How to Build a Deck or Platform for Your Glamping Tent

Why Build a Platform?

Setting your glamping tent directly on the ground works fine for temporary camping, but if you're keeping a tent in one spot for a season or longer - especially for a rental operation or a permanent backyard setup - a raised platform or concrete slab makes a real difference. It gets the tent off damp ground, improves drainage so water doesn't pool under the floor, extends the life of your groundsheet, and gives guests (or your family) a more solid, level surface to walk on inside the tent.

Building a platform doesn't require professional carpentry skills or specialized tools. Everything in this guide uses dimensional lumber and hardware available at Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, McCoy's, or any standard lumber yard. The concrete slab option is even simpler from a framing standpoint, though it involves a different skill set. We'll cover both approaches, along with the anchoring details you need to secure your tent to the platform instead of using ground stakes.

Planning Your Platform Size

Matching Platform to Tent Size

Your platform needs to be a square that's larger than the tent's footprint - not just for the base stakes and groundsheet, but so you have room to stand on the deck around the tent while attaching guy lines, adjusting hardware, and doing general setup. If you build the platform flush to the tent edge, you'll be standing on a ladder or leaning off the side trying to reach attachment points, especially on a raised deck. At least a foot of clearance around the tent gives you a place to stand and work.

We also designed these platform sizes around standard lumber lengths so you're not wasting material on every cut. Here's what works:

13-foot tent - build a 16' x 16' platform. This gives you about a foot and a half of clearance on each side of the tent. More importantly, 16 feet is a standard lumber length - your joists and decking boards come off the rack and go straight onto the frame with zero cuts on length. No waste, no math, no trimming.

16-foot tent - build a 20' x 20' platform. That's 2 feet of clearance per side, which might sound like more than you need, but there's a good reason: 20 feet is a standard lumber length. You can buy 20-foot boards and use them full-length, or use two 10-foot boards joined over a joist - either way, zero waste. If you tried to build an 18-foot platform instead (saving 2 feet per side), you'd be cutting 2 feet off every 20-foot board or buying 16-foot boards and coming up short. The extra standing room around the tent is a bonus you get for free by building to the lumber.

20-foot tent - build a 24' x 24' platform. Same logic. A 22-foot platform would leave 1 foot per side, but 22 feet doesn't match any standard lumber length - you'd waste 2 feet off every board. At 24 feet, you use two 12-foot boards per span joined over a joist. Twelve-foot lumber is one of the most common and affordable lengths at any store. The result is 2 feet of clearance per side, efficient material use, and plenty of room to work around the tent during setup and maintenance.

Square platforms are the way to go even though the tents have a round footprint. Octagonal builds save a little lumber but add a lot of complexity in cutting angles and framing joints. A square is faster to build, easier to level, and structurally simpler.

A Note About Guy Lines and Usable Space

Your tent's guy lines extend outward from the tent walls and anchor 3-5 feet beyond the base. On a ground installation, those stake into the dirt around the perimeter. On a deck, you'll either anchor them to the deck surface or to posts (more on that below). Either way, the guy lines create trip hazards in the area immediately surrounding the tent.

The clearance space you're building into the platform is primarily functional - it's for setup access and guy line anchoring, not for lounging or foot traffic. The guy lines are reflective and visible when you shine a light on them at night, but during the day they're easy to miss at ankle height. If you want usable outdoor living space around your tent, build a separate adjacent patio or deck section rather than trying to oversize the tent platform further.

Building a Wood Deck Platform

Materials

Everything here is standard pressure-treated lumber available at any big box hardware store. Pressure-treated is important for ground contact and outdoor exposure - don't use untreated lumber for a platform that sits outside year-round.

Framing: 2x8 pressure-treated lumber is the best balance of strength and cost for tent platform joists. Space joists 16 inches on center for a solid surface that won't flex under foot traffic or furniture weight.

Decking surface: 2x6 pressure-treated boards are the most common and affordable decking option. 5/4x6 composite decking is a premium alternative that lasts longer and requires less maintenance but costs more. Either works - it's a budget decision.

Foundation: 4x4 pressure-treated posts on concrete deck blocks or poured concrete pier footings. Deck blocks are faster and don't require digging or pouring concrete. Poured piers are more permanent and better for uneven terrain where you need to adjust heights.

