Can someone explain Structural integrity?

[DeadGods]

My wife and I have had way too many collapses on our fort. We are building with Wood on pillars. If someoen can tell me how to build a tower on stilts that would be great.

[Smokie]

http://7daystodie.gamepedia.com/Structural_Integrity
http://7daystodie.gamepedia.com/Max_Load
http://7daystodie.gamepedia.com/Mass

These wiki pages should explain it better than I can...there are many factors that go into a building a structure.
But basically depending on what you build with, you can only create a beam/support so long before it collapses and on top of that can only hold a certain amount of mass. Takes some messing around in creative to get use to.

Like just trying to build a 1 meter window bay and it always falls :( seems like it can support it but just falls.

[Lenkdrache]

Basically, each block has a weight, and each block can support so much weight before breaking..... If you hold the mouse pointer over each block, you'll see what it can hold.... and if you follow the links above, you'll get even more detailed info :)

[Lerch Addams]

Welcome to the game :)

It's also important to mention that underground excavation can affect above ground spanned sturctures so to be safe on your first few buildings avoid the Super Secret Underground Fortress under your Super Awesome Above Ground Tree House so you don't have to troubleshoot strange blocks from falling out of your structure.

Pushing a 1,000 hours ingame....maybe i should go read those guides Lenk posted :p

[nitnoid2002]

I've been playing around with stilt building and have come to the conclusion that walls are way better than stilts. If you are making a wood floor second story, you need to make sure you place a support every 4th block. The rooms underneath tend to get busy real quick this way. One of the best tricks to employ is to build your support with a rebar cobble block on top, and build your platform from that, using wood since it is lighter. If you build an interior wall instead of a support column, it helps support better. Also, a 2x2 column supports even more weight than a single column.

[DeadGods]

We used the wood Pillar. But I don't think those collapsed. It may have been the floor of our stilty building. I'll probably go creative and play a bit.

[Chaoslink]

Keep in mind that building on stilts is a great strategy, but it limits you significantly. Keep things small. The more supports you have the better, but you will have less freedom building on them as the ground you aren't building on would be helping to support the whole thing. Its more complicated than just making sure theres a pillar in the middle of a room. I can't explain it, but make sure you don't skimp on the supports. I find that with wood, 2-3 'blocks' apart is the best way to go, and don't forget to fill the center, not just the perimeter... Don't get it too crowded though else zeds attack it.

[YamaKami]

I tried to build a wooden house on a cobblestone pillar. That was using ann upsidown pyramid shape built with metal trussing and cobblestone ramps, Seemed to be working fine 2 hrs in. Then I removed 4 frames that were my floor. Not part of any support structure at all. Literal interior floor still in th ewood frame stage. I was gonna do falgstone for a fireplace there. Short story long... removed for frames fromthe floor and the entire thing save the pillar in the center fell. 2-3hrs wasted there. So above all else remember $H1T can and will happen. :)

I should add that pillar was built from the stone layer not on dirt, and with no excavasion under it to speak of. The pillar was 3x3 with a hollow center containing a metal ladder and it was modest in size overall, and surely not over the weight limit of the trussing. The upsidown pyramid started at the height of the 4th block. Leaving a 3 high gap under it before dirt. Love to be more accurate with dimensions, but this is from memory since it literaly all came crashing down....

[Smokie]

Originally posted by nitnoid2002:

I've been playing around with stilt building and have come to the conclusion that walls are way better than stilts. If you are making a wood floor second story, you need to make sure you place a support every 4th block. The rooms underneath tend to get busy real quick this way. One of the best tricks to employ is to build your support with a rebar cobble block on top, and build your platform from that, using wood since it is lighter. If you build an interior wall instead of a support column, it helps support better. Also, a 2x2 column supports even more weight than a single column.

