Minecraft wiki entry for The_third_day, associated text: Although building your shelter out of dirt and wood may seem convenient, easy, and simple, it is not safe, so is certainly not advisable. As you mine, you will collect both cobblestone, and other stone blocks (andesite, diorite, granite). All of these are much stronger than dirt or wood -- once you have enough completely rebuild any above-ground parts of your shelter. You may want to craft the "other stone" blocks into their polished or carved versions, for looks; once you have plenty of fuel, you can also smelt cobblestone back into gray stone and make stone bricks. This is mostly to improve resistance to creepers. Adding glass windows to the home will allow you to look outside of the shelter and identify dangers, especially creepers, so you are not surprised by enemies. If you are in Hard difficulty, zombies can break down doors, in other difficulties they will still bang on the doors but cannot break them. You can also surround your house with a fence, using fence gates so you can get in and out. Placing torches every 7-10 blocks along the fence, and around your house, will prevent enemies from spawning inside your perimeter. As you continue playing, you can expand your perimeter and light up more territory.