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Desk Technology
ToyD
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Or the technology of the desk itself. Specifically, I'm looking for a new desk and I know you folks here all have at least one.
Here's the thing though, I am really interested in floating shelves/desks specifically. Ones that can carry weight. If I can't lean on it (really it's mostly if my son can't lean on it or even hang on it safely), then it won't fly.
I recently read an article on lifehacker that I found through a google search about a guy making a series of floating shelves in a corner that had essentially a desktop around it with a keyboard mouse try built in. The article really turned out to be a series of bad pictures that showed people sitting in a chair at this neat desk. So I need some help on this topic.
It seems like a really neat idea, but while I know plenty about electronics, I know not too much at all about securing things to a wall properly so they can bear a load. Having a big desk top sticking out of my wall seems somewhat unstable by nature so I would appreciate if folks can post some GOOD links or share some experience with building/using a floating desk.
I do plan to buy/build this from scratch, no cannibalizing Ikea which is apparently what google thinks you want to know when searching for floating desks. Any good ideas, with accompanying pictures will do. Especially parts that show the important bits of how the shelves/desk are secured or how things are routed. I do not mind if it's preassembled if it shows something that applies. I will have access to plenty of correct tools, resources, knowledgable people, but right now, I'm trying to gather ideas and resources to build from when designing out the desk and shelving around it.
Here's the thing though, I am really interested in floating shelves/desks specifically. Ones that can carry weight. If I can't lean on it (really it's mostly if my son can't lean on it or even hang on it safely), then it won't fly.
I recently read an article on lifehacker that I found through a google search about a guy making a series of floating shelves in a corner that had essentially a desktop around it with a keyboard mouse try built in. The article really turned out to be a series of bad pictures that showed people sitting in a chair at this neat desk. So I need some help on this topic.
It seems like a really neat idea, but while I know plenty about electronics, I know not too much at all about securing things to a wall properly so they can bear a load. Having a big desk top sticking out of my wall seems somewhat unstable by nature so I would appreciate if folks can post some GOOD links or share some experience with building/using a floating desk.
I do plan to buy/build this from scratch, no cannibalizing Ikea which is apparently what google thinks you want to know when searching for floating desks. Any good ideas, with accompanying pictures will do. Especially parts that show the important bits of how the shelves/desk are secured or how things are routed. I do not mind if it's preassembled if it shows something that applies. I will have access to plenty of correct tools, resources, knowledgable people, but right now, I'm trying to gather ideas and resources to build from when designing out the desk and shelving around it.
ToyD on
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Dunno about building my own though.
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
But I'm using this.
It's a glass top, so yeah it can pick up dirt pretty easily, but I love it. It's pretty dang sturdy, and the pictures don't really do its size justice. I have two 22" monitors sitting on the top piece, and they can sit side-by-side no problem. They also have one without the top piece, but a keyboard and mouse tray (which I don't happen to like, personally).
What are your walls made of?
What do you want the shape (and dimensions) of your desk to look like?
It is totally possible but not Ikea style to make a completely floating free desk capable of holding 60 off kilograms.
Satans..... hints.....
At $600 the Bluelounge StudioDesk is insanely expensive but absolute sex in design when it comes to desks. If I had any kind of building ability or tools, I would love to build this desk.
Most desk tops are made of MDF, vastly different from the particle board you are thinking of. Secondly, making a hardwood desk yourself will still be vastly more expensive. Third, that hardwood desk will require regular maintenance to keep it looking nice, and if you screw up while building it, well, now it costs even more.
I don't even remember who manufactures my desk(I'll try and get a pic or model#) but its the typical large office desk that includes a run. I grabbed $10 in metal brackets from Ace Hardware to reinforce the corner between the main desk and the run. I just stood on the desk, with one foot right on that corner, and the desk didn't even so much as creek. I weigh 185lbs. The thing is a freakin tank. The desktop is MDF, one inch thick. The load supporting sides on the main desk and the run are 1" MDF as well. The filler panels are particle board. I think the desk, run, and hutch total retail for $500ish, I got it for less then half that off of Craigslist.
For a floating desk of any appreciable size you're going to need access to the framing behind the sheetrock in that room in order to get the type of weight support you want. That desk in the lifehacker might stand to be leaned against simply because it is so small and narrow. I don't know about you, but that thing is tiny compared to what I need as a desk. I would start checking out CL or other local classified to see if you can find someone getting rid of something you can use or salvage the top from since that is the most expensive part.
edit: found it
Desk http://www.sauder.com/furniture/product.asp?p=328
Return: http://www.sauder.com/furniture/product.asp?p=355
Now mine is an older style where the run was set lower vertically, which I hated, hence the need for the additional hardware. Not sure how they brace the front corner there, so you may want to grab a furniture bracket for $10 and reinforce it yourself to make it even better. But this thing is solid. I can lean on it, stand on it, smack up against it when I am rolling around in my computer chair. The main reason I wanted this one is cause it is helluva big and acts like a floating desk because the area between the bookshelf and the drawers is huge. I dont use the stupid monitor holder thing and face directly into the corner while using it.