Hardware: Galvanized or stainless steel joist hangers, structural screws (GRK, SPAX, or similar - avoid drywall screws), and galvanized carriage bolts or lag bolts for post connections. For anchoring the tent to the deck, you'll need lag eye bolts or heavy-duty screw-in eye bolts - these aren't included with the tent kit and you'll pick them up at the same hardware store.

Lumber Planning by Platform Size

16' x 16' platform (for 13-foot tents): Buy 16-foot lumber for both joists and decking. Everything goes on full-length with no cuts needed on the long dimension. This is the most material-efficient build of the three - you're essentially just buying boards and screwing them down. For decking boards running perpendicular to joists, you'll need roughly 32 boards of 2x6x16' at standard spacing.

20' x 20' platform (for 16-foot tents): If your store stocks 20-foot boards, buy those and use them full-length for zero waste. If they don't (some locations only carry up to 16'), use two 10-foot boards per span, joining them over a joist. Ten-foot lumber is always in stock everywhere and two tens give you exactly 20 feet with no cutoff. You'll need roughly 40 decking boards at 2x6x20' or 80 at 2x6x10'.

24' x 24' platform (for 20-foot tents): Use two 12-foot boards per span, joining them over a joist. Twelve-foot lumber is one of the most widely stocked and affordable lengths at any hardware store. Two 12-foot boards give you 24 feet - clean, no waste. You'll need roughly 48 decking boards at 2x6x12' (96 total boards since each row takes two). This is a big platform, so consider getting materials delivered rather than hauling multiple loads.

Foundation and Framing

Start by laying out your platform footprint and marking where your support posts will go. For a tent platform, a simple post-on-block foundation works well.

Place concrete deck blocks in a grid pattern across the platform area. For a 16' platform, a 3x3 grid of blocks (9 total) with roughly 7-foot spacing provides solid support. For a 20' platform, a 4x4 grid (16 blocks) at roughly 6-foot spacing. For a 24' platform, a 4x4 or 5x5 grid, depending on your joist span comfort level - 5x5 (25 blocks) at roughly 5.5-foot spacing is the more conservative approach.

Set 4x4 posts into the deck blocks and cut them to height. This is where you level the platform - use a laser level or a long straight board with a spirit level to get all posts to the same height. If your ground slopes, the posts on the low side will be taller. Take your time with this step because a level foundation makes everything else easier.

Run your double 2x8 beams across the posts, then hang 2x8 joists perpendicular to the beams at 16 inches on center using joist hangers. Frame the perimeter with a 2x8 rim joist. Then lay your 2x6 decking boards across the joists, leaving 1/8" gaps between boards for drainage and wood expansion. Fasten decking with two screws per joist crossing.

Height Considerations

Keep your platform height reasonable. Anything under 24 inches off the ground typically doesn't require guardrails in most jurisdictions - but check your local codes. For tent platforms, 12-18 inches off the ground is usually ideal. It's high enough to clear ground moisture and allow airflow underneath, but low enough that you don't need elaborate stairs for entry. A single step or small set of stairs at the tent entrance is a nice touch for guest comfort.

Building on a Concrete Slab

When Concrete Makes More Sense

A concrete slab is worth considering if you want maximum permanence, you're building on ground that's difficult to level with posts (heavy clay, very rocky), or you already have an existing slab you want to repurpose. It's also the better choice in areas prone to termites since there's no wood in ground contact.

The tradeoff is that concrete is harder to remove if you change your mind, doesn't drain through the surface (water runs off the edges instead), and requires either hiring a concrete contractor or renting equipment for the pour.

Slab Sizing and Specs

Same footprint dimensions as the wood platform: 16'x16' for 13-foot tents, 20'x20' for 16-foot tents, 24'x24' for 20-foot tents. Pour the slab 4 inches thick at minimum on a compacted gravel base with 6-mil poly vapor barrier underneath. Include wire mesh or rebar for crack resistance. Slope the slab slightly (1/8 inch per foot) away from center so water drains to the edges rather than pooling under your tent.

If you're hiring a concrete contractor, these are standard residential slab specs and most contractors can quote it quickly. If you're doing it yourself, the 16'x16' slab is manageable for a DIYer with rented equipment. The 24'x24' slab is a big pour - consider getting help or having the concrete pumped.

