New desks

Homer_home

There's loads of used boards for sale , you can get a 5ft board for a fiver , three of those together makes a desk or table , yes they require work but the work is free , just add legs and paint/varnish to suit 

Check eBay and Google for used scaffold boards 

DD265

ouraggie said:

https://www.homebase.co.uk/our-range/storage-and-home/furniture/office-furniture/office-storage
Saw the above idea on Homebase website t'other day. Am going to investigate the desk idea for our home office. 

It's not linking directly to a page, but I'm guessing you mean the use of the cube storage units in place of legs? If so, IKEA do something similar with a cabinet and drawers, which is what my current desk top is sat on. The only thing I would say is screw the top into place because mine slips around - even with the rubber 'feet' - which is irritating. We'll be re-using the cabinet and drawers, but under the wall-side, and I want legs for the middle-of-the-room end, in an attempt to make the space feel bigger.

Homer_home said:

There's loads of used boards for sale , you can get a 5ft board for a fiver , three of those together makes a desk or table , yes they require work but the work is free , just add legs and paint/varnish to suit 

Check eBay and Google for used scaffold boards 

I'm not averse to work if the end result is worth it. Will do some Googling. I do love the look of reclaimed wood on furniture!

DD265

I'm picking up some reclaimed scaffolding boards tomorrow night - £1 a foot, and we're taking 50ft in 5ft boards, plus another 10ft to use in the garden. Our main desks will be the same width as they are now, and only 7.5cm less deep, but that depth (and more) will be regained by exchanging monitor risers for monitor arms.

The legs are still to be determined. OH doesn't like the hair pin or industrial style, which would be my preference, and he wants height adjustable, which narrows the options. I think initially we might use our existing cupboard/drawer units/legs for the main desks, and cheap IKEA ones for the wall parts until we work out what we want to do.

Emmia

DD265 said:

I'm picking up some reclaimed scaffolding boards tomorrow night - £1 a foot, and we're taking 50ft in 5ft boards, plus another 10ft to use in the garden. Our main desks will be the same width as they are now, and only 7.5cm less deep, but that depth (and more) will be regained by exchanging monitor risers for monitor arms.

The legs are still to be determined. OH doesn't like the hair pin or industrial style, which would be my preference, and he wants height adjustable, which narrows the options. I think initially we might use our existing cupboard/drawer units/legs for the main desks, and cheap IKEA ones for the wall parts until we work out what we want to do.

https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/electronic-sit-stand-desk-frame

Personally I think these legs are ugly (much prefer hairpin /industrial) but they do work for sit /stand, and have a 80kg desk load (presumably top + computer etc) which would probably allow for scaffold boards.

DD265

Emmia said:

https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/electronic-sit-stand-desk-frame

Personally I think these legs are ugly (much prefer hairpin /industrial) but they do work for sit /stand, and have a 80kg desk load (presumably top + computer etc) which would probably allow for scaffold boards.

I'm with you on that. Originally I had hairpin legs in my head, then I started liking the industrial frames like these which also have the benefit of providing more support for the boards. Hairpin legs are 'too modern' apparently, and the frames are 'too expensive'. I think he thought we'd get all the legs from IKEA for about £50 - we could, if he didn't want them to be adjustable. Unfortunately for my husband, most of the individual legs seem to have a maximum weight limit of 12kg - even with four combined we might be pushing it a bit by the time we're done.

I think the only suitable contender at IKEA is this frame which is adjustable but not sit/stand adjustable (those are over 3x the price).  Flexispot do sit/stand frames which are very highly rated, about £200 a pop, just not the look I had in mind. Currently thinking the main desks might be adjustable but the wall sides can probably be fixed height, though it'll irritate me if it's not all level... The wall sides will be narrower (~45cm) than your typical desk or table (60cm+) which means finding an off the shelf frame might be tricky, but there are a few people locally who make them so I can get some quotes if needs be.

For now I'm keeping an eye out on FB for anything that might do the job. Somebody's made scaffold tables using boards for the top and the poles/brackets etc for the frame, and I was looking at builders trestles but unfortunately I think they'll be too wide; they all seem to take 4 boards but we'll be using 3 (or 2).

Emmia

DD265 said:

Emmia said:

https://www.vonhaus.com/vh_en/electronic-sit-stand-desk-frame

Personally I think these legs are ugly (much prefer hairpin /industrial) but they do work for sit /stand, and have a 80kg desk load (presumably top + computer etc) which would probably allow for scaffold boards.

I'm with you on that. Originally I had hairpin legs in my head, then I started liking the industrial frames like these which also have the benefit of providing more support for the boards. Hairpin legs are 'too modern' apparently, and the frames are 'too expensive'. I think he thought we'd get all the legs from IKEA for about £50 - we could, if he didn't want them to be adjustable. Unfortunately for my husband, most of the individual legs seem to have a maximum weight limit of 12kg - even with four combined we might be pushing it a bit by the time we're done.

I think the only suitable contender at IKEA is this frame which is adjustable but not sit/stand adjustable (those are over 3x the price).  Flexispot do sit/stand frames which are very highly rated, about £200 a pop, just not the look I had in mind. Currently thinking the main desks might be adjustable but the wall sides can probably be fixed height, though it'll irritate me if it's not all level... The wall sides will be narrower (~45cm) than your typical desk or table (60cm+) which means finding an off the shelf frame might be tricky, but there are a few people locally who make them so I can get some quotes if needs be.

