Carpentry Upgrades: Project Zomboid Guide (2024)

In Project Zomboid, carpentry is an essential skill to have for any zombie apocalypse survivor. Players can build walls, furniture, and other essentials to protect themselves against zombies.

There are several ways to level up your carpentry skills in the game. One of the easiest ways is by building items that require carpentry. To start building, players can right-click anywhere to bring up the carpentry menu and select the desired item to craft. Another way to level up is by sawing logs and turning them into planks. Players can also gain experience points by taking apart furniture such as beds, tables, chairs, and doors.

Additionally, players can watch the Life and Living channel at 12 pm to gain carpenter experience points. They can also barricade and unbarricade windows, which improves their carpentry abilities while also providing protection against zombie attacks.

For faster levelling, players can combine methods such as dismantling items with reading skill books and watching VHS tapes. Skill books can provide a significant XP boost, with five books ranging from beginner to master levels.

Choose the Carpenter profession and Handy traits to gain four carpentry levels directly

Choosing the Carpenter profession in Project Zomboid is a great way to gain a head start in carpentry, as it gives you three points in carpentry and one point in short blunt. This means you will be more proficient with a hammer, which is the main tool required for carpentry in the game.

Additionally, selecting the Handy trait will grant you an extra point in carpentry and stronger constructions. This means that you will start the game with a total of four points in carpentry, giving you a significant advantage in this skill right from the beginning.

While the Handy trait may be beneficial to those who want to focus on carpentry, some players argue that it might be more advantageous to choose a profession with one point in carpentry and additional points in other useful skills. For example, the Park Ranger or Repairman professions offer more versatility with extra points in foraging, trapping, and maintenance, which can be valuable for long-term survival.

It is worth noting that the skill boost from the Handy trait only applies to a few buildable items and does not work on wooden walls but does work on log walls. Therefore, players should be strategic in their choices, considering their desired playstyle and the specific benefits of each trait and profession.

Disassemble wooden objects, such as furniture and doors, to gain carpentry experience points

To upgrade your carpentry skill in Project Zomboid, you can disassemble wooden objects such as furniture and doors to gain experience points.

To disassemble wooden furniture, you will need a combination of a hammer and saw, or a hammer and a screwdriver. Upon disassembling, you will receive a random number of nails and planks, up to the construction cost of the furniture. This amount is modified by your carpentry skill level, with lower levels having a higher chance of producing unusable wood instead of planks, or nothing at all.

Therefore, to gain the most experience points from disassembling wooden objects, it is recommended to have a higher carpentry level. You can increase your carpentry level by reading skill books, watching the Woodcraft show on the Life and Living TV channel, or by crafting items from the carpentry menu, such as walls, windows, and doors.

Once you have reached a higher carpentry level, you can disassemble more complex wooden objects such as double beds, tables, and chairs, which will provide you with more experience points. It is also worth noting that certain types of furniture, such as double beds, give more experience points than others.

By disassembling wooden objects, you can gain valuable resources such as nails and planks, which can be used to craft new items. Additionally, you can gain experience points and useful resources by disassembling doors. However, keep in mind that the chance of obtaining door knobs and hinges from disassembling doors is lower than from destroying doors by other means.

Watch the Woodcraft show on the Life and Living TV channel at noon to gain carpentry XP

In Project Zomboid, carpentry is one of the most important skills to learn. It can be the difference between a safe house and a zombie buffet.

To upgrade your carpentry skills, you can watch the Woodcraft show on the Life and Living TV channel at noon. The show will give you tips on various home improvement projects and help you gain carpentry XP.

• Find a television. Televisions can usually be found in residential properties.
• Ensure the television is connected to a power source, either through the electrical grid or a generator.
• Access the TV's UI by left-clicking on the television or choosing "Device options" from the contextual menu.
• Use the control panel to turn on the TV and select the correct channel. Life and Living TV is Channel 203.
• Make sure you are in the same room as the TV while the Woodcraft show is playing. You will passively gain carpentry XP as long as you are nearby.
• The Life and Living channel runs for the first nine days of the game. The Woodcraft show plays every day at noon, so you can tune in then.
• You can also find the Woodcraft show on VHS tapes. Watching the show on VHS will also grant you XP, even if you have already watched the TV broadcast.

Watching the Woodcraft show is not the only way to gain carpentry XP. You can also gain XP by:

• Building items from the carpentry menu.
• Dismantling wooden furniture.
• Barricading windows and doors with planks.
• Sawing logs into planks.
• Reading skill books.
• Building walls.

Saw logs and turn them into planks, a key ingredient in carpentry recipes

Sawing logs into planks is a great way to level up your carpentry skills in Project Zomboid. To do this, you will need to find an axe or a saw. With an axe equipped, you can right-click on a tree and select the "cut down tree" option. You can then saw the logs by right-clicking on the saw or log and choosing the "saw logs" option. This will give you three planks and some XP.

Planks are a key ingredient in many carpentry recipes, such as building structures like houses, bridges, and fortifications, as well as furniture like crates, bookcases, and beds. They are also used to barricade doors and windows, blocking line-of-sight and slowing down zombies trying to enter a building.

In addition to sawing logs, you can also obtain planks by scavenging or dismantling furniture. Nails and planks are the most common ingredients in carpentry, and you will need a combination of a hammer and saw, or hammer and screwdriver, to disassemble wooden furniture. Upon disassembly, you will receive a random number of nails and planks, up to the construction cost of the furniture. This amount is modified by your carpentry skill level, with lower levels having a higher chance of producing unusable wood instead of planks, or nothing at all.

You can find the tools you need, such as hammers, saws, and screwdrivers, in various locations across Knox Country, with house garages and tool stores being the most common places to look.

Build wooden structures, such as walls, to level up your carpentry skills

Building wooden structures such as walls is an effective way to level up your carpentry skills in Project Zomboid. Here are some tips to help you maximise your carpentry experience gain:

• Build wooden walls—Wooden walls are a great way to gain carpentry experience. To build a wooden wall, you will need to have a hammer equipped in one of your weapon slots, along with 3 nails and 3 wooden planks in your inventory. The health of the wall is directly influenced by your carpentry level, so a higher level will result in a stronger wall. You can also upgrade your wooden walls to the next level at a cost of 1 plank and 4 nails.
• Saw logs into planks—Sawing logs into planks is another way to level up your carpentry. You can obtain logs by chopping down trees with an axe or a saw. Each log will yield 3 planks when sawn.
• Dismantle furniture—Dismantling wooden furniture such as beds, tables, chairs, and doors can also grant carpentry experience. This method can also provide you with useful resources for building new items.
• Watch the Woodcraft show on TV—The Life and Living channel plays the Woodcraft show at noon each day, which grants carpentry experience when watched. This can be a great way to gain experience while waiting for crops to grow or for your character to heal.
• Read carpentry skill books—Skill books can provide an experience multiplier when performing carpentry tasks. There are 5 books in total, with each book corresponding to a specific level range. For example, Carpentry Vol. 1 will increase your experience multiplier for carpentry levels 1 and 2.

By utilising these methods, you can effectively level up your carpentry skills in Project Zomboid and become a master carpenter.

Frequently asked questions