Nailed It: Carpentry Survival in Project Zomboid (Build 41 & 42)

1 Loot Essential Tools ASAP

Search garages, sheds, and warehouses for a Hammer, Saw, and Axe. These are your Holy Trinity of carpentry. No hammer means no building; no saw means no planks from logs. Grab every box of nails you find (hardware stores and tool sheds are gold mines). Each box holds 100 nails – in Build 42 nails weigh 0.05 each (5× heavier than in B41!), so plan multiple trips or get a big bag.

2 Boost Carpentry to Level 2–3 Quickly

Tune in to Life and Living TV at 12:00 and 18:00 on day 1 for the Carpentry shows. Each episode can catapult you through level 1 and into level 2 or 3. This is free XP – don't miss it, since in Build 42 the TV only boosts you up to level 3 now (no more free ride to higher levels). If you have a VHS tape for carpentry, even better – pop it in after live TV ends.

3 Read Carpentry Volume 1

If you looted a Carpentry skill book (Vol.1 for levels 1-2), read it early. In B41, books gave an XP multiplier once; in B42, books are reusable with a cooldown, meaning you can read them again later to refresh the XP boost. Reading Volume 1 will make your early building XP come in at 3× rate – huge efficiency.

4 Grind XP by Building Cheap Structures

With your multiplier up, build one-log fence posts and wooden frames to grind carpentry XP. For example, craft a wooden Fence Post (only needs a plank, no nails) which yields high XP per material. You can also barricade every window in a safehouse (each plank you nail gives XP). In Build 42, dismantling furniture gives zero XP, so don't waste time carefully taking apart chairs expecting skill gains. Focus all your energy on constructing things instead of deconstructing.

5 Prioritize Carpentry Level 3

Hitting level 3 carpentry is your early-game milestone. Why? Rain Collector barrels and Composters unlock at Carpentry 3 now (they used to require higher skill). Also, Build 42 introduces Log Stairs at level 3, letting you create an emergency second floor even before you can build proper stairs. We'll cover that below. Aim to reach level 3 within the first week through the methods above.

6 Secure Water and Safe Shelter

If the power's still on, cook pots of water to build a supply. The moment you hit Carpentry 3, craft a Rain Collector Barrel (needs 4 planks, 4 nails, garbage bags). Place it on an open roof. Set up your base on a second floor or add sheet ropes to a window for escape. Use your carpentry to barricade ground-floor windows and doors with planks and nails. Even one plank can slow zombies. Your goal is a semi-secure base before the helicopter event (around day 6–9).

7 Expand as You Level

Each carpentry level opens new possibilities (see Milestones below). At level 4, you can build better walls and big containers; at level 6, you can construct stairs and start a second story. Keep reading skill books (Volume 2 for lvl 3–4, etc.) whenever you have downtime to boost XP gain. Always carry that hammer – in B42, you even need a hammer in inventory to dismantle things now, not just build!

🏆 Carpentry Level Milestones (Key Unlocks):

The above are highlights; Build 42 introduced many new craftable objects, but we're focusing on survival-centric carpentry.

💡 Resource Tip:

If you're struggling to find tools, remember cars can have loot in the trunk or glove box. I've found saws in the trunks of wrecks on backroads. Also, keep an eye out for the randomized survivor houses – some have stockpiles of tools and nails (e.g. a shed with multiple axes or a house with barricaded windows = likely tools inside).

🎮 Building Interface (Build 41 vs Build 42):

Wooden Wall tooltip in Build 42: Needs: 3 Planks + 3 Nails + Hammer (In B42, access this via the build panel, not right-click.)

⚠️ Early-Game Warning:

In B42, since you might not be able to erect sturdy walls immediately, barricading is your best friend when settling a base. One player on Reddit mentioned having to abandon their first custom-built base attempt because they realized too late they needed Carpentry 5 to build stairs for a roof, and zombies were coming. Don't let that be you – use existing multi-story buildings early on and barricade them rather than trying to build a fortress from scratch on day 2.