Anchoring to Concrete

Once the slab has cured (at least 7 days, ideally 28 for full strength), you'll drill into the concrete to install expansion anchors for your tent's base stakes and guy lines. Use a hammer drill with a masonry bit sized for your expansion anchors. Wedge-type expansion anchors with eye bolts work well - drill the hole, tap in the anchor, and thread on the eye bolt. The tent's base stake loops and guy lines clip or tie directly to these eye bolts.

Lay your tent out on the slab first to mark exactly where each anchor point needs to go before you start drilling. Measure twice - concrete holes aren't forgiving of mistakes.

Anchoring Your Tent to a Wood Deck

Replacing Ground Stakes with Deck Hardware

Your tent kit comes with metal stakes designed for driving into the ground. On a wood platform, those don't work. Instead, you'll install lag eye bolts directly into the deck framing.

For base stake anchor points around the perimeter of the tent, use heavy-duty lag eye bolts (3/8 inch minimum diameter, 3-4 inches long) screwed into the deck boards and into the joist below. Position these to match the stake loop locations on your tent's groundsheet. The tent's base loops attach to these eye bolts the same way they'd attach to ground stakes.

Try to position your base stake anchor points so they land on or near a joist for maximum holding strength. If an anchor point falls between joists, add a short blocking piece between the joists underneath to give the lag bolt solid wood to bite into.

Guy Line Anchoring Options

Guy lines need to anchor 3-5 feet beyond the tent's base, which puts them in the clearance zone around your tent. You have two main approaches:

Deck-level anchoring: Install lag eye bolts near the perimeter of the deck, positioned 3-5 feet from the base stake points. Run guy lines from the tent to these eye bolts and tension with the included guy line tensioners. This is the simplest method and works well, but the guy lines cross the deck surface at ankle height. They're reflective and show up when you shine a light on them, but they're still a trip hazard for anyone walking around the outside of the tent.

Elevated anchoring with posts: Some people install 4x4 posts around the deck perimeter and fasten the guy lines to the posts above head height. This gets the lines up and out of the way. Bolt 4x4 posts to the outside of your rim joist (or through the deck surface into the framing below) at each guy line location. Run the guy lines up to eye bolts mounted on the posts at 6-7 feet high. This clears the trip hazard at ground level, but the angled lines between the tent and the posts still limit how freely you can move around the tent exterior. It works well for permanent installations where the area around the tent doesn't need to be a walkway.

Either method holds the tent securely. The choice comes down to whether deck-level trip hazards or elevated lines work better for your specific setup and traffic patterns.

Anchoring the Geodesic Dome

The Geodesic Dome has a different assembly process and anchoring setup than the Astral, Eclipse, Jellyfish, or Pyramid tents. The dome's rigid frame distributes loads differently, and the anchoring points are specific to the dome's base ring design. If you're building a platform for a dome installation, contact our team for specific guidance on platform specs and anchoring hardware. The general platform sizing and construction principles in this guide still apply - you just need dome-specific anchor point placement.

Tools You'll Need

For the wood deck build, you'll need a circular saw (or miter saw for cleaner cuts), a drill/driver, a speed square, a tape measure, a level (4-foot minimum, laser level is even better), a socket set for lag bolts, and basic safety equipment - eye protection and hearing protection especially when cutting pressure-treated lumber. If you're also doing concrete work, add a hammer drill with masonry bits for the expansion anchors. None of this is specialized - it's the same tool kit you'd need for building a standard backyard deck.

For a full concrete slab, add concrete finishing tools (bull float, hand float, edger) and either a concrete mixer or a plan for ready-mix delivery. For anything larger than the 16'x16' slab, getting a ready-mix truck is worth the cost over mixing bags by hand.

Permit Considerations

Building codes and permit requirements vary by location. In many jurisdictions, a freestanding deck under 200 square feet and under 24 inches off the ground doesn't require a permit. The 16'x16' platform (256 square feet) exceeds this common threshold, so all three platform sizes in this guide likely require a permit check with your local building department. Some areas have higher thresholds or different rules for agricultural or recreational structures - it's worth asking.

Concrete slabs may have different requirements. Some areas require permits for any poured concrete work, others don't. Call your local building department before you start. It's a quick conversation that can save you from expensive problems later.

