I wanted to try the standing desk/workstation concept, but didn’t want to spend hundreds to buy one. A quick trip to a local big-box store and ~$30 later, here’s the result.
http://bleedledeep.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/how-to-build-a-standing-deskworkstation-for-about-30-00/
Get some free shelving/storage as a bonus!
This is my first post.
Why did it get tagged as spam?
I'm not selling anything, and I used a link to another site because the article has graphics in it.
I think it is a good post. Did I miss something or not format something correctly?
Probably just because it was your first post, and it had a link that could have been advertising.
It looks like a good concept - I've been trying to figure out a good standing-on-the-treadmill desk here, but the shape of the treadmill itself causes design problems.
I made one of those years ago. I used "U" brackets to attach a piece of 3/4" ply wood to the treadmill handles. The wood had cutouts where needed to see/access the treadmill displays/controls. Then I build the desk portion on top of the plywood base. Was not that pretty, but worked well. Can't send picture or details since I got rid of it after I completed my masters. :(
I did find it hard to write while using it, but typing was not a problem.
Good luck!
a recent blog post on AT, showing another style:
My $30 DIY Standing Desk
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/diy-standing-desk-164190
these standing desks look like all the rage! but i will stick with my sitting desk for now, because all the rest of my work is done on my feet. desk time is an opportunity to sit down.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I have to ask because I keep hearing about these standing desks lately and I'm really curious...what is the big deal about them?
Sitting all day long is not good for you. A standing desk makes it possible to work comfortably while standing up. I have both a regular desk and a standing desk, and alternate between them, depending on how my body is feeling. I wouldn't give either one up.
okay, that makes sense in terms of comfort. but last I heard (which was pretty recently and from about as good a source as you can have for this stuff) is that the only thing worse for back, legs, and overall health than sitting on our asses for hours at a time, is *standing* (the best being lying down - side or back - and walking).
So...? I guess what I'm trying to say is, is there actual research supporting that, or is it just a matter of it feeling comfortable?
I'm asking because I have to spend a lot of time sitting too - when I need to type it's pretty much the only option - but I've mostly worked it by taking frequent breaks (at least one per half hour) to pace and doing stuff that doesn't need a lot of typing stretched out (reading, internet research). But if there's another option, too, I'd like to know to change things up :-)
i am sure there is actual research, but of course i can't put my hands on it now.
but it is all about muscles and circulation and posture and yadda yadda.
standing all day is awful, long term....and so is sitting all day.
movement and rest is the best.
like you say, lying down, and walking.
i know i looooove reading emails on the ipad, at full stretch on a daybed! perfect.
Lifehacker frequently posts about standing desks. I followed the idea of making one out of existing filing cabinets, and I loved it except that I have a bad back, so standing is really hard on me. I have an un-ergonomic home office in part because it forces me to avoid sitting at the computer for hours. The Kindle Fire has helped with that too.
It is a comfort thing. Don't forget to stand on a comfort mat.
I also have a tall drafting/soldering chair that I use to sit when I get tired standing.
Cool bonus was all the extra shelf space I got from this design. Lots more places to organize my piles of stuff.
Everyone I know who uses a standing desk also has a sitting desk, so they can alternate.
Especially at jobs where you can't take frequent breaks (like phone/email customer service, which I've done a lot of - literally tied down to the desk for hours at a time with a phone headset cord) or jobs that require flow (my partner's a programmer, and I've done audio editing & copy production jobs that didn't take well to interruption) being able to seamlessly move from sitting to standing makes a huge health difference.
At work, our operations center has desks that move electrically from sitting to standing. They are pretty neat, but pricey I'm sure. However, the dispatchers and flight followers are there for 8-12 hours at a time and they usually eat at their workstations instead of taking a lunch.
When I'm telecommuting form home I frequently place my laptop on a file box. Not the best looking solution, but it raises it up high enough from the desk that I can use it while standing up.
I worked retail and then as a flight attendant for too long. I have trouble thinking while sitting down. :)
@nws2002: A desk that's good for sitting and standing? *lightbulb moment*
I have a desk that needs to be sliced up to fit my office space. Now you've got me wondering if there's any way to make it easily convertible from low to high, as I was considering a standing desk but don't really want to commit 100% to either standing or sitting. I sit all day at the office, so doing my home computing in a standing position might be beneficial.
Will report back with plans and photos if I come up with anything particularly neat.
Astreja, if you either have two monitors or a computer that is easily moved (laptop) the most common thing I've seen is just a small desk next to a tallish thing - one of my old coworkers used a small table with a file cabinet next to it, my partner has a small bookshelf on his desktop and can set his computer on top of it at intervals.
@Rosa: I have a fairly hefty desktop computer, but the existing monitor and any future additions are LCD panels that I intend to wall-mount. I can put the computer on its own stand, along with the network gear, and have just the work surface movable.
At a bare minimum, it has to hold a keyboard, a mouse, my clarinet case... And, at frequent intervals, 1 or 2 cats. As long as the desk can support about 35 pounds of Stuff, it should work.
Update!
After one week, I like the idea of the standing desk.
BUT! The smell coming off the cheap particle board is nasty! I do not recommend using this type of wood. Will be reworking the desk out of hardwood this weekend.
I had to stand for 8 1/2 hours a day in dress shoes on a thinly-carpeted concrete floor for nearly 20 years in my previous career. I had a wicked double case of plantar fasciitis (both feet) since age 18 that no podiatrist nor enormously-expensive custom inserts nor weekly massage and reflexology could touch. Crocs every non-working moment were a godsend. It took a year after changing careers to slowly begin to have the pf heal.
Nasty.
But guess what? I miss my standing desk! I really like doing work standing (sorry for the caps, we don't have italics!) WHEN I HAVE THE OPTION OF SITTING.
Somehow, I am much more focused and "at work" when I am standing. Teaching is a perfect ergonomic mix for me: it is the teachers who rush between classes and floors and wings in Europe, and the students are the lazy sods chilling out (yet raising Cain) in their classrooms while the teachers dash around breathlessly every 50 min. So I do the 100-yard dash every hour, then stand or stroll in the class, and periodically rest my feet and perch at the edge of a desk. Prep hours are naturally seated.
I've been pondering changing careers again, but I can't fathom sitting my whole working day.
When I was a graphic designer, I worked at a high drafting desk (flat, not tilted) seated on a high drafting chair with lumbar support. This gave me the option of switching between sitting and standing, which helped ward off fatigue. Unfortunately, it wasn't unusual for the graphic design team to have to work
long hours overtime, so we ended up exhausted anyway.
It's easy to assemble a high desk by placing a solid-core door on top of cubes, or on top of a pair of 3-drawer file cabinets with spacers if needed to bring the desk surface up to your desired height. The door will be heavy enough to hold everything securely in place without needing bolts or any other hardware.
When I worked in a law firm, a number of the lawyers had standing desks in their offices, and used them.
When I am doing quilt-making, I spend a fair amount of time standing and cutting the pieces. My DH made me a cutting station that is higher than a normal table and it's lots easier and less fatiguing. Like Ella mentioned, it is made from a door (cut shorter though)and it fits over an old dresser (which means I have use of the drawers as well) and has small pieces of wood which keep it from shifting around. NOw if I could just keep it uncluttered. :)
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