For now I'm keeping an eye out on FB for anything that might do the job. Somebody's made scaffold tables using boards for the top and the poles/brackets etc for the frame, and I was looking at builders trestles but unfortunately I think they'll be too wide; they all seem to take 4 boards but we'll be using 3 (or 2).

I also like those more industrial legs you linked to - and I think they'd work better with scaffold boards than hairpin legs. In terms of cost, the scaffold boards are cheap (much cheaper than worktop I'd imagine) so is there not money for more pricey legs?

Could you also persuade hubby into this sort of thing instead of a fully rising desk (how often is he actually going to work standing up? Is this something he does already?)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Height-Adjustable-Sit-Stand-Converter/dp/B01IFTZ2Z

I was actually wondering... given you're planning to mount the monitors on arms (on the wall? Or would the arm be desk mounted?) whether a rising desk might conflict with them...

DD265

Emmia said:

I also like those more industrial legs you linked to - and I think they'd work better with scaffold boards than hairpin legs. In terms of cost, the scaffold boards are cheap (much cheaper than worktop I'd imagine) so is there not money for more pricey legs?

Could you also persuade hubby into this sort of thing instead of a fully rising desk (how often is he actually going to work standing up? Is this something he does already?)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AmazonBasics-Height-Adjustable-Sit-Stand-Converter/dp/B01IFTZ2Z

I was actually wondering... given you're planning to mount the monitors on arms (on the wall? Or would the arm be desk mounted?) whether a rising desk might conflict with them...

The work tops would've been in the region of £300 (just going on approximate Worktop Express pricing), then we'd still have had the legs/frames on top. We're both working from home full time and spend a lot of time on our computers outside of work so whilst I might feel differently if we were renting, or were expecting to go back into the office full time, I see it as investing in our lifestyle in this house. I wouldn't say my taste is expensive in terms of designer etc, but I do like to buy quality items that I love and which will last, and even better if there's a reclaimed/sustainable element to them.  We do have the option of using what we've got a while longer too though, and there's no immediate rush. The main benefit of sorting it in the next few weeks, is that we're switching rooms to get plastering and new carpet done, so rather than moving out-in twice (once with existing kit, and once to change to new desks) we could just do it once, but it's not the end of the world at all.

OH doesn't necessarily want a sit/stand desk; rather he finds a standard desk height slightly low as a workspace and wants to set it a little higher permanently. I figure if we're going adjustable I might as well go all the way and see if a sit/stand desk gets me off my backside more. The overall aim of the project is to increase our desk space, so putting a large riser on isn't ideal, but it is an option. The monitor arms will be desk mounted, theoretically allowing the whole thing to move up, though I do wonder whether they'll actually be too heavy to adjust once set up and whether we'll be willing to risk the monitors as it won't be simple to just take them off.

OH has a deadline on Tuesday which he's stressing about so I said I'd not distract him with more desk talk until that's done. Gives the scaffold boards time to dry out, and me time to work on my argument in support of pretty industrial A frames 

DD265

Scaffold boards are dry, but we're prepping the office itself for decorating at the moment so haven't had time to start assessing/sanding/filling. I am excited by the project though.

OH has concluded that the desks do not need to be height adjustable, and he likes this kind of thing.
This will be the room layout:


Do you think it'd look weird to have the trapezium frames where the red is (so a pair of them next to each other) then single legs for the rest? This has the benefit of working out cheaper, plus the bits against the wall are too narrow for off-the-shelf frames (~45cm wide) and we don't have the width in the room to add extra boards unless we shorten the bits sticking out into the middle. If mis-matched legs is going to be too strange then we'll go for all single legs, but I don't want to order them to find out, as I imagine they'll be pricey to return.

I may consider wall mounting the wall edges (with a leg at each corner at the front for support) though at ~7kg per board, I need to do some research into whether that's feasible. We liked the idea of four separate units for flexibility, not that there is a lot of scope to change the layout. OH wants to be able to look out of the window, and the black bar at the bottom is a radiator.

Emmia

DD265 said:

Scaffold boards are dry, but we're prepping the office itself for decorating at the moment so haven't had time to start assessing/sanding/filling. I am excited by the project though.

OH has concluded that the desks do not need to be height adjustable, and he likes this kind of thing.
This will be the room layout:


Do you think it'd look weird to have the trapezium frames where the red is (so a pair of them next to each other) then single legs for the rest? This has the benefit of working out cheaper, plus the bits against the wall are too narrow for off-the-shelf frames (~45cm wide) and we don't have the width in the room to add extra boards unless we shorten the bits sticking out into the middle. If mis-matched legs is going to be too strange then we'll go for all single legs, but I don't want to order them to find out, as I imagine they'll be pricey to return.

I may consider wall mounting the wall edges (with a leg at each corner at the front for support) though at ~7kg per board, I need to do some research into whether that's feasible. We liked the idea of four separate units for flexibility, not that there is a lot of scope to change the layout. OH wants to be able to look out of the window, and the black bar at the bottom is a radiator.

Could you do matching trapezium legs on each side of the desk where you're sitting? This would be symmetrical and ensures those boards would be level and then straight legs on the boards (assuming boards) to the side.

This way the furniture could also be more flexible for reconfiguration e.g. if you moved

Like the setup though.

Homer_home

Just batten the four boards against the wall and you would get rid of most of the legs saving yourself some money