lab, anvil and arcane enchanter as furnishing options, plus beds, and you can remodel the old Small House into an Entryway.
After the Main Hall, add an optional Cellar and one of three choices on each side:
- East Wing: Armory, Kitchen or Library.
- North Wing: Trophy Room, Storage Room or Alchemy Laboratory.
- West Wing: Bedrooms, Greenhouse or Enchanter’s Tower.
If you plan a family, furnish beds early. A spouse can only move into a built house that has a bed for them (see our guide to getting married in Skyrim), and children need their beds and chests before you can bring them home, as our adoption guide explains. The Greenhouse suits alchemists, and the Enchanter’s Tower suits anyone leveling Enchanting.
Hire a Steward to Speed Things Up
After the Small House is finished, bring a follower to the plot and they will offer to become your steward. The choice is permanent. Per the community wiki, a steward can:
- Buy lumber (20 for 200 gold), quarried stone (20 for 100 gold) and clay (20 for 20 gold).
- Furnish whole rooms for a fee, slowly, over time.
- Hire a carriage driver or a bard, and buy a horse, cow or chickens once you build the stable or animal pen.
Your homestead can be attacked by bandits and wildlife, so a steward and, once you are thane of the hold, your housecarl make useful guards. For the rest of our Skyrim coverage, visit the Elder Scrolls guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need Hearthfire to build a house in Skyrim? Yes. Hearthfire adds house building, and it is included in Special Edition, Anniversary Edition and both Switch versions.
How much does it cost to build a house? Each plot costs 5,000 gold. Materials and any steward furnishing cost extra, and iron is the biggest ongoing expense.
Can you build more than one house? Yes. You can buy and build on all three plots, and the log pile is shared between them.
Can you build a house in Whiterun or Winterhold? No. Only the three Hearthfire plots in Falkreath Hold, Hjaalmarch and the Pale can be built on.
Why won’t the steward sell me land in Falkreath? You likely have not finished the Jarl’s task yet. The community wiki also warns that finishing the Dark Brotherhood contract on Helvard can cost you Jarl Siddgeir’s favor, so buy the Lakeview plot first.