diff --git a/Makefile.include b/Makefile.include
index 306b223b9..278f73fa4 100644
--- a/Makefile.include
+++ b/Makefile.include
@@ -86,6 +86,10 @@ CONTIKI_OBJECTFILES = ${addprefix $(OBJECTDIR)/,${call oname, $(CONTIKI_SOURCEFI
 
 PROJECT_OBJECTFILES = ${addprefix $(OBJECTDIR)/,${call oname, $(PROJECT_SOURCEFILES)}}
 
+# Provide way to create $(OBJECTDIR) if it has been removed by make clean
+$(OBJECTDIR):
+	mkdir $@
+
 ### Include application makefiles
 
 ifdef APPS
@@ -108,9 +112,6 @@ target_makefile := $(wildcard $(CONTIKI)/platform/$(TARGET)/Makefile.$(TARGET) $
 ifeq ($(strip $(target_makefile)),)
   ${error The target platform "$(TARGET)" does not exist (maybe it was misspelled?)}
 else
-  ifeq (${wildcard $(OBJECTDIR)},)
-    DUMMY := ${shell mkdir $(OBJECTDIR)}
-  endif
   ifneq (1, ${words $(target_makefile)})
     ${error More than one TARGET Makefile found: $(target_makefile)}
   endif
@@ -190,13 +191,13 @@ ifndef CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_CE
 endif
 
 ifndef CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_OBJECTDIR_O
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -MMD -c $< -o $@
 	@$(FINALIZE_DEPENDENCY)
 endif
 
 ifndef CUSTOM_RULE_S_TO_OBJECTDIR_O
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(AS) $(ASFLAGS) -o $@ $<
 endif
 
diff --git a/cpu/6502/Makefile.6502 b/cpu/6502/Makefile.6502
index 70c9890c8..60186feea 100644
--- a/cpu/6502/Makefile.6502
+++ b/cpu/6502/Makefile.6502
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ AROPTS  = a
 .SUFFIXES:
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_OBJECTDIR_O = 1
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) -c -o $@ $(CFLAGS) --create-dep $(@:.o=.d) $<
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_CO = 1
diff --git a/cpu/arm/at91sam7s/Makefile.at91sam7s b/cpu/arm/at91sam7s/Makefile.at91sam7s
index 488191267..95f30a36c 100644
--- a/cpu/arm/at91sam7s/Makefile.at91sam7s
+++ b/cpu/arm/at91sam7s/Makefile.at91sam7s
@@ -95,29 +95,29 @@ CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_O=yes
 %-interrupt.o: %-interrupt.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) $< -c
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%-interrupt.o: %-interrupt.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%-interrupt.o: %-interrupt.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 %-arm.o: %-arm.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) $< -c
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%-arm.o: %-arm.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%-arm.o: %-arm.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/interrupt-utils.o: interrupt-utils.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/interrupt-utils.o: interrupt-utils.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) $< -c -o $@
 
 %.o: %.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(THUMB_FLAGS) $< -c
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(THUMB_FLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_S_TO_OBJECTDIR_O = yes
 %.o: %.S
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) $< -c
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) $< -c  -o $@
 
 
@@ -188,7 +188,7 @@ ocd_reset:
 	cd $(CONTIKI_CPU)/openocd;$(OPENOCD) -f $(OPENOCD_CFG) -c init -c reset -c exit
 
 # Don't use core/loader/elfloader.c, use elfloader-otf.c instead
-$(OBJECTDIR)/elfloader.o: 
+$(OBJECTDIR)/elfloader.o: | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	echo -n >$@
 
 clean: clean_cpu
diff --git a/cpu/arm/stm32f103/Makefile.stm32f103 b/cpu/arm/stm32f103/Makefile.stm32f103
index bff191c64..cfba80f5b 100644
--- a/cpu/arm/stm32f103/Makefile.stm32f103
+++ b/cpu/arm/stm32f103/Makefile.stm32f103
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_O=yes
 %.o: %.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $< -c
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ CUSTOM_RULE_S_TO_OBJECTDIR_O = yes
 %.o: %.S
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $< -c
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $< -c  -o $@
 
 
@@ -175,7 +175,7 @@ ocd_reset:
 	$(OPENOCD) -s $(OPENOCD_DIR) -f $(OPENOCD_CFG) -c init -c "reset halt;resume" -c exit
 
