15

What are the advantages/disadvantages making a minecraft house built out of wooden planks?

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    Welcome to Gaming! Please note that questions should be based on an actual problem to fit our Q&A format. We're not meant to be a forum where you can create a "Minecraft House 2011" thread, there are plenty of alternative sites that already contain these kind of topics. So, please try to build a house yourself and consult us when you have any problems; you might however try something along the lines of "What are some common pitfalls when building a house?" which could turn into a great community wiki to prevent future Minecraft house building problems. Good luck and have fun... :)
    – Tamara Wijsman
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 14:15
  • 5
    Unfortunately, as you note, this question is very broad and subjective, and neither of these qualities are well-suited, in my opinion, to the format of this site, with detailed high-quality answers. As you note, "sharing your experiences" with building a house only optionally includes the advantages and disadvantages of different houses, which IMO is a much more actual problem people encounter. I would recommend modifying this question to instead focus on whether or not there are advantages or disadvantages to different qualities in a house.
    – Mana
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 14:17
  • 4
    @Mana I reworded the question, it sounds better now. Thanks for your help!
    – alexyorke
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 15:01
  • 1
    It looks better!
    – Joe the Person
    Commented Aug 16, 2011 at 19:57

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
35

Advantages

  • Wood is quicker to obtain than cobblestone, as you get 4 wooden planks for each wood block.

  • Wood can be farmed (more easily than cobblestone can be), meaning you don't need to destroy the landscape to build your house.

  • Transported as logs rather than planks, you can carry a lot more in you inventory (as you can 'expand' the logs into planks as you need them.

  • Wood fits better with bookcases, chests etc. to give a more homely aesthetic.

Disadvantages

  • Fire caused by lightning

  • Creeper explosions will do more damage

  • Fire caused by lava, expected or otherwise

  • Farming trees can be tedious, especially if you have to spend extra time removing the branches from large trees

  • Fire caused by your own flint and steel in a moment of carelessness

Improve this answer
18
  • 3
    You know, I was going to answer this question, but when two more answers came up while I was still typing, I gave up. +1 for the awesome disadvantages pic.
    – Nicholas1024
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 16:10
  • 2
    Possibly worth mentioning that the "disadvantage" can happen from lightning hitting the house, not just careless use of flint & steel. Same applies for wooden roofs as well... which I use almost exclusively. Whoops.
    – Richard Benson
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 16:21
  • 2
    Re: Advantage 2: Have you seen how easy and compact that cobblestone generators have become?
    – John the Green
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 16:43
  • 2
    The picture is perfect.
    – alexyorke
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 18:23
  • 2
    The picture just made my day.
    – SourceTurtle
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 20:01
9

Advantages:

  • Planks are renewable, as trees are a limitless source. Cobblestone will eventually run out (unless you use lava flows, but that could be dangerous).
  • Much easier to construct and bulldoze. You get 4 planks for each trunk of wood, and with any axe trees go down a lot faster than stone. You can even break it unarmed to save tool uses if you're not in a rush, whereas with stone, you don't get anything.
  • It matches bookcases, fences, and some other decorative objects better.
  • If you completely run out of planks and need something in a jiffy, you can just pop a hole in your house and use the wood from it.

Disadvantages:

  • It's easy to destroy; either by fire or creeper blasts.
  • You generally won't end up with piles upon piles of planks just by doing mining, whereas with cobblestone you'll likely be overflowing in it.
  • You have to plant trees to get more wood for building. This might not be such a big deal if you're harvesting them to get wood for tools, though.

Personally, I find wood buildings to be more eye-pleasing, but that's pretty subjective. Cobblestone, especially in the default skin, is pretty busy looking.

Improve this answer
2
  • 2
    Granted wood is easier to come by, but given that Minecraft will generate new terrain (until killed by rounding errors), cobblestone is effectively infinite also. Unless you're making a 1:1 scale model of Mordor, you're unlikely to ever run out of cobblestone.
    – Cyclops
    Commented Aug 16, 2011 at 19:07
  • 2
    Cobblestone is renewable (using lava flows, like you said). It's not that dangerous to build a cobblestone generator, you just need to be a bit careful.
    – Denilson Sá Maia
    Commented Aug 16, 2011 at 19:14
5

I'm no expert, but there are a few fairly obvious points to start:

  • Planks are more easily destroyed by creeper explosions than (for example) cobblestone.

  • Planks can catch fire and are consumed, which isn't true of some other materials.

  • Cobblestone is readily available in practically unlimited quantities, whereas wood for planks is less common and requires a little crafting--so it's a less efficient use of your time.

One advantage is that you'll probably get sick of seeing nothing but stone buildings after a short while, so a plank structure will look nicer in comparison.

Improve this answer
3
  • 3
    Your disadvantages are awesome advantages if you want to demolish your wooden house, e.g. by burning it down. :)
    – Exa
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 15:48
  • @Exa: TNT is about as awesome though.
    – Ullallulloo
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 20:05
  • Oh yeah, just used it on my "first shelter".
    – Exa
    Commented Aug 10, 2011 at 20:32
0

The one thing no one has mentioned yet is the fact that wood buttons produce a slightly longer pulse. This does't matter unless you are going for a precise timing. Most redstone contraptions however will be fine with either stone or wood.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.