Standing Desk Do It Yourself (DIY) | Hacker News Reader

Standing Desk Do It Yourself (DIY)

williamdurand.fr

36 pointscouac50 comments

The "Standdesk 2200" [1] is similar and seems easier to make, if you have access to an IKEA.

[1] http://iamnotaprogrammer.com/Ikea-Standing-desk-for-22-dolla...

This is the setup I have -- specifically the wider setup shown in the bottom row of pictures. Works great, been using it for about 8 months now full time.

But if you're going to try standing, please save your body and use an anti-fatigue mat. It makes all the difference. I use two stacked on top of each other.

Yep, it is just that there is no IKEA close to my place (yet), and I wanted something quite robust :-)

I use a standing desk at work, but one that can be raised/lowered, which I think is superior to a fixed one, since it is easy to adjust to a good height, and also makes it easy to switch between sitting and standing. Yes, they cost a bit, but not as much as some people think. Also, how much is your health worth?

I had severe RSI problems several years ago, but managed to get it under control, and I am now completely recovered. The most important step I took was to start using a break program. I also switched to an ergonomic keyboard (Goldtouch) and a pen-like mouse. Using a standing desk is also part of the solution.

I've described my problems, and the solutions, in a blog post: "How I Beat Repetitive Stress Injury" http://henrikwarne.com/2012/02/18/how-i-beat-rsi/

For my own RSI mitigation, I switched to a Magic Track Pad which I've found to be far and way the best mouse substitute. I think this is just because your hand doesn't have to grip anything and clicks don't have to depress a mechanical switch (reducing the forces involved).

I mention this you said in your article you had switched to a Mac and I thought you might want to give it a try.

Thanks for the tip! I have tried one briefly, but it felt a little weird for me, but that's probably because it was new to me. But the Penclic is working really well for me - the key thing for me is that I don't have to turn the hand so the palm is down (at least not as much as with a regular mouse).

Yeah, I use a height adjustable standing desk too, and can recommend them to anyone that has to work all day long at a desk. Some studies suggest that one should sit 50%, stand 25% and walk 25% of the day when working in an office environment.

After looking at Anthro, Biomorph, Steelcase, Geekdesk, NextDesk, Kangaroo and others, I decided to go with Conset. To be precise the Conset 501-27 because it can go below 60 centimeter (23"). [1][2]

[1] desk in action (not me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPlGbbmDBzI [2] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xgx4k83zzc

I think it's easier to raise/lower a chair that has only one thing in it--my butt--than to raise/lower a desk that has many, many things on it, some of which teeter around a bit. When I had a standing desk, I occasionally used a stool that had foot rests built into it.

Use image thumbnails please! You're serving 22MB on every page load. On my dsl connection, it took 110 seconds to load!

I had the same problem, but it took 4.2 seconds for me to close the window. I'll read about it here.

ah right... I'm sorry for that. It should be fixed.

My DIY standing desk is an 18" wooden coffee table with a plastic storage container, the box my speakers came in, and the box my external monitor came in. The storage container and one of the boxes act as a pedestal for my laptop (which I removed the broken screen from a few months ago) and my speakers and the other box hold up the external monitor. A spare t-shirt is placed under the front or back of the base of the monitor depending on whether I want it tilted up or down, and to what degree.

It's hardly stylish but functionally I couldn't ask for more.

Standing is nice precisely because it's slightly uncomfortable to do for longer periods of time. It forces you to stretch, move around, and take periodic breaks from staring into the screen.

I tried a standing desk for a while and I loved it, however I had a fairly major problem that I couldn't find a way around: I need to sit sometimes.

I was unable to find a stool that would allow me to continue using the standing desk since I am 6'6". That means that in order to continue using the desk on a stool, I need a stool that is ~6" taller than the best I could find.

Due to the fact that I do a heavy amount of audio work, I require some equipment in front of my keyboard/mouse and the height and position of the sets of speakers that I use is fairly important.

Does anyone have any ideas to deal with this?

edit: I love the solutions being suggested, but I don't have that much money to spend on it unfortunately.

