Permafrost Base Building: Smelter, Benches and Shelter
Updated 2026-10-14 · Last checked 2026-10-14 · Early Access
The store page treats building as a shelter network that pushes your safe ground into colder territory. The structure extract lists 171 rows with health, build cost, repair cost, and dismantle return. Some of those rows are NPC variants. This page keeps the player benches that were checked by hand.
These are construction costs from the community archive dated 9 October, rechecked on 14 October 2026. They do not prove a blueprint is unlocked in your save. The official FAQ confirms building blueprints, and the known-issues post confirms that some recipe notes can drop before their tool is available.
Checked structure costs
Build and dismantle use separate fields. Some structures return their full material count; the professional smelter even returns a different material. These are file parameters, not a tested recycling strategy.
| Structure | Build | Dismantle return |
|---|---|---|
| Campfire | 2 stone | 1 stone |
| Wall torch | 2 cloth + 1 wood | 1 cloth |
| Workbench | 10 wood | 10 wood |
| Stone furnace | 40 stone | 30 stone |
| Bed | 5 cloth + 5 wood | 5 cloth |
| Wooden chest | 5 wood | 1 wood |
| Stove | 30 scrap | 30 scrap |
| Dismantle bench | 10 wood + 10 iron | 5 iron |
| Repair bench | 10 wood + 10 flint | 2 flint |
| Makeshift smelter | 5 scrap | 2 scrap |
| Professional smelter | 5 iron ingots | 2 quality metal |
| Weapon bench | 10 wood + 10 iron ingots | 5 iron ingots |
Placement rules that were actually stated
The Steam starter guide says you need warmth to sleep and recommends a small temporary setup before moving a larger base toward House Camp. Treat that as author advice, not a mandatory quest requirement. Build heat, storage and workstations around the routes you actually use.
The official Building Blocks post dated 5 December 2025 describes wood, scrap and quality-metal construction tiers and a blueprint skill tree. It says the tiers differ in durability and warmth. This pre-release explanation is useful context, not a current walkthrough for unlocking an individual bench.
Foundation, floor and wall prerequisites are described in the structure file. That archive does not establish whether current crafting can draw from nearby containers. Check the materials shown by your station before committing resources; exact blueprint unlock routes and no-build zones still need an in-game check.
Questions
How do I build a smelter in Permafrost?
Makeshift smelter is 5 scrap. Professional smelter is 5 iron ingots.
Are there building schematics?
The store FAQ confirms building blueprints. The older Building Blocks post describes a blueprint skill tree, but the current unlock route for an individual station is not verified in the saved sources checked on 14 October 2026.
Related pages
Sources
- Steam store page — Permafrost (app 2254990) — Checked 2026-10-14. Price, platforms, Early Access FAQ, and system requirements.
- ITRIABOV — game-file reference tables on Steam Community — Downloaded and checked 2026-10-14. Archive files dated 2026-10-09; game build not identified. Includes hidden, NPC and quest variants, not just player-accessible content.
- Developer — Known Issues & Workarounds — Developer-tagged post, edited 11 October; checked 2026-10-14. Iron-pick description, unavailable refined flint sledgehammer, controller crafting and co-op. Newer patch notes take priority.
- Robert N. Adams — Steam starter guide — Warmth and House Camp base-location advice, checked 2026-10-14.
- Developer — Building Blocks — 5 December 2025: wood, scrap and quality-metal tiers unlocked through the blueprint skill tree. Pre-release description, not a current station-unlock walkthrough.