How to Build in Minecraft

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: June 13, 2021

This wikiHow teaches you how to master the basics of building structures in Minecraft. While building a structure in any version of Minecraft is essentially the same process consisting of creating four walls and a roof, finding and collecting the correct resources can be a challenge if you don't know where to start.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Learning Building Basics

1
Know the popular building materials. One of the joys of playing Minecraft is that you can build anything out of virtually any material; however, popular building materials include the following:
- Dirt, sand, & gravel — Gathered by mining the proper item with your hand or any tool. Sand and gravel are susceptible to gravity, so they must be stacked on each other or on top of other blocks.
- Cobblestone & sandstone — Gathered by mining the proper stone with any pickaxe.
- Wood — Gathered by mining any tree using your hand or any tool. Can be turned into wood planks to quadruple the amount of wood per yield (e.g., one wood block results in four wood plank blocks).
- Wool — Gathered by killing (or shearing) sheep. While it isn't a particularly sturdy building material, wool is used for adding colors to your house and creating beds.
2
Understand the properties of different materials. Things like dirt and sand, while easy to find, offer little in the way of protection from enemies. On the other hand, cobblestone and granite are significantly more stable, but require more effort to obtain.

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3
Plan out your structure before building it. Before you begin searching for resources, it's a good idea to know what you want your structure to look like. This can include anything from having a general idea of your structure's assembly to drawing a sketch of the structure and labeling each of the materials you want to use.
4
Collect building materials which don't require tools. You can use your bare hands to collect any of the following resources:
- Dirt
- Sand
- Gravel
- Wood
5
Make the necessary tools to collect sturdier resources. You'll need at least a wooden pickaxe to collect any of the following resources, though they're well-worth the trouble:
- Cobblestone
- Sandstone
- Granite
- Some resources, such as obsidian, require higher-level pickaxes (for example, obsidian requires a diamond pickaxe to mine).
- While tools like shovels and axes aren't required to gather dirt (or wood, or sand) and wood respectively, these tools drastically increase the speed with which you gather the pertinent materials.
6
Consider adding a bed to your structure. Sleeping in a bed at night both resets your spawn point to the bed and allows you to bypass the night cycle, thus preventing the bulk of mobs from disturbing you. Especially if you're building far away from your current spawn point, having a bed will ensure that you'll always be able to find your way back to your build site.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Building a Basic Structure

1
Collect your preferred building materials. Before you set out to create your structure, make sure that you have a few stacks each of your preferred flooring material, your preferred primary building material (e.g., what you'll use to create the walls), and any additional materials you want to use.
- A "stack" holds 64 items.
2
Find a building location. Depending on your personal preferences, the ideal building location will vary. A common choice is to build in a forested area near water due to the availability of resources, but you might want to build on top of a mountain or inside of a cave instead.
- You can even build in the middle of a lake or other body of water if your resources permit it.
3
Dig out a foundation. Remove at least one layer of blocks from a five-by-five grid of space. This should leave you with a one-block-deep hole in the ground.
- You can go larger than five-by-five if you like, though going smaller isn't recommended due to limited internal space.
4
Place your foundation material. Select the material you want to use as your floor from your inventory, then fill in the one-block-deep hole with the material.
5
Add walls. Create a rectangle of blocks that surrounds the foundation, then build on top of that rectangle until it's at least four blocks tall.
6
Create an entrance. Make a two-block-tall, one-block-wide hole in one of the walls. Do this in the location in which you want to create your door later.
7
Add another floor if you like. If you want to add a second story to your structure, fill in the top layer of space between the four walls and then keep building on top of that layer.
- You can use this process to add multiple levels.
- You'll want to create a hole in any subsequent floors and then use stairs or a ladder to connect the bottom floor to the next one.
8
Create a roof. While not mandatory, roofs will prevent snow and rain from reaching the inside of your house; they will also keep mobs which can climb, such as spiders, out of your home.
- Creating a flat roof is as easy as filling in the top of the structure with a one-block-thick layer of blocks. Keep in mind that flat roofs are often frowned upon by Minecraft design enthusiasts, but they'll keep the rain out just the same.
- To create a slanting roof, add a line of blocks to the far-left and far-right sides of the house's frame, add another line of blocks next to and directly above each of the lines of blocks, and repeat until you have a sloping roof. You can also use stairs that face each other to accomplish this.
9
Dress up the structure. While your structure is technically complete at this point, you can add items to it to make it both safer and more attractive:
- Build stairs and add them to your structure to be able to move up or down without jumping.
- Create doors and add them to entrances to prevent mobs from wandering in.
- Make torches and add them to both the outside and inside walls of your structure to prevent mobs from spawning.
- Use glass to make windows.

Community Q&A

Question

I can't build. I try to build but it does not let me build.

Jizelle Vollmar

Community Answer

Try looking for materials if you are in Survival Mode. If you are in Creative Mode, go into the inventory place and grab some blocks. They are unlimited in Creative Mode and this is the best place to learn.
Question

Can we make obsidian for the house？

Delicious Banana Cupcake

Community Answer

Yes, however, it's not recommended to make an obsidian house. It's a material that takes a long time to get.
Question

How do you go up to stack blocks higher than two high?

Ashlyn Martin

Community Answer

Jump on top of the block, look down, jump and place for as much high as you want it.

Warnings

When digging a foundation or other component of your structure, avoid digging straight down. Doing so may result in you accidentally discovering (and falling down) a previously covered mine shaft.

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It can be tempting to wall yourself into the side of a hill or dig yourself a hole in which to hide overnight, but make sure you leave yourself one free air hole if you do this; otherwise, you'll suffocate.

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