How long does a Rust base take to decay?

Without a stocked Tool Cupboard each grade goes from full HP to 0 in: twig 1 hour, wood 3 hours, stone 5 hours, sheet metal 8 hours, armored 12 hours.

How long do doors take to decay?

A door decays on the timer of its grade: a wooden door like wood, a sheet metal door like sheet metal, an armored door like armored.

Does a Tool Cupboard decay?

Not while it stands in its base. A cupboard protects itself for free, even when empty, and also protects sleeping bags, boxes and other deployables that cost no upkeep. Once it runs out of materials, only blocks, doors and other pieces with an upkeep cost decay. A cupboard with no building block next to it is destroyed within 10 minutes. Outside cupboard range a sleeping bag waits 24 hours, then decays over 12 hours.

Does decay stop inside cupboard range?

Yes for deployables with no upkeep cost, such as sleeping bags and boxes, even with an empty cupboard. Blocks, doors and other pieces with an upkeep cost stop decaying only while the cupboard can pay. Without upkeep, a piece the base shelters on every side decays at 10% speed.

Rust Decay Timers: How Long Until Each Base Grade Decays

Which building grade?

Every block of a grade decays alike: walls, foundations and roofs.

Or a door or deployable?

Search any of them, or tap a common one.

Common

Gone in

5 hours

A Stone block with no upkeep goes from full HP to nothing in this time.

upkeep runs outgone

Health

500HP

HP lost an hour

100

A stocked cupboard stops decay. Without upkeep, a piece the base shelters on every side decays at 10% speed, so it lasts 10× longer. Each piece also rolls up to 5% slower. An empty cupboard still protects itself and deployables that cost no upkeep, such as sleeping bags and boxes.

Tap a row to see it in the answer panel.

Building grades

outside a funded TC

Doors, hatches and gates

decay on their grade's timer

Door	Grade	HP	Decay time
Armored Door	Armored	1,000	12 hours
Armored Double Door	Armored	1,000	12 hours
Armored Ladder Hatch	Armored	1,000	12 hours
Armored Triangle Ladder Hatch	Armored	1,000	12 hours
Chainlink Fence	Sheet Metal	100	8 hours
Chainlink Fence Gate	Sheet Metal	75	8 hours
Elevator	Sheet Metal	600	8 hours
Factory Door	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Floor grill	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Floor triangle grill	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Garage Door	Sheet Metal	600	8 hours
Industrial Door	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Industrial Garage Door	Sheet Metal	600	8 hours
Ladder Hatch	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Lunar Wall Frame Inlay	Wood	100	3 hours
Lunar Wall Frame Inlay	Wood	100	3 hours
Lunar Wall Frame Inlay	Wood	100	3 hours
Medieval Sheet Metal Door	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Medieval Sheet Metal Double Door	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Metal horizontal embrasure	Sheet Metal	500	8 hours
Metal Shop Front	Sheet Metal	750	8 hours
Metal Vertical embrasure	Sheet Metal	500	8 hours
Metal Window Bars	Sheet Metal	500	8 hours
Netting	Wood	100	3 hours
Paintable Window	Armored	350	12 hours
Prison Cell Gate	Sheet Metal	300	8 hours
Prison Cell Wall	Sheet Metal	300	8 hours
Reinforced Glass Window	Armored	500	12 hours
Sheet Metal Door	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Sheet Metal Double Door	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Shop Front	Wood	500	3 hours
Strengthened Glass Window	Armored	350	12 hours
Triangle Ladder Hatch	Sheet Metal	250	8 hours
Wood Double Door	Wood	200	3 hours
Wood Shutters	Wood	200	3 hours
Wooden Boat Door	Wood	200	3 hours
Wooden Door	Wood	200	3 hours
Wooden Frontier Bar Doors	Wood	200	3 hours
Wooden Window Bars	Wood	250	3 hours

Deployables

184 of 184

161 more have no decay timer. Turrets, vending machines and lights never decay on their own; a small stash is removed 72 hours after it is hidden or uncovered.

