# Construction industry guide
Welcome to the Construction Industry!
#### OVERVIEW
The Construction industry added thirteen (13) resources and five (5) buildings to Sim Companies. This guide covers the resources and buildings. What is needed to construct a new building. What you need to upgrade your existing buildings. We'll also cover scrapping and quality.
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#### RESOURCES
**The resources are:**
Wood, reinforced concrete, bricks, cement, clay, limestone, steel beams, planks, windows, tools, construction units, bulldozer, and materials research.
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#### BUILDINGS
**The buildings are:**
Quarry, concrete plant, construction factory, hardware store, and general contractor
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[](https://guides.simcompanies.com/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/buildings-ui-text-first-line-aligned.png)
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The [Quarry](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/building/Q/) produces Clay, Limestone, and/or Sand in abundance, just like Oil Rigs and Mines.
The abundances decrease by 0.032% a day (or 1% a month).
The [Concrete plant](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/building/o/) produces Reinforced concrete, Bricks, and Cement.
The [Construction factory](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/building/x/) produces Steel beams, Planks, Windows, and Tools.
The [Hardware store](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/building/d/) (retail) sells Bricks, Cement, Planks, Windows, and Tools.
The [General contractor](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/building/g/) produces Construction units.
The Bulldozer is produced in a [car factory](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/building/1/).
Materials research is produced in a [chemistry lab](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/building/c/).
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[Construction units](https://www.simcompanies.com/encyclopedia/0/resource/111/) are unique. They are **only** needed for doing new building construction and upgrades. Note that you must produce Construction units in multiples of **eight (8)**. The cost of a bulldozer can make your **unit cost higher than normal**. Construction units need 0.125x of a Bulldozer. Meaning 8 construction units can be made from 1 Bulldozer. If you make 1 construction unit, you use the price of 1 full bulldozer. If you make 2 construction units, the price of 1 full bulldozer would be split between the two. And so on all the way up to the correct amount of 8.
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#### NEW BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UPGRADES
Building construction and upgrades require resources, not cash ($). The following resources are needed for new construction and building upgrades:
**Reinforced concrete**, **bricks**, **planks**, and **construction units**.
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When building a new building or upgrading an existing one, a menu will show the required resources. The monetary costs approximate the value of the needed resources. Market value may **differ** from this reference value. We recommend sourcing materials through contracts to reduce building and/or upgrade costs.
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When building upgrades are needed, you will pull required materials from your warehouse stock. You will buy any missing materials from the Exchange.
As shown below, the lines in black are materials that you currently possess in your warehouse. Materials labeled in red are ones you will need to source from the Exchange.
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[](https://guides.simcompanies.com/uploads/images/gallery/2026-09/zAIimage.png)
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**Reference** **cost:**
How much the upgrade should cost if all construction resources were obtained at reference prices. Reference prices are fixed and used to evaluate buildings. You can find reference upgrade costs in the encyclopedia.
**Cost inflation (savings):**
How much your real upgrade cost differs from the reference. A negative number means you are constructing cheaply.
This makes it vital to obtain materials through contracts cheaper than exchange prices. Proper planning and bond scheduling may be needed to make the most out of each upgrade.
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#### BUILDING VALUE
Building Value (BV) is how the game calculates building **reference costs**. The Building Value is the scrap value of all your Buildings.
Level 1 Farm is $6,900 scrap value
Level 5 Farm is (5 x $6,900) = $34,500
$34,500 is the total **Building Value** of a Level 5 Farm.
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#### **INCOME STATEMENT**
When upgrading buildings, the Construction Costs are defined as:
“Value 'lost' when upgrading over level 2 or due to overpriced construction materials”
This will show the Difference between **Construction Material Costs** and the **Reference costs**.
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#### SCRAPPING
If a building is level 1 or 2, you will get the full investment back. Any building above level 2 that is scrapped will not return the full investment. Destroying a level 5 building will return 5 times the value of a level 1 building.
Case one:
Construction resources for level 5 farm:
| Level 1
| $6,900
|
| Level 2
| $6,900
|
| Level 3
| $13,800
|
| Level 4
| $20,700
|
| Level 5
| $27,600
|
| **Total**
| **$75,900**
|
| Level 1
| $6,900
|
| Level 2
| $6,900
|
| Level 3
| $6,900
|
| Level 4
| $6,900
|
| Level 5
| $6,900
|
| **Total**
| **$34,500**
|
| Level 1
| $69,000
|
| Level 2
| $69,000
|
| **Total**
| **$138,000**
|
| Level 1
| $69,000
|
| Level 2
| $69,000
|
| **Total**
| **$138,000**
|