OSRS Construction Guide 1-99 (2026): Fast, Cheap and AFK Routes

Quick summary

• Start with Daddy's Home. The training page says it gets you from 1 to 8 (OSRS Wiki).
• Fastest: oak larders from 33, mahogany tables from 52, gnome benches from 77. The wiki puts gnome benches at just over 1,100,000 XP/h.
• Cheaper: oak larders to 74, then oak doors to 99 at up to about 550,000 XP/h.
• Most relaxed: Mahogany Homes contracts or the Sailing-era shipwrights' workbench. Repair kits there give up to 29 seconds of idle time per inventory.
• Most players stop at 84 and boost to build a maxed house, per Theoatrix and OSRS Best in Slot. Some top items need 85 for a reliable boost.

Construction is a fast 99 in hours, but every plank you build is gone. So the useful question is how much time and gold you want to trade for each other. This OSRS Construction guide gives a route for each choice, prices it, then walks through every step. Rates come from the OSRS Wiki's Construction training page, checked on October 28, 2026, including the Sailing-era shipwrights' workbench methods. It's for members on Old School RuneScape, not RuneScape 3. 99 needs 13,034,431 XP; hour and cost estimates are our arithmetic on the wiki's rates and prices.

Pick a route

Your goal	Route	Rough hours (our arithmetic)
Fastest	Daddy's Home → oak furniture → oak larders 33–52 → mahogany tables 52–77 → gnome benches 77–99	About 12.5 h
Cheaper, still fast	Oak larders 33–74 → oak doors 74–99	About 25 h
Cheaper teak option	Mounted mythical capes 50–99 (needs Dragon Slayer II)	About 30 h from 50
Relaxed, low cost	Mahogany Homes from 1	About 68 h, or about 52 h with the plank sack
AFK	Shipwrights' workbench repair kits (needs Pandemonium)	Varies by kit; slower than the house methods

We divided the XP for each range by the wiki's XP/h for the method. For the fastest route that's 0.2 h for 33–52, 1.5 h for 52–77 at about 900,000 XP/h and 10.5 h for 77–99 at 1,100,000 XP/h. The wiki itself says 52–77 should take under 2 hours with good attention. For oak doors we used the middle of the wiki's 500,000–550,000 range. For Mahogany Homes we used the midpoint of each tier's range from the wiki's table. The hours assume a demon butler and perfect clicking, so most players will take longer.

How much does 99 Construction cost?

At Grand Exchange prices on October 28, 2026, the wiki prices an oak plank at about 422 coins (7 coins per XP) and a mahogany plank at 1,816 coins (13 coins per XP). Demon butler wages add about 52 coins per plank. Our arithmetic on the plank counts below:

Route from 33	Planks	Approximate cost
Fastest (oak larders, mahogany tables, gnome benches)	1,760 oak + 92,226 mahogany	About 173 million coins
Cheaper (oak larders to 74, oak doors to 99)	About 217,000 oak	About 103 million coins

So the fast route saves about 12 hours for about 70 million coins. The wiki frames it the same way: mahogany only makes sense if you earn more per hour elsewhere than the time it saves you is worth. Plank prices move, so check the Grand Exchange before you buy in bulk. Our money making guide covers ways to fund it.

Example: you have 120 hours of free time but not much gold. Mahogany Homes earns you the carpenter's outfit and plank sack along the way, and its cost per XP is far lower than gnome benches on the wiki's table. If you'd rather click less, add shipwright repair kits to the mix.

Do these in order

1. Get a house. Daddy's Home gives you one, or you can buy one from an estate agent (Theoatrix).
2. Daddy's Home for levels 1–8.
3. Oak planks from 15 so you don't need nails.
4. Build two bedrooms with beds before 40, so you can hire a butler.
5. Human butler at 40, demon butler at 50. The demon butler carries 26 planks per trip (OSRS Best in Slot).
6. Servant's moneybag at 58, so wage prompts never interrupt you.
7. Superior garden at 65 for gnome benches and the pools.
8. Portal nexus at 72, then the house targets in the checklist below.

Levels 1–33: Quests and starter furniture

Quests

The wiki's quest-reward table lists 13 quests with Construction XP, worth 74,150 in total:

Quest	Construction XP	Construction level needed
The Eyes of Glouphrie	250	5
Daddy's Home (miniquest)	400	None
At First Light	800	27
Tower of Life	1,000	10
Cold War	1,500	34
Darkness of Hallowvale	2,000	5
The Great Brain Robbery	2,000	30
Shadows of Custodia	3,000	41
Getting Ahead	3,200	26
The Fremennik Isles	5,000	20
Scrambled!	5,000	38
Making Friends with My Arm	10,000	35
Song of the Elves	40,000	70

The quest table gives Daddy's Home 400 XP. The training page says it gives 944 XP in total, which is level 8 (801 XP). The difference is the furniture you build during the miniquest.

The Eyes of Glouphrie also gives the crystal saw (Theoatrix).

