Editing 40d:Grate

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'''Grates''' are a furniture building can be placed either as walkable platforms (as a '''floor grate''') or as walls (as a '''wall grate'''). They can be constructed from [[stone]] or [[ore]] (with the [[masonry]] [[labor]] at a [[mason's workshop]]), wood (with the [[carpentry]] labor in a [[carpenter's workshop]]), [[Metal|metal bar]]s (with the [[blacksmithing]] labor at a [[forge]]), or [[glass]] (with the [[glassmaking]] labor at a [[glass furnace]]). They are represented in game by the symbol " # ".

Grates, like [[Bars]], are incredibly useful as a semipermeable membrane. Uses include:
*Creatures (including caravan wagons) may walk over floor grates.
*Creatures may not walk (or swim) through wall grates, making them a useful separator in underground rivers.
*They can be operated with a [[lever]] to retract them in either position.
*[[Fishing|Fisherdwarves]] may fish through floor grates.
*Dwarves may drink through grates (assuming there is 4/7 or more water directly under it).

Floor grates ''must'' be attached [[orthogonal]]ly (i.e. not diagonally) to firm ground or some solid construction (a wall, floor, etc), not (just) other grates.  [[Construction]]s, of any type, will ''not'' be supported by grates - although the game allows you to designate something supported only by a grate, any construction will collapse as soon as it is completed. Wall grates need only be placed on top of a natural or constructed floor - no supporting walls are needed. 

Since a grate must be connected to something other than other grates, they currently cannot be used to cover a large area by themselves.  Therefore, large areas can only be covered with some sort of patchwork connected to solid ground, such as this tessellated pattern, which covers 80% of any extended area with grates, and the top of a "wall" only 1 every 5 tiles:

 ++++++++++++++++
 +####+####+####+
 +#+####+####+##+       + = natural ground or top of [[wall]] 1 [[z-level]] below*
 +###+####+####++       # = grate
 ++####+####+###+
 +##+####+####+#+
 ++++++++++++++++
:''* Note that none of these floors are constructed floors, unless those are attached to something other than a grate, like an outer wall or otherwise anchored floor tile.''

== Compared to Bars ==

Floor grates and wall grates are much like floor [[bars]] and vertical bars.  Are they different?  [http://www.bay12games.com/forum/index.php?topic=12967.msg120313#msg120313 Toady writes]:

<blockquote>
I don't think there's a meaningful distinction at this time [10/31/2007] (perhaps the grate does have that extra step to make the item). Later, I imagine larger items will fall through bars, and only small items will go through grates. Grates might also stop most vermin. Perhaps even small units could go through bars.
</blockquote>

{{buildings}}
{{Category|Furniture}}