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
First, my utmost concern with any design is allowable weight. After we do some maths, we'll see what kind of support I end up with there, but I'm thinking on the order of 100 kilos, but that's just me swagging a starting point to see where I'll end up. The desk top I envision is pretty wide from the wall, so we'll have to see how that goes. I may end up with cantilever support or something similar. Yet to be determined. But I do want something of a decent size to work on.
Also, the deskTOP usually isn't the problem in any sort of pre-fab desk. It's the rest of the desk. part of my deal with Ikea furniture is that it's rated to hold like 30 lbs. That's not NEARLY enough.
Currently the wall construction is drywall cover with 18" spaced studs of regular 2x4 wood. The desk will obviously have some sort of support needed, but depending on how this shakes out, we'll see what kind of support is required. In the first set of photos I linked, I thought that the solid side with the bottom shelf to hold the CPU was a pretty good solution.
The desk linked was also smaller than what I want as well, but again, we'll see what shakes out after the maths to support what I want. I realize that buying the wood will be more expensive and will require some maintenance, but I don't know that it would be a terribly onerous task to maintain the desk and shelves. Doing the actual work will most definately be a long term project and I'll probably even document it. But the idea of it intrigued me enough that I really want to see what I can do. I think it may end up the sort of freeform design of the linked lifehacker article, but the exact layout is yet to be determined.
I still need to do some measuring to find how much space exactly I have available, but it's going to be about 3 ft of one wall and probably 8ft or so on the other wall available. I don't plan to use all of it for desktop, there will be additional shelving and storage, even a place for a file cabient, but my main concern is a place to put my computer stuff as well as the desk top and then still be able to use it and, most importantly, have it be safe for young kids who will hang on it despite anything I might try to do.
This design can hold anything, you'll just need to resize it for weight.
The top is the plan, middle is the side and the bottom is an Equal Angle.
Basically there are two beams that hold up the table and either end and this is supported by the brace.
All beams drawn are equal angles and the timber will be recessed to fit it flush. it's then screwed to the underside of the table itself. The two back legs will screwed to the wall. (screws are the single lines in the middle picture)
Now the big problem is the 100 kilos, the screws will be pulled out of the wall at the top. To decrease this force you may have to increase the depth of your brace. Basically, deeper brace = less force on bolts. The brace may end up being fucking huge unless you can get a real anchor into the 2x4 and even then I personally wouldn't be too confident of a single brace (assume all the load is on one side) being able to take all that load.
Satans..... hints.....
Satans..... hints.....
I am also thinking of putting some corner shelves up above said filing cabinet to have the printer and router/cable modem. But, again, I am not sure yet if I'm happy with that design as it's little different than the prefab desk I have now, just more permanently attached to the wall. And minus one side of the desk support.
I've been looking and they're typically the crappy small ones, and typically the kind where it has that stupid little slideout thing to put the keyboard on.
I need something with plenty of space, I can buy drawers separately if I need them.
I've got my big Lian Li tower case, 22" monitor, 19" monitor, big HP printer, A4 scanner etc.
Something like this I just don't like that much:
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
Ideally you would want something that can secure into your studs and provide a large area to distribute the weight that will be placed on it. I was thinking if you wanted multiple shelves above the desk part, you could use those closet rack bars that they sell, which are ~4' long and would allow for multiple points of contact to your studs, giving you some good bite to hold a lot of weight. Then just need to pick up the properly sized L or triangle brackets to come out from the verticals and hold the shelves/desk.
Something like this, but instead of wire shelves and places to hang things, put wood on the brackets for shelves/desk.
Seriously. The design of most desks out there is just ridiculously awful. They took the same guys that make coffee tables for 40-something American housewives and said have at it, hoss. It's rare that I see a desk I like and actually admire the design.
Rather than having pointless crap it's essentially a flat surface where I can put the monitors etc. Then put some some shelves on the wall or something.
It can be expanded to be longer etc.
For example:
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
I'm still undecided though, the max height of that desk is 90cm.
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
I would be very wary of attempting this unless very confident of the construction of the framing.
@Grimreaper: Ijust bought plain rectangular desktops from Ikea and some legs, and arranged three of them in an "L" shape along two walls of a room.
http://www.biomorphdesk.com/1-888-302-DESK/productline.html
"It's morphin' time!"
In some ways I'm guessing that signature catchphrase is somewhat prophetic as the original power rangers are now quite likely washed up actors who are morphine addicts by this point in time.