Item	Category	HP	Starts after	Gone after
Above Ground Pool	Fun	600	5 hours	13 hours
Abyss Horizontal Storage Tank	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Abyss Vertical Storage Tank	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Ammo Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Anchor	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Animal Fence	Construction	100	5 hours	13 hours
Animal Fence Gate	Construction	100	5 hours	13 hours
Armor Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Audio Alarm	Electrical	100	48 hours	144 hours
Bamboo Barrel	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Bar Games Minifridge	Electrical	100	24 hours	72 hours
Barbed Wooden Barricade	Construction	400	5 hours	13 hours
Barbeque	Items	200	48 hours	96 hours
Bath Tub Planter	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Battering Ram	Weapon	500	2 hours	4 hours
Beach Table	Fun	200	8 hours	16 hours
Beach Towel	Fun	200	24 hours	36 hours
Beehive	Construction	300	5 hours	13 hours
Biofuel Generator	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Boat Building Station	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Boom Box	Fun	100	48 hours	144 hours
Camp Fire	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Catapult	Weapon	250	2 hours	4 hours
CCTV Camera	Resources	150	48 hours	96 hours
Charcoal Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Chicken Coop	Items	250	5 hours	13 hours
Chinese Lantern	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Chinese Lantern White	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Christmas Tree	Items	1,000	48 hours	144 hours
Clothing Mannequin	Items	30	48 hours	144 hours
Clothing Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Coffin	Misc	300	5 hours	13 hours
Composter	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Comps Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Concrete Barricade	Construction	500	at once	15 min
Confetti Cannon	Fun	100	48 hours	96 hours
Connected Speaker	Fun	50	48 hours	144 hours
Cooking Workbench	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Counter	Electrical	100	48 hours	144 hours
Cursed Cauldron	Misc	50	48 hours	96 hours
Digital Clock	Electrical	100	8 hours	16 hours
Disco Floor	Fun	50	8 hours	16 hours
Disco Floor	Fun	50	8 hours	16 hours
Electric Furnace	Electrical	500	48 hours	144 hours
Engineering Workbench	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Explosives Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Fish Trophy	Items	75	48 hours	96 hours
Flight Recorder Box	Items	150	48 hours	144 hours
Fogger-3000	Misc	100	48 hours	144 hours
Food Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Frankenstein Table	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Fridge	Electrical	200	48 hours	144 hours
Giant Candy Decor	Misc	250	48 hours	144 hours
Giant Lollipop Decor	Misc	150	48 hours	144 hours
Graveyard Fence	Construction	100	5 hours	13 hours
Guns Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
High External Adobe Gate	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High External Adobe Wall	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High External Legacy Gate	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High External Legacy Wall	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High External Stone Gate	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High External Stone Wall	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High External Wooden Gate	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High External Wooden Wall	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
High Ice Wall	Construction	500	at once	8 hours
Hitch & Trough	Items	250	5 hours	13 hours
Hobo Barrel	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Homemade Landmine	Traps	100	48 hours	96 hours
Igniter	Electrical	250	5 hours	13 hours
Industrial Electric Furnace	Electrical	500	48 hours	144 hours
Industrial Storage Horizontal Barrel	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Industrial Storage Vertical Barrel	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Jack O Lantern Angry	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Jack O Lantern Happy	Items	50	24 hours	48 hours
Jukebox	Fun	100	48 hours	144 hours
Krieg Storage Barrel	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Krieg Storage Crates	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Lantern	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Large Banner on pole	Items	300	8 hours	16 hours
Large Furnace	Items	1,500	8 hours	16 hours
Large Hunting Trophy	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Large Industrial Furnace	Items	1,500	8 hours	16 hours
Large Planter Box	Items	250	48 hours	96 hours
Large Solar Panel	Electrical	100	8 hours	16 hours
Large Water Catcher	Construction	300	5 hours	13 hours
Large Wood Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Laser Light	Fun	50	48 hours	144 hours
Legacy Furnace	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Legacy Wood Shelter	Construction	500	18 hours	24 hours
Locker	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Mail Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Medieval Barricade	Construction	400	5 hours	13 hours
Medieval Large Wood Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Meds Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Metal Barricade	Construction	600	5 hours	13 hours
