OSRS Construction 1-50: Oak Larders vs Mahogany Homes Guide
1 October 2026 · 10 min readCompare oak larder spam and Mahogany Homes contracts for 1-50 Construction. XP rates, plank costs, servant strategies, and account value.
Game screenshots and facts are cited from the Old School RuneScape Wiki (strategy, equipment, drops, and related pages). Writing is original editorial, not a copy of the wiki article.
Contents
- What Early Construction Unlocks for Your Account
- Requirements and Setup for Both Methods
- Oak Larders: The Brute Force Route to 50
- Mahogany Homes: The Structured, Cheaper Contract Path
- Oak Larders vs Mahogany Homes: Side-by-Side
- Common Mistakes That Slow Down 1-50
- Time and Cost Tradeoffs: When Gold or a Boost Makes Sense
- Practical Next Steps
Early Construction is often treated as a money pit that you rush through and forget, but the first 50 levels set the tone for your entire account. The choice between hammering oak larders in your own kitchen or running Mahogany Homes contracts in Hosidius is really a decision about time, attention, and how much gp each XP should cost. This guide compares both routes from level 1 to 50, breaks down realistic supplies and XP rates, and shows when buying gold or a boosting service is the honest shortcut rather than a grind tax.
Before you buy a single plank, you should know what level 50 Construction actually gives you: the Portal Chamber, a jewellery box, and access to a butler. Those unlocks turn your player-owned house into a travel and banking hub that saves hours every week. For ironmen, early Construction also means storage space that makes every other grind smoother.
What Early Construction Unlocks for Your Account
Construction is not just a buyable skill for max cape chasers. At level 40 Magic you can cast Teleport to House, but you need a house worth teleporting to. By level 50 you can build the Portal Chamber and direct your own teleport nexus. By level 47, mounted mythical capes give cheap, repeatable teleports for accounts that have completed Dragon Slayer II. For ultimate ironmen, the Costume Room is a game changer: magic wardrobe, armour case, and cape rack store clue scroll rewards, skilling outfits, and Slayer gear that would otherwise clog an already limited inventory.
Quests and diaries often demand furniture. Daddy's Home is the on-ramp, Tower of Life asks for level 10, and several clue steps require a specific room or item. Even if you never train Construction again after 50, that early investment pays back in daily convenience.
Requirements and Setup for Both Methods
You cannot start either grind from zero with nothing. Both larders and Mahogany Homes assume you have completed the Daddy's Home miniquest, which awards enough XP to jump from level 1 to level 8 and provides a crate of beginner materials. From there, passive experience from Wintertodt or Fishing Trawler can shave off the annoying early levels; Wintertodt gives Construction XP equal to 4 times your current Construction level per action, while Fishing Trawler offers 5 XP per leak fixed.
Before you pick a method, have these ready:
- Daddy's Home completed — grants 944 Construction XP and a player-owned house.
- A hammer and a saw — required for nearly every build action.
- Coins — for planks, unnoting fees, and servant wages.
- Planks — regular planks for early furniture, oak planks from level 15 onward.
- A house location — Rimmington is ideal for levels 1–40 because Phials unnotes planks for 5 gp each.
- For servants — two bedrooms with beds built, unlocked at level 40.
Ironmen should also complete Tower of Life for an extra 1,000 XP and, if following the Ultimate Ironman path, use quest lamps from X Marks the Spot and Client of Kourend to skip the first 14 levels entirely. On a normal account, buying planks from the Grand Exchange is the fastest supply route.
Oak Larders: The Brute Force Route to 50
Once you reach level 33, you can build oak larders in your kitchen. Each larder consumes 8 oak planks and awards 480 XP. From level 33 to 50 you need 83,086 XP, which works out to about 174 oak larders and 1,392 oak planks. The wiki's own cost table lists 1–33 at roughly 169,612 gp, and the 33–50 stretch adds around 780,912 gp in oak planks plus about 72,500 gp in servant fees if you use a butler. That puts the total 1–50 bill at just over one million gp.
Experience rates climb quickly with practice. From level 50 onward, perfect clicks can hit 500,000 XP per hour; most players with minor misclicks see 480,000–490,000. At level 33 the rate is lower, but you will be at the 400k+ mark before you know it.
Tip: From level 1 to 40, keep your house in Rimmington and bring noted planks. Use Phials to unnote them for 5 coins each, then right-click the portal and enter in building mode. At level 40, hire a butler from the Servants' Guild in East Ardougne. Switch to the demon butler at level 50. Servants request payment after 8 services, so build the servant's money bag at level 58 to automate wages.