That is odd...every 4th block? what kind of floor do you have above?

here is a screenshot of structure in a current game. You can walk in the top and no collapse and there is no supports...other than the interior walls. It looks roughly 9x6 (the big part) and the integrity of wood planks is 6. Whats odd is that back room, off to the right, was made AFTER I made second floor.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266201502

[Lerch Addams]

Basic 7 unit concrete box sturcture.
Very safe structure to start with.
Applies to wood as well.
(ignore my zombie friends, they'll help dismantle it later i imagine)

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266211051

Second floor with 1/2 Concrete blocks for unit scale.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266211145

Example of a more complex box structure.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266211269

Unsupported span of 5 concrete blocks (with stylish end table).
If you add a 6th block with a load on it (stylish end table) you get a collapse.
Or if you build out to 6 blocks and add the end table you will get a collapse.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266218817

"Pardon the interruption during your helpful post but could we eat your brain?"

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266224972

You can fill the box with whatever material you like.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266225575

[nitnoid2002]

If you are using concrete, you can get bigger spans than 4 blocks. But, if you are using wood frame columns or walls, I've not been able to get any spans bigger than every 4th block. This is the only way wood appears to be stable. It looks like the above pictured platform is using the rebar-cobble walls or supports, which will work better.

I tried building a 6x6 platform with single rebar-cobble frames. I can get the 6x6 to be stable, but when I start building it 6x12, with a support at 1, 6, 12, it collapses when I almost get the floor filled in. I was able to fill in the floor with WOOD frames and got to about a 6x12 but when I started filling in the other 2 quarters (to make it a full 12x12 platform) it collapsed.

I have no experience with concrete blocks however.

[Smokie]

Originally posted by nitnoid2002:

If you are using concrete, you can get bigger spans than 4 blocks. But, if you are using wood frame columns or walls, I've not been able to get any spans bigger than every 4th block. This is the only way wood appears to be stable. It looks like the above pictured platform is using the rebar-cobble walls or supports, which will work better.

I tried building a 6x6 platform with single rebar-cobble frames. I can get the 6x6 to be stable, but when I start building it 6x12, with a support at 1, 6, 12, it collapses when I almost get the floor filled in. I was able to fill in the floor with WOOD frames and got to about a 6x12 but when I started filling in the other 2 quarters (to make it a full 12x12 platform) it collapsed.

I have no experience with concrete blocks however.

I remember hearing that a "beam" continues counting around turns. So your wood walls is also being calculated into the "beam". Maybe that is why you collapse with only 4 blocks.

[Lerch Addams]

Concrete can span to 5 units between column supprts like in the screenshots.

Metal trussing will span 7 between column supports but it's expensive and looks very industrial.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=266411083

That span is 11 units because part of it descending the hill.
Back to horizontal spans of metal truss can go to 14 but the minute you start loading back to back spans strange things will happen.

i had the crazy idea to build an elevated walkway from my hilltop fortress chateau to Diersville before the next update...should be a challenge...

No creative mode with default settings except low block durability and no feral.

[nitnoid2002]

I was building an elevated walkway to Diersville a while back. Started at the church, went across the river and then started turning north. Decided I wanted it covered with awning pieces. Kept out the hornets quite well. Then I decided to light it up because I got surprised by a z that had spawned up there. Scared the crap out of me. Placed 1 torch an entire 70m stretch came tumbling down. I was using cobblestone.

As far as the wood goes, if you are making just a beam, its easy to get longer stretches. If you are making a platform, its a completely different story. Try building a platform with a single wood column support. Build out from that 2 blocks in each direction. Then fill it in. That makes a 3x3 platform. It will not support anything bigger than that. If you build a companion platform with the same dimension next to it, so that they both connect together (2 3x3 platforms with a single column support) it will collapse.

[Lerch Addams]

"Torches and Water in this game have their own rules and do not bow to the will of man."

[jrich360]

Basic explanation of structural integrity is you want no cave underground directly beneath any support beams for your structure or it undermines its integrity. Support beams from floor to floor going up should be directly on top of each other and not staggered or you will not be able to go very high before you can't stick blocks horizontally from the structure.

I havent tested if certain blocks have better integrity as far as horizontal or not but I would venture to guess the stronger the material the farther out you could go horizontally from the structure without a collapse. The actual weight of the block could factor into the equation as well as strenght but I haven't tested each block to see how far out I could go.