40d:Wall

A wall is a either a map tile or a construction that blocks access to creatures. The appearence of a constructed wall is similar to that of a smoothed wall but it works the same as any filled tile composed of mountain rock, clay or soil. Walls either occur naturally (e.g. a Rough-hewn Andesite Wall), or can be constructed. With constructed walls it is possible to create multi-level buildings such as towers complete with roofs by creating floors on the layer above. A wall fills the tile it is in and creates a walkable space above it.

Digging

As explained on the digging page, naturally occuring walls can be dug out using the designations dig command, or h channel command. These tasks are carried out by dwarves with the mining labor activated.

Natural walls can be designated for smoothing and engraving to improve the appearance and value of the wall. These tasks are carried out by dwarves with the stone detailing labor activated.

Construction

As of v0.28.181.39a, walls can be built en masse. To do this, use the build -> Construction -> wall command. The keys u,m,k and h are used to change size. There was no way to build more than one at a time in previous versions. Walls may be built on any square which does not already contain a structure, provided your dwarves can reach that square (this does not allow for your dwarves to build it diagonally); however any structure which cannot draw support from an adjacent construction (including walls 1 z-level lower) or any unchanneled adjacent floors will collapse. This means it is important to be careful when building around bridges since a bridge will not support a structure, and any mason/carpenter who builds a structure off a bridge is likely to sustain wounds often requiring a few months' bed rest. It is however possible to build walls on top of doors if there is a supporting wall on the same level. Walls made of wood must be built by a carpenter, stone walls by a mason, and metal walls by any metalworker. Building a wall will create a floor of the same type as the wall on the layer above it, provided there is no floor there.

Constructed walls cannot be engraved, but can be carved into fortifications (designate - carve fortifications).

An unsupported wall will fall down and cause a cave-in, even punching through any floor tile in its way before smashing into solid ground and deconstructing.

Walls can be constructed using blocks instead of raw stone or logs, which changes the description from "rough felsite block wall" to "felsite block wall", and increases the value of the construction. This can be important when trying to maximize the value of a noble's bedroom. Also carving blocks is a good way to train the masonry skill before switching the mason to building high quality furniture.

Removing Walls

To remove a wall, open the designations menu and select n Remove Construction.

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