Answers.Body: <ol>
  <li>Take pictures of your building, of as many sides as possible</li>
  <li>Take measurements or find blueprints of the building. Length, width, height, height between floors, size of balconies etc.</li>
  <li>Convert these dimensions to LEGO dimensions. For this, figure out the scale you want to build in first (e.g. 1:40, which is "minifig scale" - but check out <a href="https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/540/is-there-a-standard-scale-for-building-minifig-scale-creations">this post</a> for some caveats). You can use <a href="http://studs.sariel.pl/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Sariel's calculator</a> to find out what this means for how many bricks you need.</li>
  <li>For best results, design the whole building in <a href="http://ldd.lego.com/en-us/download" rel="nofollow noreferrer">LEGO Digital Designer (LDD)</a> or <a href="http://www.ldraw.org" rel="nofollow noreferrer">LDraw</a> first. This will save you from making unnecessary brick purchases before you have finalized your model</li>
  <li>Get a brick inventory from LDD/LDraw once you have your final model. </li>
  <li>Use a service like <a href="http://www.bricklink.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Bricklink</a> or <a href="http://www.brickowl.com" rel="nofollow noreferrer">BrickOwl</a> or Lego's own <a href="http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Pick-A-Brick-ByTheme" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Pick-a-Brick</a> to buy the bricks you need in the quantities necessary, after accounting for all the bricks you already have. Alternatively, you can look at other available sets to see if some of them carry the bricks you need in large quantities - this might be cheaper (you could even sell the not-needed bricks back via BrickLink etc.).</li>
  </ol>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2015-07-24T12:46:21.523Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2015-07-24T12:46:21.523Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2017-04-13T12:47:56.390Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Phil B.
Body: <p>I have a grandson who wants to build a LEGO building that looks like the high rise building I live in. </p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2015-07-25T15:57:27.340Z
Comments.Text: I have made a few edits to your question. If you have any specific information please include them in your question. e.g. Are you scaling your building to fit minifigures? Do you have a particular budget? What have you tried?
Comments.UserDisplayName: Ambo100
Tags: <modular-buildings>
Title: How can I build a LEGO structure based on a real building?
UserDisplayName: Noe
ThreadText: # How can I build a LEGO structure based on a real building?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2015-07-24)
  
  I have a grandson who wants to build a LEGO building that looks like the high rise building I live in.
  
  **Tags:** modular-buildings
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: I have made a few edits to your question. If you have any specific information please include them in your question. e.g. Are you scaling your building to fit minifigures? Do you have a particular budget? What have you tried?  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_2 on 2015-07-24. Score: 10
  
  1. Take pictures of your building, of as many sides as possible
  2. Take measurements or find blueprints of the building. Length, width, height, height between floors, size of balconies etc.
  3. Convert these dimensions to LEGO dimensions. For this, figure out the scale you want to build in first (e.g. 1:40, which is "minifig scale" - but check out [this post](https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/540/is-there-a-standard-scale-for-building-minifig-scale-creations) for some caveats). You can use [Sariel's calculator](http://studs.sariel.pl/) to find out what this means for how many bricks you need.
  4. For best results, design the whole building in [LEGO Digital Designer (LDD)](http://ldd.lego.com/en-us/download) or [LDraw](http://www.ldraw.org) first. This will save you from making unnecessary brick purchases before you have finalized your model
  5. Get a brick inventory from LDD/LDraw once you have your final model.
  6. Use a service like [Bricklink](http://www.bricklink.com) or [BrickOwl](http://www.brickowl.com) or Lego's own [Pick-a-Brick](http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Pick-A-Brick-ByTheme) to buy the bricks you need in the quantities necessary, after accounting for all the bricks you already have. Alternatively, you can look at other available sets to see if some of them carry the bricks you need in large quantities - this might be cheaper (you could even sell the not-needed bricks back via BrickLink etc.).
  
  
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