📺 Life and Living (The Early Boost)

As mentioned, catch the TV show. In B41, Life and Living could boost you well into Carpentry lvl 4 if you watched religiously. B42 nerfed this – now TV shows only give skill points up to level 3. That specifically hit Carpentry the most, since carpentry was the easiest to power-level via TV. Don't skip reading the volume 1 book if you can, to squeeze maximum effect from the TV XP.

📚 Read Books (XP Multipliers)

The skill books (Carpentry Vol.1, 2, 3, etc.) give you a multiplier to XP earned for that range of levels. For example, Vol.1 covers levels 1-2 (gives 3× XP in that range), Vol.2 covers 3-4 (5× XP), etc. In B41, you read a book once and it was done. In B42, books can be read multiple times. After reading, a book now has a cooldown timer (in-game days) after which you can re-read it to re-apply an XP multiplier if you've lost it. They also gave books unique titles ("Woodworking for Dummies" instead of just "Carpentry Vol.1"), but that's just flavor.

⚒️ Best XP Sources (Post-nerf)

The question on everyone's mind: "What's the best way to level carpentry now that I can't cheese it by disassembling half of West Point's furniture?". Community consensus and testing in B42 shows constructing and then deconstructing your own creations is effective. For example:

• ✅ Build a Wooden Crate, then smash it with a sledgehammer or disassemble it.
• ✅ Each crate yields planks you can reuse, and the act of building it gave XP.
• ✅ However, a better method: build a bunch of Fence Posts. These require 1 plank, no nails – super cheap.
• ✅ Another favorite: Wooden Wall Frames. Each frame uses a few planks and nails.

🔄 Projects that Give XP & Utility

I'm a big fan of multitasking – gaining XP while also making something useful. Here are a few ideas:

• 🛡️ Barricading sprees: Go to a neighborhood and barricade every window and door. Each barricade action = XP. Plus, you make the place safer if you ever retreat there.
• 🪜 Build staircases to nowhere: If you have nails and planks, building stairs gives a lot of XP. B42 added Log Stairs at level 3 which use logs and rope – these are cheaper in terms of nails but also give good XP.
• 📦 Furniture for Function: Need storage? Build crates and shelves. Need water? Craft rain collector barrels early and often.

👤 Occupations and Traits that Help

If you haven't started the game yet or plan a new character, consider the Carpenter occupation (starts with Carpentry 3 in B41/B42). That alone skips the early grind and lets you build most essentials from the get-go. The Handy trait gives +1 Carpentry and +1 Maintenance. Fast Learner trait gives +130% XP gain to all skills, which significantly cuts down grind (highly recommended in B42 where XP is a slog).

Conversely, if you took Slow Learner or have Illiterate (can't read books), you're in for a longer haul.

🏠 Start with Barricades, End with Walls

Early game, you won't have the skill or resources to build a full base from scratch. It's usually wiser to fortify an existing structure. Pick a second-story apartment or a two-story house as your base (so you have a built-in escape and a choke point). Use carpentry to barricade ground-floor entries:

• 🪟 Barricade windows with 2-4 planks each. Even one plank will make a window require several smashes from a zombie.
• 🚪 Barricade any unused doors. If it's a door you'll never use, plank it up on both sides.
• 🪢 Leave one door accessible (for yourself) and focus on that – perhaps install a sheet rope out a second-floor window so you don't need to use doors at all.

⚠️ Log Stairs Warning:

Log stairs are basically a ladder made of logs and ropes; they function as stairs but visually are like tied logs. They do not include a top floor piece, so be careful – when you climb them, you need to have a floor tile built to step onto or you fall. A Steam forum user noted dying from log stairs because they lack that safety floor at the top.

💧 Rain Collector Barrels

We can't stress enough – get rain barrels up before the water goes off. There are two types in vanilla:

Position them outside (ideally on a platform above your kitchen). Once you have Plumbing (no skill, just a wrench needed), you can right-click a sink and "Plumb" it to a barrel above – this makes sink water come from the barrel and be clean (the game treats it as filtered). Without plumbing, water from barrels is tainted and you must boil it.

