diff --git a/test/zdtm.sh b/test/zdtm.sh
index 11dc07b7d..355c09cf5 100644
--- a/test/zdtm.sh
+++ b/test/zdtm.sh
@@ -223,6 +223,7 @@ start_test()
 			ZDTM_ROOT=`readlink -f $ZDTM_ROOT`
 			mount --bind . $ZDTM_ROOT || return 1
 		fi
+		make -C $tdir $tname
 		construct_root $ZDTM_ROOT $tdir/$tname || return 1
 	(	export ZDTM_NEWNS=1
 		export ZDTM_PIDFILE=$TPID