Figuring out how to barricade windows in Project Zomboid is a critical part of every survivor’s journey. You’ll never be able to lock down an area for survival if you can’t board up the windows, making it a mandatory step in your long-term survival.
To barricade windows in Project Zomboid, right-click on the window with planks, nails, and a hammer in your inventory. Then, select the barricade option and nail up to four planks over the window.
That’s the very short explanation of how to barricade windows in Project Zomboid. It’s simple, in theory, but it is a little bit trickier when it comes to actually doing it in-game. I’m going to break the process down into three steps below, so even if you’re a complete beginner, you should be able to follow along.
How to Barricade Windows in Project Zomboid
Step 1 – Loot the Necessary Tools
In order to barricade windows in Project Zomboid, you’re going to need a steady supply of certain materials. To get a supply of those materials, you’re going to need some tools. Namely, you’ll need a saw and a hammer.
It doesn’t particularly matter what saw or hammer you manage to get your hands on – as long as one hits and the other cuts you should be all good.
How to Get a Saw and Hammer in Project Zomboid
A saw and a hammer are two of the most essential tools in all of Project Zomboid. They’re absolutely necessary for creating any sort of livable base and you need them to barricade up your windows. It’s pretty vital that you have at least one of each, so let’s take a look at how you can get your hands on them.
- Saws tend to spawn in crates, which in turn are found in warehouses (marked in black on the map), making them your best bet at finding a saw. Alternatively, you can try your luck with the occasional tool shed you find in residential areas.
- Hammers are very much in the same vein. They’re primarily found in crates and warehouses, but you can also get lucky with them in the occasional toolbox or shed.
Regardless of how you go about getting a saw and hammer, you’ll need them both to barricade your windows.
Step 2 – Get Your Hands on Some Planks and Nails
Technically, you don’t need a saw to barricade windows in Project Zomboid. You do, however, need planks. Saws allow you to get planks, so you can see why you might want to pick one up.
There are two ways for you to get planks in Project Zomboid:
- The first, and easiest method is to use your saw to disassemble furniture. This will award you with both planks and nails and will train your carpentry skill.
- Alternatively, you can chop down trees with an ax and convert the logs into planks with your saw. This is a more sustainable method and great for hoarding large quantities of planks, but it’s time-consuming. This method also won’t drop nails, so you’ll need to source them elsewhere.
For simplicities sake, just take your saw and hammer and disassemble some furniture. You can take pretty much every piece of furniture in the game apart by right-clicking on it and selecting disassemble from the menu. In the early days of the apocalypse, this disassembly process won’t yield you much unless you started as a carpenter. However, it should give you enough planks and nails to barricade your windows.
As a little bonus, you can actually take the crates that you can find hammers and saws in apart. These are a great source of both planks and carpentry XP, so keep that in the back of your mind going forward.
Step 3 – Barricade the Windows
Once you’ve got some planks, nails, and a hammer, walk over to your window of choice and right-click on it. In the menu, you should be able to see a “barricade” option. Click on it and your character will barricade the window with one plank. Repeat the process three more times, using a total of 4 planks and 8 nails, and the window will be fully barricaded.
Keep in mind that this barricade won’t prevent zombies from banging on your windows, but as long as it holds, it will prevent them from crawling through them. Just make sure you combine your barricades with curtains for maximum safety.
Related: How to Siphon Gas in Project Zomboid
