Are you building up a base to protect from the deadly zombie horde in 7 Days to Die? Can’t figure out the recipes to upgrade blocks? In this guide, we walk you through how to build and upgrade wooden frames in 7 Days to Die.
How to Make a Frame Shape
When beginning a new game, one of the tutorial quests will tell you to make a frame shape. A frame shape is made with two wood and can be upgraded using a stone axe, another base item that you will craft at the start. With each upgrade the health of the block will go up, the resources will be taken and some experience will be given to the player.
Making a Stone Axe
A stone axe is another item you will craft early in the game. It’s made from two small stones, two plant fibres and two wood. All of these items can be found around your starting area as they are 7 Days to Die’s base materials to start your progression.
You can craft higher level stone axes with the Miner 69’er skill in the perception tree, however, this won’t change the upgrading process, although it will make gathering wood for the start of it easier.
The fire axe and steel battle axe, however good for destroying wooden structures and being upgraded versions of the stone axe, are unable to upgrade frames or structures, only the stone axe can.
Upgrading a Frame Shape
Once your frame shape has been placed wherever you want it, equip the wooden axe and hold right-click on PC (L2 on PS4 or LT on Xbox). This will start upgrading the frame as long as you have the necessary materials in your inventory. The wooden axe should hit three times. Going from 33% to 67% to being finished and you will have your wooden block.
The wooden frame in 7 Days to Die can be upgraded to cobblestone, concrete and finally steel. Each of these blocks has different health bars, increasing each time.
| Material | Health |
|---|---|
| Frame Block | 50 |
| Wooden Block | 500 |
| Cobblestone Block | 1,500 |
| Concrete Block | 5,000 |
| Steel Block | 10,000 |
For a cobblestone block, you need cobblestone rocks. These can be crafted using stone and clay. To upgrade to Concrete you will need a concrete mix. This is crafted in the cement mixer using one crushed sand, one stone and one cement. Finally to upgrade to steel all you will need is steel ingots which can be crafted in a forge using 31 iron and 15 clay.
Crushed sand can be crafted in a cement mixer using one small stone. Cement can be crafted in the forge using ten small stones or found in some construction boxers or littered around in bags.
Crafting Forge, Workbench and Cement Mixer
The forge can be crafted in your inventory if you have the skill Advanced Engineering in the Intellect tree or if you have read a forge schematic. The forge requires 50 small stones, 60 clay, ten leather, three duct tape and three short pipes to be crafted. It takes 30 seconds to craft.
The workbench is crafted in your inventory and requires the second level of Advanced Engineering in the Intellect tree. This is unless you have read a workbench schematic. The workbench requires 25 forged iron, 20 mechanical parts, one wrench, one claw hammer and 50 wood to be crafted. It takes 4 minutes and 26 seconds to craft.
The cement mixer is crafted in the workbench and also requires level 2 of Advanced Engineering to craft. To craft, it takes 20 forged iron, 4 springs, 1 engine and 10 mechanical parts. It takes 4 minutes and 17 seconds to craft.