 # Don't use core/loader/elfloader.c, use elfloader-otf.c instead
-$(OBJECTDIR)/elfloader.o: 
+$(OBJECTDIR)/elfloader.o: | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	echo -n >$@
 
 clean: clean_cpu
diff --git a/cpu/avr/Makefile.avr b/cpu/avr/Makefile.avr
index 17f4c9b56..f1b09e82f 100644
--- a/cpu/avr/Makefile.avr
+++ b/cpu/avr/Makefile.avr
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ CONTIKI_TARGET_DIRS_CONCAT = ${addprefix $(CONTIKI)/platform/$(TARGET)/, \
 
 ### Compilation rules
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 %.o: %.c
diff --git a/cpu/cc2430/Makefile.cc2430 b/cpu/cc2430/Makefile.cc2430
index 0f67e880b..4101416ab 100644
--- a/cpu/cc2430/Makefile.cc2430
+++ b/cpu/cc2430/Makefile.cc2430
@@ -116,7 +116,8 @@ PROJECT_OBJECTFILES = $(addprefix $(OBJECTDIR)/, \
 SEGMENT_RULE_FILES = $(foreach dir, . $(CONTIKI_PLATFORM_DIRS) \
 	$(CONTIKI_CPU_DIRS_LIST), $(wildcard $(dir)/segment.rules) )
 
-$(SEGMENT_RULES): $(SEGMENT_RULE_FILES)
+# NB: Assumes SEGMENT_RULES was not overridden and is in $(OBJECTDIR)
+$(SEGMENT_RULES): $(SEGMENT_RULE_FILES) | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	cat $(SEGMENT_RULE_FILES) | \
 	   sed -e 's/#.*$$//' -e 's/^\s*//' -e '/^$$/d' > $@
 
@@ -124,11 +125,11 @@ CUSTOM_RULE_LINK=1
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_OBJECTDIR_O=1
 CUSTOM_RULE_ALLOBJS_TO_TARGETLIB=1
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES)
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES) | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(call c_seg,$<,$@) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@ -Wp,-MMD,$(@:.rel=.d),-MQ,$@
 	@$(FINALIZE_SDCC_DEPENDENCY)
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.cS
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.cS | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	cp $< $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -E $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.c > $(OBJECTDIR)/tmp
 	perl -pe "s/^#(.*)/;$$1/" $(OBJECTDIR)/tmp > $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.S
@@ -144,7 +145,7 @@ contiki-$(TARGET).lib: $(CONTIKI_OBJECTFILES) $(PROJECT_OBJECTFILES) \
 
 # build app/example local object files. We need a separate rule so that we can
 # pass -DAUTOSTART_ENABLE for those files only
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.app.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES)
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.app.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES) | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(call c_seg,$<,$@) -DAUTOSTART_ENABLE $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 # .ihx is the sdcc binary output file
diff --git a/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.cc2538 b/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.cc2538
index e47090696..05ae7257d 100644
--- a/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.cc2538
+++ b/cpu/cc2538/Makefile.cc2538
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ CONTIKI_SOURCEFILES += $(USB_CORE_SOURCEFILES) $(USB_ARCH_SOURCEFILES)
 ### Always re-build ieee-addr.o in case the command line passes a new NODEID
 FORCE:
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/ieee-addr.o: ieee-addr.c FORCE
+$(OBJECTDIR)/ieee-addr.o: ieee-addr.c FORCE | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 ### Compilation rules
@@ -82,5 +82,6 @@ LDGENFLAGS += $(addprefix -I,$(SOURCEDIRS))
 LDGENFLAGS += -imacros "contiki-conf.h"
 LDGENFLAGS += -P -E
 
-$(LDSCRIPT): $(CONTIKI_CPU)/cc2538.lds FORCE
+# NB: Assumes LDSCRIPT was not overridden and is in $(OBJECTDIR)
+$(LDSCRIPT): $(CONTIKI_CPU)/cc2538.lds FORCE | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CPP) $(LDGENFLAGS) $< -o $@
diff --git a/cpu/cc253x/Makefile.cc253x b/cpu/cc253x/Makefile.cc253x
index 673cc2b3b..f919285c2 100644
--- a/cpu/cc253x/Makefile.cc253x
+++ b/cpu/cc253x/Makefile.cc253x
@@ -137,7 +137,8 @@ PROJECT_OBJECTFILES = $(addprefix $(OBJECTDIR)/, \
 SEGMENT_RULE_FILES = $(foreach dir, . $(CONTIKI_PLATFORM_DIRS) \
 	$(CONTIKI_CPU_DIRS_LIST), $(wildcard $(dir)/segment.rules) )
 
