Sandstone

Sandstone is a common basic building material and one of the easiest early-game resources to get in Oxygen Not Included. Because it is abundant and reliable, it is very often the first construction material used at the start of a colony. It is also found as a renewable resource in some space points of interest, including Sandy Ore Fields, where it can be harvested on rocket missions at a rate of 216–648 kg per cycle.

Sandstone-built structures provide a +10% Decor bonus, which makes it useful for early decorative buildings such as sculptures and paintings. However, Granite is the better decor material, as it grants a +20% bonus. Sandstone is also relatively soft, with low hardness, so it is more likely to break under high pressure. This can cause leaks when it is used for liquid containment or other pressurized builds. A two-tile-thick wall can sometimes reduce this problem, but in general a harder material is preferable for storing large volumes of liquid.

It also has a few useful material conversions and critter interactions:

• A Rock Crusher can process 100 kg of Sandstone into 100 kg of Sand.
• Hatches can eat Sandstone and produce Coal.
• Because of its ease of access, Sandstone is often a convenient fallback building material whenever a colony needs something quickly and does not yet have better options.

In practice, Sandstone is best used for early expansion, temporary construction, and decor-focused buildings. Once a colony begins handling higher pressures or more demanding infrastructure, it is usually replaced by tougher materials such as Granite or other stronger building substances.