Dismantling and scrapping in Project Zomboid

Right-click a movable object in the world and pick the scrap or disassemble option. The game checks that you carry the right tools for that object's material, plays a timed action, and then rolls for the returns. If nothing usable rolls, you usually get a low-value fallback item instead.

Which skill the action uses depends on the material. Wood objects use Carpentry, electronics use Electrical, and metal objects use Welding. Note the Build 42 rename: the old Build 41 Metalworking skill is now called Welding, and the new Metalworking skill covers forge work, described on the blacksmithing page.

Higher skill in the matching skill raises the chance of getting usable materials back rather than junk. Dismantling always returns materials, whatever your XP settings.

The table sums up what current Build 42 sources agree on. Exact quantities are rolled and are not published by the sources used here, so treat the returns column as typical outcomes, not fixed amounts.

Window frames and sinks were not covered by the Build 42 sources checked for this page. Right-click them in game to see the tool list before you plan a run around them. Interior stairs need a sledgehammer to remove.

Carry a hammer and a saw for anything wooden. Both stay in your inventory after the job. A screwdriver is the usual third tool, needed for doors and some furniture. All three are covered on the tools page.

• Planks: wooden furniture is the classic early source. Low Carpentry means more failed rolls, which leave Scrap Wood or Unusable Wood. Unusable Wood weighs 1.0 (one source) and is only good as fuel.
• Nails: nails are a common bottleneck, and scrapping furniture is one way to get them back. A single nail weighs 0.05 (one source), so even a big haul is light.
• Doors: taking a door apart gives hardware, not wood. Leave doors in place unless you need the hinges and knobs or want the doorway open.

Opinion Large wooden pieces such as bookshelves, dressers and big tables are the best plank targets per action, because each one takes about as long as a small stool. Clear a furnished house room by room instead of carrying furniture home.

A screwdriver is all you need, and it is kept after each dismantle. Electronics are the main way to level Electrical without books, and Electrical is exempt from the dismantle XP cap described below, so this keeps working at higher levels.

The XP figures above were published for 42.19 (one source). Electrical skill books multiply this XP inside their level bands, from x3 for Electrical I up to x16 for Electrical V; see skill books.

Opinion Do not scrap every radio you find. A working ham radio or walkie-talkie is worth more on the radio than as 10 XP. Keep Electronics Scrap in a labeled crate, because it is used for generator repairs.

Metal scrapping needs a welding torch (the propane torch, item Base.BlowTorch) with fuel in it, and a welding mask worn or carried for the job. The torch is a drainable tool that holds 10 uses when full (one source), and a large wreck can use several. Refill an empty torch from a portable propane tank; one source estimates about 7 full refills per tank (one source). The fuel page covers where to find propane.

Burnt and smashed car wrecks are the best metal targets. Each one gives sheet metal, pipes and metal bars, and highways and junkyards often hold several in a row. Metal furniture such as chairs, filing cabinets and shelving gives smaller amounts. Sheet metal and pipes feed metal walls, door reinforcement and vehicle repairs in Welding.

Sources disagree on the skill gate. Some players report wrecks can be scrapped at Welding 0, others say Welding 1 is needed. Check the right-click option on a wreck to see whether it is greyed out for your character.

Working car parts are a separate job. Uninstall them from the vehicle mechanics screen with Mechanics skill and the tools it lists, rather than scrapping the whole car; see vehicles.

Build 42 adds a sandbox option called Maximum Dismantling XP Level. Once a skill reaches that level, dismantling stops giving XP for it. Electrical is the exception. The Apocalypse, Outbreak, Rising and Extinction presets set it to 0, so on default worlds scrapping furniture gives no Carpentry XP at all. This is the biggest change from Build 41, where scrapping furniture was a standard way to train Carpentry early.

To get scrap XP back, raise the option in sandbox settings before starting a world. Players report setting it as high as 10. For other training routes see skill leveling.