Building a Desk - Advice Needed

[InfoH]

Hi all,

I don’t know how possible this is but I’ve been drawing down some ideas for a desk and I need some advise.

The space where the desk is going to go is:

97” Long
36” Deep (Left end)
46” Wide (Right end)

On the wider end of the desk I plan to cut a slight corner desk using the additional 10 inches

The problems I am having is the supports and the strength of the desk.

I would like to have as much leg room underneath the desk as possible so I was thinking of end supports and back supports in the form of a piece of wood along the wall which the desk top can sit on

Along with that I planned on having a square in each corner to hide cables behind, these squares will go from floor to desk top (to support) and will be 8” wide by 8” deep

I would also attach a piece of wood to each of the corner squares and to the bottom of the desk top so further support the back.

I could also add some brackets underneath on the corner squares to the top facing forward to support the front.

This would leave 81” along the front of the desk unsupported.

Can I please have your suggestions?

Also what type of wood would be best?

I would like 1 solid piece of wood as I would like it to be completely smooth.

The dimensions of the wood would need to be 2440x1220x30mm which I can only get in MDF or I can get 2440x610x30mm in Furniture board which would need joining

I am a novice at DIY so would need as much help as possible.

Many Thanks

 

[Dibs-h]

No small spec & your a novice to boot.

1 solid piece of wood - I think you'd get a shock if that was priced up, never mind the dimensional instability that would come with it.

Can you post up some sort of sketch? Bit hard to visualise your idea.

Cheers

Dibs

 

[InfoH]

sure, i'm at work at the minute but i'll upload a sketch later

my partner works for travis perkins so i get discount at travis perkins and wickes etc..

MDF and Furniture board are cheap but are they strong enough for a desk this size?

I am trying to avoid a centre support in the form or a set of drawers or something similar as i'm trying to keep as much leg room as possible but i'm thinking i might have to?

 

[Dibs-h]

MDF over any reasonable span - unsupported - wouldn't do. You may be forced to build some kind of structure\frame underneath and could then have mdf on top of that.

Without the purchase of tools or access to them - it may well look entirely "home made". If that's ok - cool. If not then you may want to get a man in or Ikea? They do have a large range of tops and separate legs\frames with which you may be able to achieve your large span and have the legroom underneath.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not being dismissive or anything, but unless your space is an alcove to one side of a chimney breast, I'm not sure this going to be an ideal novice project. But then again if the whole point is to get into woodwork - one has to start somewhere and needs must and all that.

Post up your sketch and a picture of where it's going - if the space has any bearing.

HIH

Dibs

 

[InfoH]

the right hand side wall is brick however the left and backing are internal walls which does limit what i can do a bit

I have access to all the tools i will need

the reason behind wanting to build my own is because i would like it to be wall to wall so its a perfect fit and desks from argos etc just dont offer what i need

appearence is important but once the desk is built i will then worry about sorting the edging and applying formica or something.

the metal frame you mentioned from ikea would that still allow me to have the desk the length i require? do you have a link to it?

thanks for your help

 

[Carlow52]

The metal framing from IKEA is certainly one avenue to explore: their website is http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/allproducts/

The other option s to make you own horizontal supports in steel and then u can get a lighter top.

I did this and rebated a steel Tee section partly into the desktop from underneath: the flanges were screwed into the table top which stopped any warping


The lighter top can be made by gluing strips of timber together thay span front to back.
If you want to give the desk a chunkier look you can put a deeper piece on the front, however not doing so gives you the option of curving the front a bit easier and u can get a nice end grain finish.
As to formica, unless you want the '60's look, or was it '50's

 

[Dibs-h]

the right hand side wall is brick however the left and backing are internal walls which does limit what i can do a bit

I have access to all the tools i will need

the reason behind wanting to build my own is because i would like it to be wall to wall so its a perfect fit and desks from argos etc just dont offer what i need

appearence is important but once the desk is built i will then worry about sorting the edging and applying formica or something.

the metal frame you mentioned from ikea would that still allow me to have the desk the length i require? do you have a link to it?

thanks for your help

Can't find it on their website - but this sort of thing would would make life easier,

http://www.racksystems.co.uk/desklegs/d ... _5588.html

Something similar might be instore.

How much they are - no idea. But then again it's easily the sort of thing a local fabrication firm could make from stainless or mild (which you would have to powder coat\paint\something). It's down to cost.

With the sort of span you require - if you look around at all the commercially available desks, most have steel in there to cope with the spans, etc. Timber sections would be much larger.

HIH

Dibs

 

[InfoH]

the metal frame idea is definatly something im going to look into, however it would need to be hidden.

I was going to go with the Formica so that the desk was well protected, however i am not set on any of my ideas yet except having 1 long desk wall to wall with total leg room underneath

 

[Dibs-h]

the metal frame idea is definatly something im going to look into, however it would need to be hidden.