If you have the money you could take a look at the Biomorph Maxo series. Some guys at Nvidia have those. [1]

You could also take a look at the competition. [2][3]

[1] www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh58Ee1Sw-U&t=7m14s [2] http://officesnapshots.com/2012/08/24/7-adjustable-height-de... [3] http://conset.com/product/prodone/4356/default.aspx

There are desks that move up and down with you. Though I've found that a monitor and keyboard stand that slides up and down is a cheaper alternative (http://www.ergotron.com/tabid/65/PRDID/379/language/en-US/de...). It may still be tough finding one with a range of motion large enough for someone as tall as yourself.

Well, if it were me, my first solution would be a raised 6" (or whatever) platform for a cheap stool just to see if I really want to pursue this solution. Then, if I did, I may consider shelling out some money for a cleaner solution.

Expensive but, motorized GeekDesk?

That is quite cool, but you weren't joking about expensive!

An overbed/hospital bedside table works wonderfully for that. I use a straight one: http://www.amazon.com/Invacare-Over-Bed-Table/dp/B000QA0EHI but there's also tilted ones: http://www.amazon.com/Hospital-Overbed-Over-Table-Computer/d...

For $50/$60, you get an adjustable, rolling table. It's not the sturdiest ever (e.g., I wouldn't put a monitor on it without gluing it somehow), but if you're using a laptop, this thing is perfect.

Thanks for the hint!

I love the standing desk I installed in my home office. I got a corner desk top from Ikea for ~$70, went to my local hardware store and talked to some wall mounting experts, and a few drill holes later I have the best standing desk ever.

Picture of full desk after initial install: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kr9wu01xshbjyku/2013-10-20%2010.04...

Picture of typical setup during the day: https://www.dropbox.com/s/s5f1v18jet2blbu/2013-11-14%2010.10...

I should give my feedback too that after standing regularly, my back hurts a lot if I sit more than a couple of hours.

I Just had my 1 year anniversary of standing desk. It is great, although I do sometimes get tired but I have a stool for that.

You can see my desk design here. It was acquired for very cheap: $1 counter top from thrift store, $10 in 2x4's from lowes. and only 1 strategically placed screw in the wall. I also have an anti-fatigue mat and a foot stool that helps a lot.

pic: https://www.dropbox.com/s/e3zl8jxk7xeazsr/Screenshot%202014-...

Standing desks are pretty easy: you just need a shelf for the monitor and one for the keyboard/mouse. But if you need to sit for some reason, it's a hassle.

I did a desk that can convert between sitting and standing for less than $200 and am satisfied with the results: http://planiverse.wordpress.com/2014/01/10/building-a-sit-st...

In your video, it looked like when you raised it, the monitor's rotation was a little off - was that just an illusion?

Yes, the monitor is rotation locked with a set screw and there are no other components in the Ergotron arm that rotate.

"Several reports have come out pointing out the dangers of sitting too long (e.g. risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers, and an early death)."

That's such enormous BS. It's "lack of physical exercise", not "sitting". Standing up and still all day long is NOT going to make you healthier.

Ask any hairdresser how their legs feel at the end of the day.

Sit. Just don't sit all day long.

I have had good success following this: http://blog.stackpop.com/post/47149734131/our-50-adjustable-...

Here's my desk: https://twitter.com/udaykverma/status/386164901929959424

Nice!

For those of you looking for a quick fix - I've got a Furinno standing desk - sturdy, ultra compact, super light and inexpensive. http://www.amazon.com/Furinno-Adjustable-Laptop-Desk-Multifu...

It's an ergonomic disaster to use a laptop keyboard and laptop monitor like that. Use a proper keyboard and a proper monitor at eye level.

I know, I ordered a keyboard :-)

I tried standing up to work for a few weeks once and found I just got a different kink in my back. I would still tend to slouch sideways when standing, keeping most of my weight on one leg (almost like sitting on a stool) and using the other as balance. I'm not sure what the solution is, except maybe a treadmill desk, but that seems a little crazy.

Have you ever had your legs measured by a physical therapist or equivalent? I used to do the same thing. The problem is that resting on one leg tends to push the hips out of alignment (it's easy to see in the mirror; the hipbones won't make a line parallel to the ground).

For me, I would always get pain/numbness in my lower back on the side of my taller leg. Putting a lift in the other shoe and being mindful to keep straight helped to fix it. I had to be mindful (at least at first) because my body was so used to slouching sideways that it would still try to default in one way or another. I think that it's gotten better as the muscles re-learn the necessary patterns to keep straight.

