How to Upgrade a Dirt House in Minecraft
Transform a basic beginner dirt shelter into an aesthetic starter cabin using stripped logs, cobblestone foundation, and glass windows.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
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- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Iron or Stone Axe
- ✓ Iron or Stone Pickaxe
- ✓ Iron or Stone Shovel
- ✓ Crafting Table
- ✓ Furnace
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Oak Logs
- ✓ Cobblestone
- ✓ Oak Planks
- ✓ Glass Panes
- ✓ Oak Stairs
- ✓ Oak Slabs
- ✓ Torches
- ✓ Oak Door
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Ensure the surrounding build site is fully illuminated to prevent hostile mob spawns.
- • Keep full hunger and health bars to avoid sudden creeper explosion fatalities.
- • Enclose the perimeter with temporary fencing if building through the night cycle.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (5 Steps)
Clear Dirt and Lay Cobblestone Foundation
Dismantle the original dirt walls and ceiling using a shovel. Replace the dirt perimeter footprint with a 5x7 rectangle of cobblestone blocks to serve as the structural base. Dig out the interior floor layer by one block and fill it with oak planks.
- • A flat 5x7 cobblestone perimeter ring with an oak plank interior floor visible on screen.
- • Leaving uneven dirt patches under the wall line.
- • Breaking the storage chests before replacing the floor beneath them.
Erect Corner Log Pillars
Place vertical oak logs 4 blocks high on each of the four outer cobblestone corners. Right-click the placed logs with an axe to strip their bark, creating a smooth textured timber frame. Connect the top logs horizontally with matching stripped oak logs to form the roof frame.
- • Four 4-block-tall stripped oak corner posts connected at the top by a matching horizontal timber ring.
- • Placing logs with bark facing sideways on the vertical pillars.
- • Stripping logs accidentally while trying to break blocks.
Fill Walls and Cut Window Openings
Fill the open spaces between the log pillars using oak planks. Leave a 1x2 vertical gap in the center of the front wall for the doorway, and leave 1x2 or 2x2 gaps on side walls for windows. Place glass panes inside the window cutouts to allow natural daylighting.
- • Solid plank walls flush with the foundation containing inset glass panes and an open doorway.
- • Placing full glass blocks instead of panes, which reduces depth.
- • Forgetting to leave an entrance opening.
Construct A-Frame Pitched Roof
Place oak stairs along the top edge of the side walls facing upward to create an overhang. Layer oak stairs inward and upward toward the center ridge to form an A-frame gable. Connect the top peak with oak slabs and place upside-down stairs under the overhangs for support styling.
- • A triangular pitched stair roof extending one block past the exterior walls on all sides.
- • Placing stairs upside-down accidentally along the main slope.
- • Making the roof flush with the walls instead of creating an overhang.
Install Door, Interior Furnishings, and Lighting
Place an oak door from the inside of the frame so it rests with depth against the outer wall. Place a bed, crafting table, double chest, and furnace inside the cabin. Hang a lantern or place torches on the walls to ensure the interior light level stays above zero everywhere.
- • Functional cabin interior with illuminated corners, placed crafting stations, bed, and closed door.
- • Placing the door from the exterior, making it look flat against the frame.
- • Leaving dark corners behind chests where mobs can spawn.
Credit: inspired by an original tutorial by HellFrozen — watch the original on YouTube.
Don’t have everything?
- No Glass Panes? Oak Fence / Iron Bars
- No Oak Logs? Spruce or Birch Logs
- No Lanterns? Standard Torches