During the construction of an octagon gazebo, I came up with a simple layout template to set the eight posts in the ground at equal measurements. With this gazebo, the inside faces of the opposite posts are 10 ft. apart. So I began there.

As shown in the drawing, I first lapped a pair of 10-ft. 2x4s at right angles to one another. Then I drilled a 1/2-in.-dia. hole through the exact center of the lap joint. I used a 12-in. length of 1/2-in. dowel as a stake to pin the center of the template to the center of the gazebo site and marked the positions of the first four posts at the end of each 2×4.

I rotated the template temporarily to dig the first four holes, and then I put the template back in place to set the posts (they should be touching the ends of the template as they are set in concrete). Once the first four posts were set, I rotated the template 45°, with equal measurements between all posts, and repeated the process.

— Ken Macklin; Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

From Fine Homebuilding #168

RELATED STORIES

• Laying Out an Octagon
• Exploring Octagonal Roof Framing with SketchUp
• New-Life Gazebo

Got a Tip?

Do you have any great tips like this one on laying out an octagon gazebo? Share your methods, tricks, and jigs with other readers. Tag them @FineHomebuilding on social, email them to us at [email protected], or upload them to FineHomebuilding.com/reader-tips. We’ll pay for any we publish.

^{Originally published January, 2005.}