I was going to go with the Formica so that the desk was well protected, however i am not set on any of my ideas yet except having 1 long desk wall to wall with total leg room underneath

Depends on what your priorities are? Aesthetics or just something that will do the job, i.e. function and where does cost fit into this? Do you have a budget?

 

[eoinsgaff]

Would a simple 'torsion box' from MDF be a good option for the top. However, it would be quite thick. On the other hand it would be light, very strong and with good supports on the side it should not need any center support.

As always, just food for thought.

Eoin

 

[InfoH]

budget is about 200 but obviously would like to keep it as low as possible, but i dont mind spending a little more if it looks better

I dont like the look of desks you get from argos that are flimsy, i prefer nice thick real wood

which is why i was going for the 30mm depth on the desk top however if i go for the metal frame mentioned above i could just have a front edge 30mm and then 15mm behind it so it still looks thicker without being thicker

i'm not really sure how much wood costs i priced up 4 peices of furniture board from homebase for £120 which was 610x2440x15 and 4 of them would have suited the desk top, however not sure on the stability of that

since then got a price at wickes for:

Oak Vennered 2-Sides MDF Board 2440x1220x19mm £34.23+VAT
or
Clear Pine Vennered 2-Sides MDF Board 2440x1220x19mm £34.09+VAT

which is perfect size and only 1 sheet but its MDF so im a bit unsure about the strength

 

[InfoH]

just googled what a torsion box was (like i said im a novice lol)
but from pictures on google it does look to be strong, however like you said the thickness could be an issue

what is the thinest i could get away with over the 97" distance?
I was going for 30mm anyway

 

[pren]

Hi.

I've made a desk for my office room at home using a left over length of kitchen worktop. I'd imagine you could make your desk from a 3m length of either solid wood or laminate worktop.

If I were making your desk, I would fit battens around the walls as you have suggested, for the top to sit on. I would also get a length of steel angle that was the same width as the top and fix this to the walls across the front of the desk 'opening', set back by about 30mm.

The top would sit on the battens and the angle, with a strip of wood that either matched the top or contrasted planted under the front edge to hide the steel. This contrasting strip could then continue down the walls to cover your cables.

 

[InfoH]

the steel angle could work, however not quite sure which wall you are saying to attach it to and which bit of the desk

are you saying run it across the front ridge and the drill it to both side walls to reduce sagging?

 

[Dibs-h]

the steel angle could work, however not quite sure which wall you are saying to attach it to and which bit of the desk

are you saying run it across the front ridge and the drill it to both side walls to reduce sagging?

Say 3"x2" on the left wall, right wall (into the studs obviously) & back wall. Then drop the angle iron across the front (effectively creating a rectangle)- assuming the left and right pieces of 3"x2" stop 30mm short of the front edge of the worktop.

 

[InfoH]

only issue i see there is the bend in the desk on the right side

since the right wall is 46" and the left wall is 36" it means i could have a 10" curve in the desk to make a slight corner desk which was the plan, getting the peice of steel bent to the desired shape might be more hassle?

 

[jimi43]

Hi InfoH

As others have said...for this project I would use a square steel tube frame as the sub-structure and then fit tops to this with perhaps solid wood trim at the front edge to hide the steel.

My solution for many of my worktops was to use old computer desks either left over from the kid's occupation to finds at bootfairs which can be as low as a fiver!

The standard grey coated stuff bolts together with hidden bolts and can be sawn to size with a hacksaw and end plugs inserted to tidy up the hole.

I spend most of my time looking at things with a view to reuse them for "something else" hence why I can't get into my garage!

Good luck mate and post some pictures of the WIP!

Jim

 

[Dibs-h]

only issue i see there is the bend in the desk on the right side

since the right wall is 46" and the left wall is 36" it means i could have a 10" curve in the desk to make a slight corner desk which was the plan, getting the peice of steel bent to the desired shape might be more hassle?

I don't think a 10" overhang would bother things much especially if you aren't intending to put the heaviest stuff on that.

 

[InfoH]

I misunderstood before,

You mean place the steel tube under the front of the desk for the desk to rest on top of

that sounds like the best option for me so far

what kind of thickness would i need for the steel tube?
you said 2x3" before could a smaller tube do the job? 1.5x1.5"?

 

[Dibs-h]

I misunderstood before,

You mean place the steel tube under the front of the desk for the desk to rest on top of

that sounds like the best option for me so far

what kind of thickness would i need for the steel tube?
you said 2x3" before could a smaller tube do the job? 1.5x1.5"?

I think angle would be better - more resistant to bending. Something 50mm 'ish deep by whatever on the other dimension should be adequate. 50mm deep is probably over-engineered, but without doing calcs - hard to say.