Minecraft wiki entry for Tips_and_tricks, associated text: A more durable shelter can be made of cobblestone, stone (including andesite, diorite or granite), or stone bricks, but don't use dirt for anything but strictly temporary shelters (dirt is easily demolished by creepers). Don't build with or on sand or gravel, since they are affected by gravity, which will make things very difficult when a player decides to expand the shelter or dig a basement. The most durable block to make a house with is obsidian, which can't be blown up even by TNT, much less creepers. However, using obsidian makes it hard to remodel, you can't make slabs or stairs out of it, and you might want your base to have other colors besides black.