The tents themselves are generally classified as temporary structures and don't require building permits in most jurisdictions - it's the platform underneath that might trigger permit requirements.

Maintenance

A pressure-treated wood platform needs minimal upkeep. Inspect annually for any boards that are warping, splitting, or showing signs of rot. Check that your anchor hardware is tight and not corroding. If you want the deck to look its best, apply a deck stain or sealant every 2-3 years - this is cosmetic, not structural, but it keeps the wood from graying.

Concrete slabs need even less maintenance. Check expansion anchors periodically to make sure they haven't loosened. Sweep debris off the surface so water drains properly. Seal any cracks that develop to prevent water from getting underneath and undermining the base.

For the tent itself, the platform extends tent life by keeping the groundsheet off damp soil. You'll notice less dirt tracked inside, less moisture coming up from below, and less wear on the bottom of the tent. It's one of the best investments you can make for long-term tent durability.

Get Started

A platform build is a weekend project for most DIYers - one day for foundation and framing, one day for decking and anchor hardware. The materials run roughly $500-$800 for the 16'x16', $800-$1,500 for the 20'x20', and $1,200-$2,000 for the 24'x24', depending on whether you choose pressure-treated or composite decking and your local lumber prices. Concrete slabs cost more if you're hiring a contractor ($2,000-$5,000 depending on size and site prep) but less if you're doing the work yourself.

If you're building platforms for a multi-tent glamping site, reach out to our team - we can help you plan anchor point placement for specific tent models and talk through layout considerations for your property. Browse our tent collection to match platform sizes to the tent you're building for, or order a $0.51 material sample if you're still deciding on a tent.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size platform do I need for my tent?

Build a 16'x16' square for a 13-foot tent, 20'x20' for a 16-foot tent, and 24'x24' for a 20-foot tent. These sizes give you at least a foot of clearance on each side for standing room during setup, and they align with standard lumber lengths so you're not wasting material on every cut.

Can I use my tent's included ground stakes on a wood deck?

No. The included metal stakes are designed for driving into soil. On a wood platform, replace them with lag eye bolts (3/8 inch diameter, 3-4 inches long) screwed through the deck boards into the joists below. On concrete, use expansion anchors with eye bolts drilled into the cured slab. Both types of hardware are available at any big box hardware store and aren't included with the tent kit.

Do I need a building permit for a tent platform?

Likely yes for all three platform sizes in this guide, since they all exceed the 200-square-foot threshold that many jurisdictions use for permit-free decks. However, rules vary by location - some areas have higher thresholds or exemptions for recreational structures. Call your local building department before you start. The tents themselves are typically classified as temporary structures and don't require permits - it's the platform that might.

Are guy lines a trip hazard on a deck?

Yes. Guy lines extend 3-5 feet beyond the tent base at ankle height. They're reflective and visible when you shine a light on them, but they can still catch a foot during the day. The clearance space on the platform is mainly for setup access and anchoring - not for foot traffic or lounging. If you need the lines out of the way, you can mount 4x4 posts around the perimeter and fasten the guy lines above head height instead.

Should I build a wood deck or pour a concrete slab?

Wood decks are easier to build yourself, drain well through the board gaps, look more natural in most settings, and can be removed or relocated. Concrete slabs are more permanent, require less ongoing maintenance, and work better in termite-prone areas or on difficult ground. For most glamping setups, a wood deck is the more practical choice. Concrete makes more sense for permanent commercial installations or if you already have an existing slab to work with.

How do I anchor a tent to a concrete slab?

Let the concrete cure for at least 7 days (28 days for full strength). Lay your tent out on the slab to mark anchor point locations. Drill into the concrete with a hammer drill and masonry bit, then install wedge-type expansion anchors with eye bolts. The tent's base loops and guy lines attach directly to these eye bolts. Measure and mark carefully before drilling - concrete doesn't forgive misplaced holes easily.

Why are the platform sizes bigger than the tent?

Two reasons. First, you need room to stand on the deck around the tent while attaching guy lines and doing setup - if the platform is flush with the tent edge, you're reaching over the side or using a ladder. Second, the platform dimensions are designed to match standard lumber lengths (16', 20', and pairs of 12') so you can use boards at full length without cutting and wasting material. The extra clearance is a practical bonus of building to the lumber.