Map, platform and update differences are noted where they affect the steps.
Make planks in Medieval Dynasty by processing logs at a Woodshed, or look for planks in merchant inventories. If your first house needs planks before you can establish that production, inspect its unfinished roof with your hammer and change the roof material to straw. You can finish an achievable roof first instead of treating plank production as a compulsory first-house project.
The first-house problem is often a material selection issue. In a 2025 Steam discussion, a player could not build a Woodshed yet, and replies explained how to change the unfinished house roof. Check that choice before searching the map for timber or restarting your settlement.
Fix an unfinished roof before doing anything else
Return to the house and identify the section requesting planks. Equip your hammer, look at the unfinished roof, and use the displayed interaction prompt to open its construction options. Community guidance describes changing that roof to straw before completing it.
Follow this short recovery sequence:
- Read the unfinished section's current material requirement.
- Open its options while holding the hammer.
- Choose the straw-roof alternative shown in the menu.
- Inspect the revised material list.
- Gather what that selected section actually requires.
The important action is changing the intended material, rather than repeatedly trying to deliver a different one. Straw does not satisfy a plank requirement while the plank-based option remains selected. Confirm that the displayed requirement changes before you leave to gather supplies.
Check the whole house, section by section
A house can leave you looking at one missing section while you mentally plan materials for another. Work around the unfinished building and inspect the remaining requirements individually. This makes it easier to distinguish a roof choice from the rest of your construction work.
Our recommendation is to finish the version you can supply reliably now. You can then consider different building materials as your resource production develops. Before planning later changes, inspect the actual building options and requirements rather than assuming every change has the same process or material cost.
This approach also gives you a useful habit for later construction. Read the blueprint, identify its inputs, and decide whether to produce them or obtain them through trade. It keeps a small building problem from turning into an unnecessary search for an advanced production chain.
How logs become planks at the Woodshed
The production chain is straightforward: gather logs, bring them into your available Woodshed crafting setup, and select planks. Steam discussions identify the Woodshed as the place for that conversion. Logs and finished planks remain different items, so collecting timber is only the first stage.
Inspect the current recipe before deciding how many logs to gather. The material quantity shown in your game is a better planning reference than a ratio remembered from an older guide. Make enough for a defined project first, then review whether you want to establish a larger supply.
| What you have | What it tells you | Useful next check |
|---|---|---|
| Sticks | You have a different wood resource | Read the plank recipe's input |
| Logs | You have the raw material for plank production | Check your Woodshed options |
| Planks | You have the processed building material | Check the unfinished section's demand |
| Straw | You have an alternative roofing material | Confirm a straw roof is selected |
Use the item names on both sides of the recipe to avoid mixing up these stages. A pile of logs does not mean you already have a plank supply. Once you have crafted the intended product, return to the building requirement and compare the matching item.
What to do when you cannot build a Woodshed
Check the Woodshed's availability in your current building and technology menus. If you cannot construct it yet, separate your immediate housing problem from the longer production goal. The roof workaround exists precisely because a first home does not need to wait for every material chain you might eventually want.
Do not assume you must unlock a particular numeric threshold quoted by an old post. Availability and requirements should be read from the game you are playing. For the first-house situation, changing an unfinished roof to straw can remove the need to solve Woodshed access immediately.
The other option is to investigate trade if you want to keep the selected roof. That route depends on finding a merchant with the material and accepting the displayed price. Choose it deliberately instead of treating a purchase as an unavoidable cost of starting the game.
When buying planks makes sense
Community replies identify merchants as an alternative source of planks and wood. Check the actual inventory before travelling with a plan that depends on a guaranteed quantity. A merchant is useful when the available stock fits a specific remaining construction need.
For a small shortfall, buying the material may suit your preferred pace. For repeated building work, consider whether making planks yourself would better support your plans. That is an editorial convenience comparison, not a claim that one method always produces the highest profit.
Avoid treating timber lying around an established village as your standard supply route. Items that belong to someone else are not simply free construction stock. Use your own production or legitimate purchases when planning a dependable building routine.
Get straw for the temporary roof
If you switch to straw, go looking for reeds around water rather than collecting unrelated plants. Community guidance identifies reeds as an early straw source and discusses grain processing as another route later on. The straw guide explains those options when you are learning to recognize the resource.
Take a moment to compare your supply with the revised roof requirement before returning home. This is especially helpful if you changed several unfinished sections. You want a completed roof, rather than a bag containing the right material in an amount you never checked.
A straw roof can solve the immediate construction bottleneck while you continue learning the game. It lets your next trip serve another clear purpose, such as finding food or gathering materials for an available building. Use the beginner guide if you need help choosing that next priority.
Plan your next building before producing more
Once the first house is complete, look at your next intended project and list its missing materials. Decide which of those you can already gather, which require a workstation, and which you might buy. Planks then become one understandable part of the plan rather than a resource to collect without a use in mind.
Keep your tools in that plan too, since the official game description includes equipment wear. A gathering route is easier to complete when you have considered the tool you need and its condition. Check the current recipe and construction list again whenever you change the project or material choice.
A quick diagnosis for the plank problem
If construction still asks for planks, check whether you changed the correct unfinished section. If you have logs but no planks, check the Woodshed conversion stage. If neither production nor trade is practical yet, inspect the straw-roof option again before assuming your first settlement is stuck.