This method is fast but repetitive. You will build and remove the same larder hundreds of times. The GP per XP is high: 9.35 gp per XP without a servant, 10.22 with one. If you can stomach the clicks, it is still the fastest pure Construction training below level 74.
Mahogany Homes: The Structured, Cheaper Contract Path
Mahogany Homes takes Construction out of your POH and turns it into a minigame-style loop. You complete contracts for NPCs around Hosidius, Ver Sinhaza, Falador, and Varrock, using planks to repair furniture in their homes. Each contract rewards Construction XP and Carpenter's points, which can be spent on the plank sack, log basket, and the carpenter's outfit.
The cost per XP is dramatically lower. From the Ironman guide's comparison table, regular planks in Mahogany Homes cost only 1.07 gp per XP, oak planks 1.25, teak planks 1.74, and mahogany planks 4.33. Even mahogany Homes contracts are far cheaper than oak larders. The trade-off is speed. An ultimate ironman doing adept contracts with a plank sack and log basket can expect 75,000–85,000 XP per hour with casual attention; experienced players push to 95,000, and max efficiency with tick manipulation reaches 115,000 at level 99. Regular accounts that buy planks on the GE skip the log-cutting leg and can focus entirely on building, but the early-level rates are not dramatically higher.
Prioritise the plank sack. It stores planks without taking inventory space and automatically consumes them when completing contracts. On an ironman, pair it with a log basket to bring more logs to the sawmill. The plank sack alone makes novice contracts nearly twice as smooth.
For the 1–50 range, Mahogany Homes can get you there for under 110,000 gp if you stick to novice contracts with regular planks, or around 170,000 gp if you use oak planks for faster contracts. That is roughly a tenth of the larder bill.
Oak Larders vs Mahogany Homes: Side-by-Side
| Factor | Oak Larders | Mahogany Homes |
|---|---|---|
| Level range | 33–50 (can extend to 74) | 1–99 (tiered contracts) |
| XP per action | 480 XP per larder (8 oak planks) | Varies by contract and plank tier; novice regular plank roughly 93.7 XP per plank |
| Typical XP/hr | Up to 500k at level 50+; 480–490k realistic | 75–85k casual adept on UIM; regular accounts may be slightly higher |
| GP per XP | 9.35 (no servant) to 10.22 (with servant) | 1.07 (regular plank) to 4.33 (mahogany plank) |
| 1–50 cost | ~1,000,000 gp including servant | ~110,000–170,000 gp depending on plank tier |
| Attention required | High — constant build and remove, minimal walking | Moderate — travel between NPC houses, manage planks and tools |
| Extra rewards | None beyond XP | Carpenter's points, plank sack, log basket, carpenter's outfit |
| Account value | Pure speed, best if you just want the levels | Builds efficiency items that help future Construction grinds |
There is no universal “better” answer. If you have gp to burn and limited playtime, oak larders will get you to 50 in about an hour of active clicking. If you are on a budget or want the plank sack for later, Mahogany Homes trades time for long-term value.
Common Mistakes That Slow Down 1-50
Even experienced players fall into these traps. Avoid them and you will save both gp and sanity.
- Skipping Daddy's Home. The miniquest gives you the house and supplies, plus 944 XP for almost no effort.
- Using bronze or iron nails. Low-tier nails bend often, wasting time. Use steel nails or better for all regular plank furniture before level 15.
- Not using Phials or a servant. Running to a bank for every inventory of planks is the slowest possible method. Phials in Rimmington costs 5 gp per plank to unnote; a butler is even faster from level 40.
- Forgetting a hammer or saw. You cannot build anything without both. Keep them in your inventory or tool belt.
- Training past 40 without a servant. Once you have two bedrooms with beds, hire a butler. The Demon butler at 50 is worth the extra wage.
- Not doing passive XP first. Wintertodt and Fishing Trawler can push you from level 8 to the mid-teens without any plank spending.
- Ignoring the plank sack in Mahogany Homes. It is the single biggest quality-of-life upgrade for contracts and carries into later Construction training.
- Not having coins for servant payments. Servants stop working if unpaid. Keep coins in your inventory until level 58, then build the money bag.