EDIT: BTW, I don't use a standing desk- I prefer to walk around a lot. Before my PT visit, I would get pain within 15 minutes of standing!

Get an old-school drafting stool with a back support. That's what I do for my standing desk. It encourages me to move around a lot because it's so easy to just stand up, or lean on throughout the workday. I stand, sit, get up and pace when I'm thinking. Much better than a "sitting" chair since I feel like that just encouraged me to slouch down and not really move around or change position through the work day and much better than just standing through the entire day -- which feels like a return to working as a cashier.

I used to have a desk that could easily covert between standing and sitting. I would switch about every 2 weeks.

See also this Grip Desk setup : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySEBqNAnyjk (video is by Solarized’s theme author, Ethan Schoonover).

I love the idea of a standing desk, but this design probably would cause my neck and back to hurt. Since the monitor is so far back, I would be constantly learning forward and tilting my neck down.

A standing desk should be built to match the height of the user. The top monitor must be at eye level.

Exactly, and that is why I first used cardboard to find the best dimensions.

Warning for all of those who are a little overweight and older. I forced myself to use a standing desk after reading all the health benefits. The end result was plantar fasciatis.

Were you using a good anti-fatigue mat?

I've been looking for the perfect standing desk for years now. These are great examples, thank you!

Cool, and great idea. The tables look a lot like LACK from IKEA. I might try this, too.

Yep, they are pretty much the same. I just don't have an IKEA close to my place (yet)...

Jesus those images are massive

hope he's not paying for that bandwidth http://cl.ly/image/3h1T1u3l0p39

Yeah... I reduced the image sizes..

I did this a couple of years ago. I would not suggest jumping 100% into using a standing desk, but have a stool handy and it can be a great experience. I've since moved out of the coworking space I was in and have everything home, so I'm back to sitting, but I'd prefer to have a standing desk again. Just been too lazy to build one.

I was pretty skeptical of standing desks when they first became all the rage on LifeHacker, et. al. But these hipsters kept harping on dubious health benefits and were missing the best part of the standing desk: it multiplies your storage space on your desk! For a coworking space, this is a major win. I ended up kicking off a "build vertical" craze in the space.

http://moron4hire.tumblr.com/post/58110389840/last-year-i-ha...

It took me just as long to draw everything as to build the standing desk. In terms of a carpentry project, it's about as simple as they come; bird houses are harder. Also, you kind of have to "figure it out as you go", because the desk needs to be custom built to your measurements. As you can see in my drawings, everything was designed around my eye-level height and my arm length. This is a must, or you're just trading one posture problem for another.

I eventually (not pictured) also built a "draft table" feature into the lower desk top: removing the laptop, the desktop could be rotated into a slanted position to have an ergonomic writing surface.

One thing to realize is that most people's shoes (even running sneakers) have a significant heel-rise that will really screw up your standing posture and is not conducive to standing all day. I had very significant lower back pain until I started standing barefoot, wearing slippers, or standing on a slanted platform I built to counter the heel-rise of my sneakers. I liked barefoot the best, but the room I was in had a lot of sharps on the floor.

You won't be able to work all day. I could only get about 6 hours a day in until I was just too exhausted to be able to think. However, I also found that during that 6 hours I was incredibly energized and laser focused on work. I never goofed off when I used my desk. I don't know why. But 6 hours was enough to get work done.

After the first month of non-stop standing, it wasn't getting any easier. I switched between standing and sitting on a stool (which I also built, which my fellow coworkers have declared the most dangerous thing ever built in the space, but has survived longer than many store-bought chairs) all day. I still mostly stood, and only sat in the stool near the end of the day. It was also useful for getting over that 6 hour hump so I could play LAN games with the other people in the space at night.

I'm considering doing it again. Perhaps I'll get pre-fab foot stools or a step ladder. Our condo is pretty small and I've spilt out over everywhere. Having a standing desk would go a long way to keeping the peace with my wife in regards to clutter :)

Thank you for your precious feedback! I'll try to work standing up ~4/5 hours a day, for a month. I'll see if it makes me either more productive or feel better.

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