How to Make a Yard Canopy With 2x4's

Select a site in your yard for the canopy. Form a square on the site by laying your 2-inch by 4-inch by 12-inch lumber pieces flat on the ground.

Drill a hole in the center of the lumber pieces on the end you will use for the top of the canopy. Screw a 3/8-inch by 4-inch eyebolt into the hole.

Use a clam hole digger to excavate a hole for each piece of lumber that is 16-inches deep. Put a metal anchor plate on the end of each piece of lumber.

Stand up one piece of lumber and insert it into the hole. Fill the hole with Portland cement. Repeat this process for the remaining 2-inch by 4-inch by 12-inch lumber pieces to turn them into posts for your canopy.

Use a level to ensure that each lumber piece is straight. Place the level flush against the edge of the post and determine whether the bubble in the liquid aligns with the space in the center of the measure. Adjust the lumber without lifting it from the cement, if needed, until the bubble in the level confirms that the piece is straight. Allow the posts to set in the cement for 24 hours.

Measure the size for the canopy by running a tape measure from the inner edges of the two posts in the front and write down the measurement. Repeat the same process to measure the distance from the posts in the back, and then from the post on the front left to the post on the rear left, and from the post on the front right to the post on the rear right side.

Subtract 4 inches from each side--front, back, left and right--so the canvass will be taught. Cut canvass material according to your measurement. Fold the right side of the canvass over 1-inch and sew a straight top seam on all edges. .

Use a grommet hole punch and punch a hole one inch away from the seam edge on all four corners. Attach a grommet to close and finish each hole.

Get a helper to complete the canopy attachment. Stand on a ladder near one lumber piece, and have your helper hand you the corresponding edge of the canopy, with one end of a double hook bungee cord attached through the grommet. Attach the other end of the bungee hook to the eyehook on top of the lumber post. Repeat the process with the other three lumber posts to complete your 2-inch by 4-inch canopy tent project.