Warning: Do not buy bulk regular planks and nails after level 15. Oak planks require no nails and give better XP per action. The transition at level 15 to oak planks is a large efficiency jump; using regular planks beyond that is a waste of time.
Time and Cost Tradeoffs: When Gold or a Boost Makes Sense
Let's put real numbers on the decision. From level 1 to 50, oak larders cost about 1 million gp and take roughly 60–90 minutes of intense clicking once you start larders, with the early levels adding another 30 minutes. Mahogany Homes costs around 110k–170k gp but takes 2–3 hours because of travel and lower XP rates. The difference is about 1.5 hours of extra training in exchange for 850k gp saved.
If your money-making method earns 1 million gp per hour, oak larders effectively cost you two hours total: one hour to make the gp and one hour to train. Mahogany Homes costs three hours of training but only ten minutes of gp-making. For a player who hates Construction's repetitive clicking, Mahogany Homes is clearly better. For a player who values speed and has gp from PvM or flipping, larders win.
Some players choose to buy OSRS gold to fund the larder route, then immediately hire a demon butler and buy planks in bulk. That is a legitimate marketplace service when done through trusted sellers, and it does not violate Jagex's rules if you acquire gold through player-to-player trades. A construction boost service is another option: a skilled player logs into your account (or provides a service) to train the skill for you while you are offline. Always follow Jagex's terms of service and only use reputable providers.
There is no shame in valuing your time. Construction is a skill with a clear gp-to-XP conversion. If an hour of your real-life time is worth more than the cost of the gp or the boost, outsourcing the grind is rational, not cheating.
Practical Next Steps
- Complete Daddy's Home if you haven't already. It takes ten minutes and sets up your house.
- Decide your budget. If you can comfortably spend 1m gp, go oak larders. If you want to keep costs near 150k, choose Mahogany Homes.
- Set your house to Rimmington and use Phials from levels 1–40. Buy an inventory of noted oak planks at level 15 and build the highest XP oak item you can (crafting table 1 at 16, oak dining table at 22, then carved oak table at 31).
- At level 33, start oak larders. Use a butler from 40, demon butler at 50.
- If Mahogany Homes, grab the plank sack as your first reward. Start novice contracts and upgrade as you unlock them.
- If you are short on gp or time, view live gold rates to fund your planks or a training service.
Sources
What level should I start oak larders in OSRS?
Oak larders become available at level 33 Construction. Each larder requires 8 oak planks and gives 480 XP. You can use them all the way to level 52 for the fastest low-level rates, or continue to 74 before switching to oak dungeon doors for even faster XP. Many players stop at 50 to unlock the Portal Chamber and butler.
Are Mahogany Homes worth it for low-level construction?
Yes, if you want to save gp. Mahogany Homes contracts cost 1.07–4.33 gp per XP depending on plank tier, compared to 9–10 gp per XP for oak larders. The XP per hour is much lower (75k–95k), but you also earn Carpenter's points for the plank sack and log basket, which pay off later.
How much does 1-50 construction cost with oak larders?
Using the wiki's benchmark prices, levels 1–33 cost about 169,612 gp. The 33–50 stretch of oak larders adds roughly 780,912 gp in oak planks plus around 72,500 gp in servant fees, for a total near 1,000,000 gp. Without a servant, you save the servant cost but lose speed.
How much XP per hour are oak larders in OSRS?
From level 50 onward, oak larders can reach 500,000 XP per hour with perfect clicks. Most players achieve 480,000–490,000 with minor mistakes. At level 33 the rate is lower, but it climbs rapidly as you build muscle memory and reduce banking time.
What is the fastest way to get 1-50 construction?
The fastest pure Construction method is to complete Daddy's Home, use Wintertodt or quests to skip early levels, then build oak larders from level 33 with a butler or Phials. This can take about 1–1.5 hours of active clicking. Mahogany Homes is much cheaper but slower.
Do I need a servant for oak larders?
Not strictly, but a servant is highly recommended from level 40 onward. A butler goes to the bank and unnotes planks for you, which is much faster than using Phials. The demon butler at level 50 is even quicker. Servants charge after every 8 services, so keep coins ready.
Can I train construction to 50 as an ironman using Mahogany Homes?
Yes. Ironmen can complete Mahogany Homes contracts by cutting their own logs and converting them to planks at a sawmill. Ultimate ironmen benefit most from the plank sack and log basket. Casual adept contracts yield 75k–85k XP/hr; with practice and good teleports, you can push 95k XP/hr.
