Project Zomboid – What to Do With Scrap Wood

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As the game progresses, scavenging for items becomes more and more challenging. Therefore, in the early game, learning to use all picked-up items is imperative, even if the thing is Scrap Wood.

This guide will show you what to do with Scrap Wood in Project Zomboid!

Recommended Read: How to Spawn Vehicles in Project Zomboid

In Project Zomboid, Scrap Wood can be used as fuel for heat sources like campfires, charcoal barbecues, and antique ovens. By installing mods, you can also convert Scarp Woods into Planks.


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What to Do With Scrap Wood in Project Zomboid?

In Project Zomboid, Scrap Wood is an unconstructive product you regularly receive after disassembling wooden items, especially when you’re at a low Carpentry level and the “Chance To Break” is high.

Compared to Unusable Metal, which is entirely useless, Scrap Wood in the vanilla version is helpful in some cases. So, let’s dive deep into the details!

1. Fuel For Heat Sources

There are 7 types of heat sources in Project Zomboid, and Scrap Wood can be used as fuel for 3 of them:

  • Campfire
  • Charcoal Barbecue
  • Antique Oven

To fuel these heat sources with Scrap Wood, stay right next to them, right-click on the heat source, and select “Add Fuel” => “Scrap Wood” => “One” or “All”.

Each unit of Scrap Wood takes 1 hour and 24 minutes to burn completely.

Comparing this burn duration to that of a Book or Magazine (15 minutes), Scrap Wood is more efficient for heating.

2. Ingredients For Planks (Mod Required)

As mentioned above, Scrap Wood is a byproduct of disassembling wooden furniture, often resulting from the unsuccessful attempt to create Planks.

Low Carpentry skill level results in more Scrap Wood than Planks, which is undoubtedly a real issue when you need Planks to build something.

While you can’t convert Scrap Wood to Planks in the vanilla version of Project Zomboid, the Plank from Scrap Wood mod enables just that.

If you play Project Zomboid on Steam, then you can subscribe to the mod on the Steam workshop to download it to your folder.

Next, open Project Zomboid and select “Mods” from the main screen, then enable it.

As usual, creating a new world is necessary, as the mod doesn’t work on the current one.

Once you’re in the world, select the Crafting window by clicking the hammer and ruler icon on the left side of your screen and clicking the Carpentry tab.

From here, you’ll see a new recipe “Build Plank From Scrap Wood”, which requires at least 4 Scrap Woods to make 1 Plank. Make sure you meet its requirements, then select “Craft One”.

Now, you have a pretty vital recipe to make your wooden leftovers more valuable!


That’s what to do with scrap wood in Project Zomboid.

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Binh Tran

As a game writer, my goal is to craft engaging, informative, and concise articles. Whether it's diving into the latest gaming trends or writing game guides, I'm always excited to share my insights with others.

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