How to Build a Portable Gazebo as a Summer Project

This portable is easy to set up as well as take-down and store, and makes a perfect set-up on any flat surface.

A gazebo is a nice finishing touch to any backyard, providing a new vantage point from which to enjoy your gardens and a focal point when looking at your landscaping. Gazebos also provide shade from the sun and shelter from rain, giving you more hours to enjoy the outdoors. The only drawback — especially for gazebos in the classic octagonal style — is that they are complicated to build and expensive to buy.

Disassembled, the pieces of the gazebo don’t take much space and can easily be stored in a garage or shed.

My design eliminates the fancy joinery that’s usually associated with an octagonal roof and walls. Instead, I used hinges to join the walls and a patio umbrella for the roof. As a result, my gazebo is quite easy to build for around $200 (perhaps a little less), plus the cost of the umbrella. An added bonus: it’s relatively lightweight and portable. If you want to move this gazebo to a new location or take it down for the winter, it is not difficult to do.

A large patio umbrella makes up the roof of the gazebo, and it’s heavy concrete base gives it some stability.

The finished project breaks down to four hinged pairs of wall panels and eight trim boards. The wall sections join together with 12 wingnuts, and it takes less than 30 minutes to raise or take down the gazebo. Nevertheless, the structure is very stable, even under windy conditions. To be on the safe side, I used a heavy concrete umbrella base of about 90 pounds, and I fastened the umbrella’s ribs to the hooks on the sides with elastic line as shown in the plans and photos.

For the Gazebo Wall and Entrance Diagrams in PDF format, click here.

For the Gazebo Exploded View and Materials List in PDF format, click here.

Framing the Walls

The width of the wall panels should create about 4″ of overhang from a 10′ umbrella, keep this in mind when buying your umbrella.

Building the walls is made easier because all eight sides have the same overall dimensions, and seven of them are identical. This means that for every part, you only need to measure once — and then transfer the marks to the other workpieces.

The balustrades should be laid out with a cross pattern on every side except, of course, for the entrance which will not have a panel.

I used 5/4 stock for the posts (pieces 5) and the cross members (pieces 6). The arch panels (pieces 1) are cut from 3/4″ exterior grade plywood. The remaining framing is from 2 x 2 lumber, which you can rip from 2 x 4s if you so choose.

Draw out the arch panels out on a template and transfer it to your pieces, the author built a homemade compass with a 27-1/2″ radius to aid in the task.

Once you’re done with measuring and marking, cut all the parts to size. This saves time and makes creating uniform pieces a bit easier. I marked the 27-1⁄2″ radius on the arched panels using the simple homemade compass. I then made the curved cuts with a jigsaw, but a band saw would work as well.

Once you’ve marked up the rail location on one post, transfer them to the rest of your pieces using a square and pencil.

All the other cuts can be made with a handsaw and miterbox, a portable circular saw, or, for best results, a table saw. Whichever you choose, you will save yourself a lot of trouble if you make certain that they are all perfectly square cuts.

Assembly of the walls works best on a large worktable. Sawhorses, topped with a sheetstock panel such as plywood, work great. Just be sure to use a sheet that you have checked to make sure the factory-made corners are indeed square. Begin by screwing the blocks (pieces 4) to the rails (pieces 2).

Use a large plywood worktable to give yourself space and a straight edge so that you can clamp and align the rails before assembling them.

Align one post with the edge of the work table, and then clamp the rails with the block assemblies (see the Drawings for details) in position relative to the posts and balusters (pieces 3). Screw the rails to the posts and then to the balusters. Then screw the outboard rails to the blocks and to the posts.

Align the cross members and frame and mark out the centerline, this is where you will cut out the miters for the half-lap joint.

For measuring the cross members (pieces 6), it’s easiest to first draw centerlines. Then lay them under the assembled wall and mark the angles. They should, of course, be close to 45 degrees. Make the cuts and position them, one over the other, inside the square opening.

Once you’ve cut the angles on the crosspieces, place the wall assemblage down together and mark out where you will cut your half-lap joints.

Mark the area where they overlap. Here, you’ll have to make notches in order to fashion the halflap joints. It’s easy to do this. Simply make a series of cuts halfway through each cross member.

Use a circular saw to start your half lap joints, then finish them off by using a chisel to cut out the rest of the waste.

Switch to a sharp wood chisel to carefully clear out the waste. I found that I could clean these joints out by hand (no tapping with a hammer). Please take care never to have the chisel pointed toward your hand or body. It can easily slip and cause a nasty gouge if you are not careful.

To make the beginning subassembly, screw two balusters between the rails with wood screws along with the blocks on either end.

Install the rails (pieces 2) at the top of the subassemblies next. Then install the arch panels (pieces 1). Use a few 3/8″- thick strips of scrap wood to support the panels in a centered position during assembly.

Finish fastening the crosspiece subassembly to the balustrade frame with two 3″ galvanized screws in each corner.

The entrance wall is identical in size to the others, except there is no balustrade assembly.