At a glance: building starts at a tree — 1 Log converts to 3 Planks, and a Barricade costs 4 planks + 2 sticks of the same wood. The crafting menu opens with Y, shift-click quick-crafts, and Ctrl-click makes the maximum. A Simple Workbench is 8 planks + 3 Metal Scrap + Nails.
“how to build” usually gets answered with “craft a wall”. The useful version explains the conversion chain, because every build decision is really a wood decision. Here is the whole path from standing tree to placed structure.
The conversion chain
Nothing in Unturned is built from a raw log. The chain is:
- Fell a tree with a proper tool — a Camp Axe or Pickaxe deals 100 resource damage, double a chainsaw’s 50 (see how to get wood).
- Log → 3 Planks of the same wood type, via the crafting menu.
- Planks + Sticks → the structure. A Barricade is 4 Planks + 2 Sticks.
That means a single Barricade is about 1.33 logs of planks plus two sticks. Plan your wood per wall, not per tree.
Wood tier is the whole game
The wiki states the rule plainly: “Pine is generally the superior variant to craft with, with birch being the inferior variant, and maple being between the two.” That is not flavour text — it is the stat system. Everything you craft from planks inherits the tier:
| Wood | Quality | Barricade HP |
|---|---|---|
| Pine | Superior | 350 |
| Maple | Between | 300 |
| Birch | Inferior | 250 |
All three Barricades cost the same recipe — 4 planks + 2 sticks — so building with Birch is strictly worse wherever Pine is available. The only time Birch is correct is when it is the only tree you can reach. Convert pine logs to planks whenever you can; save birch for fuel and scrap. The base building guide turns this into a wall plan.
The crafting menu does the building
You do not need a special bench to place a basic wall — the crafting menu is the build menu:
- Open it with Y (default keybind).
- Click a blueprint to craft once.
- Shift-click to quick-craft it repeatedly.
- Ctrl-click to craft the maximum your materials allow.
Three skills gate the deeper recipes: Crafting, Cooking and Engineer unlock advanced blueprints as they level. If a recipe is missing, it is almost always a skill tier you have not reached — check the skill guide before assuming a bug.
Workstations: the two you actually need early
Some recipes require a workstation. Two carry most of the early game:
| Workstation | Recipe | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Workbench | Plank (8) + Metal Scrap (3) + Nails | “Workbench Capabilities” tag; also 5x3 storage and 300 HP |
| Campfire | 5 Logs (any wood) | Heat for cooking, warmth and light; 200 HP, but vulnerable |
The workbench is the interesting one because it is metal-gated: it needs Metal Scrap and Nails, not just wood. So “I have plenty of logs” does not get you a workbench — you need to loot or salvage metal first. That is the real early-game bottleneck, and it is why the first workbench often waits until after a looting run (see the looting guide).
The Campfire is the wood-only station and the one you should build first: 5 logs, and it immediately gives you cooking, warmth and a light source. The beginner guide leans on it for the first night.
Placing what you built
Once a piece is crafted, you place it, and placement has its own rules:
- Pieces snap to the build grid and take the facing of the surface you aim at.
- There is no free-rotate key in survival — you choose facing by where you aim. The full mechanic is in how to rotate items.
- Same-tier structures line up flush only if you aim at the same face, so orbit the camera before committing.
Salvage, repair and the material loop
Building is reversible, but not free:
- Salvage with a Blowtorch turns tools, weapons and structures back into materials — a placed barricade salvaged by any player is removed from the world.
- Repair with a Blowtorch + 2 Metal Scrap keeps a damaged piece standing; it repairs continuously.
- Metal Scrap is the universal currency here — from construction sites, hardware stores, garages, harbors, warehouses, mined boulders and salvaged gear.
That loop — chop, planks, build, salvage, scrap, repair — is why metal is never wasted. Even a broken wall pays you back in scrap.
A build order that does not waste wood
If you are starting fresh, the conversion chain suggests this order:
- Campfire (5 logs) — cooking and warmth, no metal needed.
- Sandbags if you have cloth (5 Cloth = 300 HP) while you gather wood.
- Simple Workbench once you have 8 planks, 3 Metal Scrap and Nails.
- Pine Barricades (4 pine planks + 2 pine sticks) for real walls.
- Blowtorch + scrap to repair through a raid.
That sequence never burns a recipe on Birch, uses the cloth that otherwise sits idle, and keeps metal flowing into repair rather than vanity builds.
A note on version drift
Recipes and conversion rates are patchable. Every figure here — 3 planks per log, 4+2 per barricade, 8 planks + 3 scrap + Nails for a workbench, 5 logs for a campfire, and the pine/maple/birch ranking — was read from the Official Unturned Wiki in October 2026. If a recipe in-game disagrees after an update, trust the in-game crafting menu and recheck the wiki page.