-$(SEGMENT_RULES): $(SEGMENT_RULE_FILES)
+# NB: Assumes SEGMENT_RULES was not overridden and is in $(OBJECTDIR)
+$(SEGMENT_RULES): $(SEGMENT_RULE_FILES) | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	cat $(SEGMENT_RULE_FILES) | \
 	   sed -e 's/#.*$$//' -e 's/^\s*//' -e '/^$$/d' > $@
 
@@ -145,11 +146,11 @@ CUSTOM_RULE_LINK=1
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_OBJECTDIR_O=1
 CUSTOM_RULE_ALLOBJS_TO_TARGETLIB=1
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES)
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES) | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(call c_seg,$<,$@) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@ -Wp,-MMD,$(@:.rel=.d),-MQ,$@
 	@$(FINALIZE_SDCC_DEPENDENCY)
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.cS
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.rel: %.cS | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	cp $< $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -E $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.c > $(OBJECTDIR)/tmp
 	perl -pe "s/^#(.*)/;$$1/" $(OBJECTDIR)/tmp > $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.S
@@ -165,7 +166,7 @@ contiki-$(TARGET).lib: $(CONTIKI_OBJECTFILES) $(PROJECT_OBJECTFILES) \
 
 # build app/example local object files. We need a separate rule so that we can
 # pass -DAUTOSTART_ENABLE for those files only
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.app.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES)
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.app.rel: %.c $(SEGMENT_RULES) | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(call c_seg,$<,$@) -DAUTOSTART_ENABLE $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 # .ihx is the sdcc binary output file
diff --git a/cpu/mc1322x/Makefile.mc1322x b/cpu/mc1322x/Makefile.mc1322x
index 05f936439..d04e3ecf7 100644
--- a/cpu/mc1322x/Makefile.mc1322x
+++ b/cpu/mc1322x/Makefile.mc1322x
@@ -73,28 +73,28 @@ CFLAGS += -I$(OBJECTDIR) -I$(CONTIKI_CPU)/board -DBOARD=$(TARGET)
 CPPFLAGS += -P -C ${addprefix -D,${subst $(COMMA), ,$(DEFINES)}}
 
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/board.h: $(OBJECTDIR) 
+$(OBJECTDIR)/board.h: $(CONTIKI_CPU)/board/board.h | $(OBJECTDIR)
 ifeq ($(HOST_OS),Windows)
-	ln -f $(CONTIKI_CPU)/board/board.h $(OBJECTDIR)/board.h
+	ln -f $< $@
 else
-	ln -sf ../$(CONTIKI_CPU)/board/board.h $(OBJECTDIR)/board.h
+	ln -sf ../$< $@
 endif
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.lds: $(CONTIKI_CPU)/%.lds.S
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.lds: $(CONTIKI_CPU)/%.lds.S | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CPP) $(CPPFLAGS) $< > $@
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/isr.o: $(CONTIKI_CPU)/src/isr.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/isr.o: $(CONTIKI_CPU)/src/isr.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) $< -c -o $@
 
 %.o: %.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(THUMB_FLAGS) $< -c
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(THUMB_FLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_S_TO_OBJECTDIR_O = yes
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.S | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(AFLAGS) $(ARM_FLAGS) $< -c  -o $@
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_CO=yes
diff --git a/cpu/msp430/Makefile.msp430 b/cpu/msp430/Makefile.msp430
index e34c1e6cd..a1d58bf73 100644
--- a/cpu/msp430/Makefile.msp430
+++ b/cpu/msp430/Makefile.msp430
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ rm -f $(@:.o=.P)
 endef
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_OBJECTDIR_O = 1
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $< --dependencies=m $(@:.o=.P) -o $@
 ifeq ($(HOST_OS),Windows)
 	@$(FINALIZE_CYGWIN_DEPENDENCY)
diff --git a/cpu/stm32w108/Makefile.stm32w108 b/cpu/stm32w108/Makefile.stm32w108
index c5748d84f..2b4c1b3b8 100644
--- a/cpu/stm32w108/Makefile.stm32w108
+++ b/cpu/stm32w108/Makefile.stm32w108
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ endif
 
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_OBJECTDIR_O = 1
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $< --dependencies=m $(@:.o=.P) -o $@
 	@$(SEDCOMMAND); rm -f $(@:.o=.P)
 	@$(FINALIZE_DEPENDENCY)
@@ -270,10 +270,10 @@ stm-motelist:
 stm-motes:
 	@echo $(MOTES)
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.s79
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.s79 | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(AS) $(ASFLAGS) -o $@ $<
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.s
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.s | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(AS) $(ASFLAGS) -o $@ $<
 