Free XP from other activities

• Wintertodt gives Construction XP equal to 4 × your Construction level, so it's best from about 4 to 27 (OSRS Wiki).
• Fishing Trawler gives 5 XP per leak fixed. The wiki averages 11,220 XP while earning the full angler's outfit.
• Vale Totems gives XP equal to your level for each totem.
• Barlak in Dorgesh-Kaan pays XP for long and curved bones from level 30 (needs Death to the Dorgeshuun).

Starter furniture

The wiki's table to 33 (keep a saw and hammer in your inventory):

Levels	Build	Room	Materials each	XP each	How many
1–4	Crude wooden chair	Parlour	2 planks, steel nails	58	5
4–9	Wooden bookcase	Parlour	4 planks, nails	115	7
9–15	Wooden larder	Kitchen	8 planks, nails	228	7
15–16	Repair bench	Workshop	2 oak planks	120	3
16–22	Crafting table 1	Workshop	4 oak planks	240	12
22–31	Oak dining table	Dining room	4 oak planks	240	39
31–33	Carved oak table	Dining room	6 oak planks	360	10

In total that's 94 planks, 270 oak planks and about 188 steel nails. Use steel nails or better, because lower-tier nails bend more often.

Before a butler: keep your house portal in Rimmington and unnote planks at Phials for a small fee per plank. It's faster than banking.

Levels 33–52: Oak larders

Oak larders take 8 oak planks and give 480 XP each. You'll need 220 larders (1,760 planks) for 33–52. The wiki says up to 500,000 XP/h is possible from 50 with perfect clicks, or 480,000–490,000 with a few mistakes.

Method: build the larder in the kitchen, remove it, build again. Press the number key from the build menu and "1" to confirm removal. Keep your mouse over the hotspot so you don't have to move it.

Levels 52–99: The fastest route

52–77: Mahogany tables

Mahogany tables take 6 mahogany planks and give 840 XP. For 52–77 that's about 1,610 tables (9,660 planks). The wiki puts the rate at up to about 900,000 XP/h. It gives a tick-by-tick cycle of remove, build menu, build, with a demon butler run every few builds.

77–99: Gnome benches

At 77, gnome benches in the superior garden take the same 6 mahogany planks and 840 XP. They have two hotspots, so you can build one while removing the other. That makes them the fastest Construction method on the wiki, at just over 1,100,000 XP/h.

1. Stand between the two bench hotspots with 18 mahogany planks and one bench already built.
2. Send the demon butler for 24 mahogany planks.
3. On the next tick, remove the built bench.
4. On the tick after, build on the other empty hotspot.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you run out of planks.
6. When the butler returns, remove and build one bench, then send him again.

For 77–99 that's about 13,761 benches (82,566 mahogany planks).

Levels 33–99: The cheaper routes

Oak larders to 74, then oak doors

From 74, oak dungeon doors take 10 oak planks and give 600 XP. The wiki gives up to about 550,000 XP/h, or above 500,000 even with occasional mistakes. For 74–99 that's 19,897 doors (198,970 oak planks).

1. Send the demon butler for 25 oak planks.
2. Build two doors and remove one. You should have 5–8 planks left.
3. When the butler is back, remove and build a door, take the rest of his planks and send him again.
4. Repeat step 2.

Asking for 20 planks per trip is slightly slower but leaves less room for mistakes. With RuneLite, OSRS Wiki suggests a custom menu swap so the butler is left-click, then holding "1".

Mounted mythical capes, 50–99

This needs Dragon Slayer II, which itself requires 50 Construction. Each mounted cape uses 3 teak planks. The wiki gives up to about 430,000 XP/h. For 50–99 that's 34,955 capes (104,865 teak planks), and the wiki lists it as the lowest cost per XP of its house methods. Keep an equippable item in your inventory: you can't remove a mounted cape with a full inventory of planks.

Teak garden benches, 66–74

These take 6 teak planks and give 540 XP. The wiki says perfect play is about 700,000 XP/h, but most players get 500,000–600,000. Expect about an hour to get from 66 to 74.

Train with Mahogany Homes

Talk to Amy in Falador for your first contract. Then take contracts from her or from Marlo (Varrock), Ellie (East Ardougne) or Angelo (Hosidius). You'll need planks for the tier, steel bars, a hammer and a saw. No nails (OSRS Wiki).

Tier	Level	XP/h (wiki)	XP/h with plank sack
Beginner	1	35,000–50,000	50,000–70,000
Novice	20	80,000–95,000	110,000–140,000
Adept	50	130,000–150,000	155,000–200,000
Expert	70	185,000–210,000	240,000–280,000

Why do it: carpenter points buy the carpenter's outfit (+2.5% XP for the full set) and the plank sack. Each finished contract also includes a cup of tea that refills your run energy. You'll need teleports to all four cities. A charged Xeric's talisman helps with Hosidius.

The crystal saw can't be used to get higher-tier contracts, per the wiki.

Train at a shipwrights' workbench

Since Sailing, you can build repair kits and hull parts at a shipwrights' workbench. It needs the Pandemonium quest. You can sell what you make, unlike house furniture. Planks give about half as much XP as in a house, but repair kits have up to 29 seconds of idle time per inventory (OSRS Wiki).