🌱 Composter

Farming yields tons of rotten vegetables eventually, and you can find food that's gone bad. A composter (Carpentry 3 in B42) lets you turn that rot into compost for fertilizing crops. Even if you're not farming big time, consider building one to dispose of rotten food. In B41 it was Carpentry 5 or 6, so not many bothered early; now at 3, it's within first week reach if you're efficient.

⚡ Generator Shelter

If you plan to use a generator (to keep a freezer running, for example), you might build a small generator shed or box outside to muffle noise (place generator inside and wall it, leaving a little doorway). This is more of a roleplay, as generators in-game attract zombies in a zone regardless of walls.

🐓 Animal Pen / Garden

By the time you're dabbling in trapping or animal husbandry (new in B42 – chickens, cows, etc.), you'll want fenced areas. You can build wooden fences or use existing farm fences. For gardens, build wooden stake trellises. Also consider a compost bin near the garden (for convenience) and rain barrel nearby for easy crop watering.

📦 Furniture & Storage

A cluttered base is a dangerous base (you trip over stuff, or can't find that one box of shotgun shells when the helicopter is overhead). Carpentry lets you organize. Build Wooden Crates (Carpentry 3 for player-built crates that hold 50 weight each). These are actually some of the best storage in the game. You can stack crates (up to 3 high) to use vertical space – just remember to have a sheet rope or ladder to get the high ones.

Overall, Build 42 aims to make carpentry a bit more realistic in the sense that you improve by doing actual carpentry (building things), and it tries to pace out how quickly you can fortify to the max. It's a controversial change (some find it "too grindy", others enjoy the extended progression). Either way, once you adapt, you can still become a fort-building machine – it just takes a few more in-game weeks than before.

Let me share a quick story from my B42 run: I attempted the old Stairway to Heaven trick – you know, building a staircase to a roof and knocking it out to create an unreachable base. In B41, I had done this by day 5, laughing as zombies milled around below. In B42? Let's just say by day 5 I was still one level shy of building the darn stairs. The helicopter came, dozens of zombies swarmed my partially constructed tower, and I had to flee with nothing but a hammer and the shirt on my back. Lesson learned: don't count your staircases before they're built!

I regrouped at a two-story restaurant and fell back on basics: boarded the ground floor solid, built sheet ropes out the second floor, and survived the heli by silently camping upstairs. Over the next week, I used that safe base to slowly clear the area and gather wood. Eventually, I did finish a secure skybridge base – but it happened around day 20, not day 5. Honestly, it was more satisfying that way. Every nail I hammered, every plank I sawed felt like progress earned. By the time I hit Carpentry 7, I had a fortress with rain collectors on the roof, farms on the balcony, and not a single zombie breach in months. Carpentry in B42 taught me to slow down and enjoy the journey of building, not just the destination.

1. Find Hammer + Saw + Nails – Loot tools from sheds/garages. Cannot build without them. Grab lots of nails (aim >300).
2. Boost Early XP – Watch carpentry TV to reach level 2-3. Read Carpentry Vol.1 for 3× XP.
3. Build for XP, Don't Dismantle – Make fence posts, frames, barricades for skill. (Disassembling furniture = 0 XP in B42).
4. Rush Carpentry 3 – Unlock rain collector and water independence. Craft a rain barrel before water shuts off.
5. Secure Base – Barricade windows/doors, set up sheet rope escape. Use existing second floor if possible.
6. Plan Base Expansion – At level 4-5, start building walls/fences around your area. Organize storage with crates.
7. Carpentry 6+ Goals – Build stairs to access roof or second floor safely. Upgrade walls to tier 3 at level 7 for strong defense.
8. Keep Learning – Read next skill books and use the new crafting menu to explore recipes. Don't forget to enjoy the process!

Stay safe out there, carpenters. Every plank and nail brings you one step closer to seeing another day in Knox County. Now get building – Spiffo's diner isn't going to turn itself into a fortress without a little DIY magic!