How To: Find a Deck Center

Goal: find the exact center of a rectangular deck (or patio, floor, or table), so you can place a post, umbrella, fire feature, or medallion dead center.

The trick: the center of a rectangle is the midpoint of its diagonal. Every measurement line marks its 1/2 point, so a line from one corner to the opposite corner marks the center for you.

What you need

Two cubes, placed at opposite corners of the deck.

Steps

  1. From the app window, press Start to open a workspace with one cube. (Or use the cube you already have.)
  2. Turn on the pivot point so you can see each cube's exact center (Action - Show the Pivot Point and Axes).
  3. Walk to one corner of the deck and pinch‑drag the cube so its center sits over that corner (Action - Move and Rotate a Cube).
  4. Press Spawn Cube to add a second cube, then walk to the diagonally opposite corner and place its center there.
  5. Look at the measurement line between the two cubes. The small sphere at its middle is the deck's center.
  6. Mark the spot on the deck directly below that midpoint marker.

Make it more precise

  • Walk to each corner, or stay put and push a cube out to it — pinch, push your hand away, release, and repeat (Action - Move and Rotate a Cube). Walking over and placing up close is the most exact. Look at it from multiple sides as depth can be deceiving.
  • Place both cubes carefully, with the pivot point lined up on the true corners; the midpoint is only as good as the two corners.
  • Check it by running the diagonal the other way: place the two cubes on the other pair of opposite corners and confirm the new midpoint lands on the same spot.
  • Read the TOTAL DISTANCE to confirm you measured the full diagonal you intended.

Why the diagonal works

For any rectangle, both diagonals cross at the exact center. So you do not need all four corners — one diagonal's midpoint is enough. (If the deck is an odd shape, mark two different diagonals and use where they would cross.)