Item	Level	XP/h (wiki)
Repair kit	1	52,200
Oak repair kit	19	108,000
Teak repair kit	30	162,000
Mahogany repair kit	47	252,000
Camphor repair kit	66	306,000
Ironwood repair kit	80	360,000
Rosewood repair kit	92	396,000
Mahogany hull parts	41	350,000
Camphor hull parts	53	400,000
Ironwood hull parts	77	437,500
Rosewood hull parts	84	475,000

The wiki's closest workbench to a bank is at Red Rock (needs The Red Reef). Without a Sailing requirement, it's Port Khazard. Theoatrix suggests repair kits up to mahogany for value, or ironwood for faster XP. Don't put a plank sack in the inventory, as the kits will drop to the ground. Ironwood and rosewood kits come out three per craft from one plank, so leave inventory space for the extra output (OSRS Wiki). Our Sailing guide covers what the kits and hull parts are for.

Fishing crane repair (30–99)

Repairing fishing cranes in Port Piscarilius needs 30 Construction and 30 Crafting, a hammer, 3 planks and about 15 bronze nails. Each repair gives 4 × your level in both skills. It's slow, but it's cheap per XP on the wiki's table, and the Crafting XP helps our Crafting guide's early levels.

Use boosts and plan your house

The crystal saw gives an invisible +3 to furniture built with a saw and hammer. It doesn't work for building rooms, or for Mahogany Homes contract tiers. Its charges are used only when you need the boost (OSRS Wiki). A spicy stew with orange spice gives a random boost of up to +5, and a cup of tea gives a smaller one.

House item	Level	Lowest boosted level on the wiki	Notes
Superior garden (room)	65	No saw boost for rooms	Needed for gnome benches and pools
Portal nexus (room)	72	67 with orange spicy stew; 69 with a reliable alternative	Saw doesn't apply
Achievement gallery (room)	80	75 with stew; 77 with tea	Saw doesn't apply
Occult altar	90	82 with saw and +5 stew	Switches spellbooks
Ornate rejuvenation pool	90	Saw boost applies, plus tea or stew (Superior garden page)	Restores stats, prayer and run energy; a big time-saver for Barrows and bossing
Ornate jewellery box	91	83 with saw and +5 stew; 85 without stews	Teleports
Spirit tree & fairy ring	95	90 Construction and 78 Farming	Needs 83 Farming unboosted; no saw (our Farming guide)

So the "84 for a maxed house" target relies on lucky stews for the jewellery box. Without stews, plan for 85. Prayer trainers should also build a gilded altar early; our Prayer guide compares it with the other altars.

Adjust for ironmen, Sailing and returning players

• Ironmen: you're limited by planks, not the building. Managing Miscellania gives a passive supply of hardwood logs. Turn logs into planks at a sawmill, or with your butler. Plank Make (86 Magic, Dream Mentor) costs 70% of the sawmill fee (OSRS Best in Slot). Mahogany Homes gives the most XP per plank.
• Sailing: Theoatrix notes that upgrading to the best boat needs 87 Construction. If you're training Sailing, take that into account when you pick your stopping level. See our OSRS Sailing guide.
• Returning players: look at shipwright workbench training, Mahogany Homes changes (the carpenter's outfit has applied to contract XP since June 19, 2024) and newer house locations such as Aldarin (Theoatrix).
• Mobile players: OSRS Best in Slot recommends desktop for the fast methods, because the tick timing is tight.

A house speeds up nearly everything else you train, and the OSRS hub lists the other guides.

Want a hand with this?

If you would rather not grind this part yourself, OSRS skill-leveling services are listed on FullBoosts. Read Jagex's Rules of Old School RuneScape before you buy any service from anyone, FullBoosts included — a marketplace listing isn't publisher permission.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to get 99 Construction in OSRS? Oak larders from 33, mahogany tables from 52 and gnome benches from 77, with a demon butler. That's about 12.5 hours by our arithmetic with perfect play.

What is the cheapest way to train Construction? On the wiki's tables, fishing crane repair and Mahogany Homes cost the least per XP, but both are slow. Among the house methods, mounted mythical capes (after Dragon Slayer II) and oak planks are the lower-cost options.

How much does 99 Construction cost? About 103 million coins on oak larders and oak doors, or about 173 million on the fastest mahogany route, at late-October 2026 plank prices (our arithmetic on the wiki's prices).

What Construction level do I need for a maxed house? 84 with the crystal saw and a lucky orange spicy stew, or 85 for the ornate jewellery box with a reliable boost. The spirit tree & fairy ring also needs Farming.

When can I get a demon butler? At 50 Construction, with two bedrooms that each have a bed. The human butler is available at 40.

Can I train Construction while AFK? Shipwright repair kits are the closest, with up to 29 seconds of idle time per inventory, and you can sell the kits. Fishing crane repair is also low-intensity.

Related guides

• OSRS hub
• OSRS Sailing guide 1-99
• OSRS money-making guide
• OSRS Herblore guide 1-99
• OSRS Woodcutting guide 1-99
• OSRS Prayer guide 1-99
• OSRS Farming guide 1-99
• OSRS Barrows guide