Metal Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Minecart Planter	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Mini Fridge	Electrical	100	24 hours	72 hours
Mixing Table	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Modular Car Lift	Electrical	250	12 hours	28 hours
Mounted Ballista	Weapon	150	2 hours	4 hours
Ore Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Paddling Pool	Fun	50	5 hours	13 hours
Plank	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
PTZ CCTV Camera	Electrical	150	48 hours	96 hours
Rail Road Planter	Items	250	48 hours	96 hours
Reactive Target	Electrical	250	48 hours	96 hours
Repair Bench	Items	200	5 hours	13 hours
Research Table	Items	200	5 hours	13 hours
Retro Tool Cupboard	Construction	100	48 hours	96 hours
RF Broadcaster	Electrical	50	48 hours	96 hours
RF Receiver	Electrical	50	48 hours	96 hours
Sail	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
SAM Site	Traps	1,000	8 hours	20 hours
Sandbag Barricade	Construction	150	at once	15 min
Scarecrow	Items	250	48 hours	144 hours
Scrap Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Search Light	Electrical	150	8 hours	16 hours
Seismic Sensor	Electrical	200	8 hours	16 hours
Shockbyte Tool Cupboard	Construction	100	48 hours	96 hours
Short Ice Wall	Construction	200	at once	8 hours
Siege Tower	Weapon	500	2 hours	4 hours
Single Plant Pot	Items	250	48 hours	96 hours
Skull Fire Pit	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Skull Trophy	Fun	150	5 hours	13 hours
Skull Trophy	Fun	150	5 hours	13 hours
Skull Trophy	Fun	150	5 hours	13 hours
Skull Trophy	Fun	150	5 hours	13 hours
Sky Lantern	Fun	100	48 hours	96 hours
Sky Lantern - Green	Fun	100	48 hours	96 hours
Sky Lantern - Orange	Fun	100	48 hours	96 hours
Sky Lantern - Purple	Fun	100	48 hours	96 hours
Sky Lantern - Red	Fun	100	48 hours	96 hours
Sleeping Bag	Items	200	24 hours	36 hours
Small Boat Engine	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Small Hunting Trophy	Items	75	48 hours	96 hours
Small Oil Refinery	Items	1,500	5 hours	13 hours
Small Planter Box	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Small Spike Trap	Traps	30	1 hour	3 hours
Small Water Catcher	Construction	200	5 hours	13 hours
Smart Alarm	Electrical	50	48 hours	96 hours
Snap Trap	Traps	200	48 hours	96 hours
Snowman	Items	250	48 hours	144 hours
Sound Light	Fun	50	48 hours	144 hours
Spooky Speaker	Misc	100	48 hours	144 hours
Sprinkler	Electrical	200	8 hours	16 hours
Stone Barricade	Construction	100	at once	15 min
Stone Fireplace	Items	500	48 hours	96 hours
Stone Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Storage Barrel Horizontal	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Storage Barrel Vertical	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Strobe Light	Misc	100	48 hours	144 hours
Sulfur Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Survival Fish Trap	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Telephone	Fun	150	8 hours	16 hours
Tesla Coil	Electrical	250	5 hours	13 hours
Tin Can Alarm	Traps	50	30 min	2.5 hours
Tool Cupboard	Construction	100	never	Never on a building
Tools Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Torch Holder	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Triangle Planter Box	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Triangle Rail Road Planter	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Tuna Can Lamp	Items	50	48 hours	96 hours
Twitch Rivals Neon Sign	Electrical	100	48 hours	96 hours
Unused Storage Barrel Vertical	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Wall Cabinet	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Wanted Poster	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Wanted Poster 2	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Wanted Poster 3	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Wanted Poster 4	Items	100	48 hours	96 hours
Watch Tower	Construction	200	2 hours	4 hours
Water Barrel	Items	250	8 hours	16 hours
Water Pump	Electrical	300	8 hours	16 hours
Water Wheel	Electrical	400	8 hours	16 hours
Wicker Barrel	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Wind Turbine	Electrical	250	8 hours	16 hours
Wood Storage Box	Items	300	5 hours	13 hours
Wood Storage Box	Items	150	48 hours	144 hours
Wooden Barricade	Construction	250	5 hours	13 hours
Wooden Barricade Cover	Construction	80	at once	15 min
Wooden Floor Spikes	Traps	100	24 hours	48 hours
Workbench Level 1	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Workbench Level 2	Items	500	48 hours	144 hours
Workbench Level 3	Items	750	48 hours	144 hours

Understanding Decay in Rust

Decay is the slow loss of health that building blocks suffer when no Tool Cupboard with upkeep covers them. Keep the TC stocked with the upkeep for your grade (wood, stone, metal fragments or HQM) to protect the blocks in its range. Every block of a grade shares the same duration, so a wall, foundation or roof of the same material decays alike. A stocked cupboard stops decay and slowly heals damage. Without upkeep, a piece the base shelters on every side decays at 10% speed.

Decay damage is applied in ticks over the full duration. A Wood block with 250 HP and a 3-hour decay time loses about 83 HP per hour, so there is time to refill the cupboard before it is gone.

Methodology

Tested in game on our own server: every building grade, door and deployable left without upkeep, timing the delay before decay starts and the time to reach 0 HP. Doors take the timer of their decay grade.

Rust Decay Times