 %.bin: %.$(TARGET)
diff --git a/cpu/z80/Makefile.z80 b/cpu/z80/Makefile.z80
index 7d8e420c9..47a705b47 100644
--- a/cpu/z80/Makefile.z80
+++ b/cpu/z80/Makefile.z80
@@ -56,11 +56,11 @@ CONTIKI_PLATFORM_DIRS = $(PLATFORM_APPDIRS) \
 vpath %.cS $(CONTIKI_PLATFORM_DIRS)
 
 #option -MMD doesn't work well on SDCC as of 2.9.0
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@
 
 ifndef CUSTOM_RULE_CS_TO_OBJECTDIR_O
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.cS
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.cS | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	cp $< $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.c
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -E $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.c > $(OBJECTDIR)/tmp
 	perl -pe "s/^#(.*)/;$$1/" $(OBJECTDIR)/tmp > $(OBJECTDIR)/$*.S
diff --git a/platform/cooja/Makefile.cooja b/platform/cooja/Makefile.cooja
index 2e61093d4..46f775a9b 100644
--- a/platform/cooja/Makefile.cooja
+++ b/platform/cooja/Makefile.cooja
@@ -91,10 +91,13 @@ endif # UIP_CONF_IPV6
 REDEF_PRINTF=1 # Redefine functions to enable printf()s inside Cooja
 
 ### Define custom targets
-$(ARCHIVE): ${addprefix $(OBJECTDIR)/, $(CONTIKI_SOURCEFILES:.c=.o)}
+
+# NB: Assumes ARCHIVE was not overridden and is in $(OBJECTDIR)
+$(ARCHIVE): ${addprefix $(OBJECTDIR)/, $(CONTIKI_SOURCEFILES:.c=.o)} | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(AR_COMMAND_1) $^ $(AR_COMMAND_2)
 
-$(JNILIB): $(CONTIKI_APP_OBJ) $(MAIN_OBJ) $(PROJECT_OBJECTFILES) $(ARCHIVE)
+# NB: Assumes JNILIB was not overridden and is in $(OBJECTDIR)
+$(JNILIB): $(CONTIKI_APP_OBJ) $(MAIN_OBJ) $(PROJECT_OBJECTFILES) $(ARCHIVE) | $(OBJECTDIR)
 ifdef SYMBOLS
 	@echo Generating symbols
 	# Recreate symbols file and relink with final memory layout (twice)
@@ -117,7 +120,9 @@ $(CONTIKI_APP).cooja: $(JNILIB)
 	cp $(JNILIB) $@
 	rm $(CONTIKI_APP_OBJ)
 
-mtype%.o: contiki-cooja-main.o
+# Trickiness: GNU make matches this against the file base name.
+# Assume that the directory part is the standard location.
+mtype%.o: contiki-cooja-main.o | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	mv contiki-cooja-main.o $@
 
 symbols.c:
diff --git a/platform/win32/Makefile.win32 b/platform/win32/Makefile.win32
index 423d6e387..3759df8c5 100644
--- a/platform/win32/Makefile.win32
+++ b/platform/win32/Makefile.win32
@@ -83,7 +83,7 @@ ifdef VCINSTALLDIR
 VCFLAGS = -Od -Z7 $(filter-out -Wall -g -O,$(CFLAGS))
 
 CUSTOM_RULE_C_TO_OBJECTDIR_O = 1
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	cl -nologo $(VCFLAGS) -c $< -Fo$@
 	@makedepend $(CFLAGS) -o.o -f- $< 2> nul: | sed -e s!$(<:.c=.o)!$@! -e s!\\!/!g > $(@:.o=.d)
 
diff --git a/tools/z80/hex2bin/Makefile b/tools/z80/hex2bin/Makefile
index fc6bbe659..6a7b04921 100644
--- a/tools/z80/hex2bin/Makefile
+++ b/tools/z80/hex2bin/Makefile
@@ -14,10 +14,6 @@ OBJECTS		= ${addprefix $(OBJECTDIR)/,$(SOURCES:.c=.o)}
 
 vpath %.c $(SOURCEDIR)
 
-ifeq (${wildcard $(OBJECTDIR)},)
-  DUMMY := ${shell mkdir $(OBJECTDIR)}
-endif
-
 hexameter: $(OBJECTS)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o $@ $(OBJECTS)
 
@@ -26,6 +22,9 @@ clean:
 	rm -f *~ *.stackdump
 	rm -f *~ hexameter hexameter.exe
 
-$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c
+$(OBJECTDIR):
+	mkdir $@
+
+$(OBJECTDIR)/%.o: %.c | $(OBJECTDIR)
 	$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@