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
Indeed. After doing some measuring I'm looking at a 2ft wide desk approx 4 feet long across the wall. A solid triangle at the ends to attach to the wall and support as well as a 1x2 running the length of the wall and bolted into each stud available will be the attach point and rest for the back of the desk top. Not to mention smaller support cantilevers in the back of the desk, but not quite to the halfway point of the desk like the others. Another set of small shelves to the side for printer, router, cable modem, another shelf for monitor speakers above the desk. This should provide plenty of support for the desk itself as well as someone leaning heavily on the end. My goal of a couple hundred pounds on the end is quite a lot, however if it becomes unfeasible, that's fine, I just won't run the risk of my children hanging on it and having it come off the wall.
So far it's looking doable, but now I'm looking into desk top materials and or coverings.
Only to find out that half of what I want has to be bought from the store, they won't let me buy online and that in order to buy online I have to sign up to this "verified by visa" bullshit.
I swear some companies don't want people buying stuff from them. (I was trying to order about £600 worth of goods)
Anyone know of any alternatives to ikea? (in the UK)
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
Also, my IKEA bookcases, bed, bedside cabinets, chest of drawers and tables have been absolutely great.
We've had them all for about 3 years now and they're still completely fit for purpose and in perfect working order.
(and that's including being taken apart twice and put back together and moved around the country).
Dunelm Mills or, believe it or not, ASDA Direct.
RE: The Verified by Visa thing, it's probably the banks rather than Ikea. A lot of large companies are finding that when they renew their merchant service agreement for their card processing systems they aren't given the option not to participate. Additionally, a lot of banks aren't allowing people to opt out if they're trying to use the card with a participating retailer.
Also, be a little bit careful because some banks are choosing to interpret people getting to the "Verified by Visa" page and not completing the transaction as an indication that the card has been stolen.
EDIT: General furniture shops aren't great for desks, though. The above is good if you need a cheap sofa but for desks and things somewhere like Viking Direct might be better.
I had this exact desk for a couple of years some time ago. I'm from Sweden though, so perhaps I'm biased towards functional design. It did fit right in with all my other IKEA furniture (IKEA is great when you are a poor student working with a limited furniture budget).
Pros:
Lots of space (I had a 19'' CRT monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, printer and a plant on it, still had plenty of room for notes and books from school).
I like that there's no horrible keyboard tray, no drawers or other things that restricts movement underneath, plenty of legroom.
Quite easy to disassemble, doesn't weigh much, and takes up very little space if you want to move it or store it (which I currently do).
Very cheap.
Cons:
I dislike the angled legs, and their telescopic design made small adjustments neccessary once a year or so, most likely due to the weight of my monitor which stressed the leg in the back corner a lot.
to weigh into this discussion, I can basically agree with everything Ollibolli said about that desk, I bought one two years ago and it's done exactly what I wanted it to (be massive, have my stuff on it). It can go quite high if you want to add a chest of drawers under it and it's a feels fairly structurally sound (I've stood on it before to reach something high up and felt safe (I weigh 185lbsish)) - although don't sue me if you do the same and hurt yourself
One thing I would say is make sure you have the correct tools for assembling it, Ikea stuff is great if you put it together right but it falls apart if you don't take care doing it right
Yeah sorry, I have a computer desk, a 4' x 4' shelf, a coffee table, a bed, and 2 smaller tables that have lasted for 5 years, and 2 moves (one local, one cross country) and I have to say they have all lasted much better than expected.
*edit* sorry that came off as rude... What I mean is that if you pick your ikea stuff properly, then it will last. For example my computer desk. It's an all metal rectangle bar frame, with thick slabs of MDF. Must weigh about 100 lbs. Stuff like that will last.
Nope wasn't really disagreeing with you, but trying to reinforce the fact that some ikea stuff is worth it. (With a personal example)
Like I said, didn't mean to come off as rude. Just for reference, I have 3 kids under 6, 3 dogs over 80lbs, and a wife that drops shit all the time. but hey :arrow:
*Edit* add 3 cats to that tally, but they don't really count. I hate cats.
Hmm, good thing there is the same desk but with different legs you can buy:
I'll buy that one instead, it costs £179 instead of £139 but I see your point about the angled legs. I've got a 22" widescreen monitor, 19" monitor, large A4 colour printer, A4 scanner.. it all adds up.
NB. I've decided just to go direct to an ikea store rather than mess around online.
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I've got a spare copy of Portal, if anyone wants it message me.
Those legs look a lot better! I think there are several different color combinations available for the desk/legs as well, which makes it pretty easy to match with other furniture.
If I remember correctly, the stores will have an area with desk 'tops' and legs where you can mix and match. If you have a store near you, may be best just to stop by.
I completely forgot about that! That tool is really neat, and probably the best way to get an Ikea desk.