How to Make an Octagon Gazebo Floor

Building a gazebo in your yard adds interest to the landscape and gives you and your family a covered place to sit and enjoy the outdoors. Gazebos range from simple wood platforms with covers to elaborate designs that feature stairs, lighting and ornate carved wood. A basic gazebo floor can be built from panels to accommodate the number of sides and measurements of the angles. In an octagon, or eight-sided gazebo, the angles of all corners and interior angles measure 22-1/2 degrees.

Measuring tape
Miter box and saw
2-by-6 lumber
Wood screws
Handheld drill with screwdriver bit
Galvanized nails
Hammer

Instructions

- 1
  
  Miter boxes have guides for cutting 22 1/2-degree angles for eight-sided projects.
  
  Measure the distance from the center post of your gazebo to the outer perimeter. Note this measurement as the length of each of the eight floor panels you will construct.
- 2
  Cut two pieces of 2-by-6 lumber crosswise, or across their 6-inch widths, so that they are the length of your floor panel. Use a miter box to make the cuts: one 90-degree edge and one 22 1/2-degree edge.
- 3
  Measure and cut another piece of 2-by-6 lumber that is the length of one side of your gazebo. Miter the edges to 22 1/2-degree angles so that the new piece can be joined with the existing panels to form a triangle.
- 4
  Assemble the first floor panel frame by screwing two wood screws into each joint spaced about 3 inches apart. Test the panel's size and shape by placing it onto the gazebo's foundation. The panel frame should raise the gazebo floor location 6 inches above the foundation and fit between the center post and two of the outer posts.
- 5
  Measure and cut several pieces of 2-by-6 lumber to form the facing for the floor. Begin with the outermost piece of lumber, which covers the top edge of the short side of the triangular frame. Work inward and cut each plank with the miter saw then nail it to the floor frame with a hammer and galvanized nails spaced about 3 inches apart.
- 6
  Repeat Steps 2 through 6 to produce a total of eight floor panels. Position them onto the gazebo foundation, as you complete them, to check their fit.
- 7
  Screw the gazebo floor panels together with wood screws driven in at angles around the outside perimeter of the floor.

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