Worktop as a desk

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm looking for about 1800mm for a top. Just wondering if the legs alone will prevent sag or flex for this length of worktop.
 
Just as a point of reference re: specs and limits

How to choose your table top?
A few tips for the perfect TIPTOE creation:

For a wooden table top:

Recommended thickness: 30 mm to 41 mm
Maximum size: 180 x 100 cm
For tables exceeding 150cm, use a 4cm-thick table top (contact us at hello@tiptoe.fr for any question)
Maximum weight for 4 legs (including table top): 70 kg
Do not use glass or other fragile materials
 
taxboy said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I'm looking for about 1800mm for a top. Just wondering if the legs alone will prevent sag or flex for this length of worktop.
Click to expand...

It will surprise nobody who knows me that I have a spreadsheet to calculate the weight of worktops :)

1800 X 720 X 27mm will weigh about 29 kilos. 40mm thick will increase that to 42 kilos. Beech is about 15% lighter.

You will struggle to find many worktops in 27mm especially if you are looking for 720 depth (that's the depth of mine IMO 600 is too shallow - 800 would be great but you will need to cut a 920 to get that).

I don't *think* my top will sag at 2m long and 27 thick but I think it's good advice to use 40mm if it's unsupported. The cost difference isn't huge. Another option would be to screw a 50mm baton to the back edge.
 
Graham W said:
That was my first thought. (y)
Click to expand...
If you are suggesting a batten fixed to the wall unfortunately that won't work for me due to the presence of a radiator. I was thinking of the fixed desk frame with the centre brace to keep everything solid
 
taxboy said:
If you are suggesting a batten fixed to the wall unfortunately that won't work for me due to the presence of a radiator. I was thinking of the fixed desk frame with the centre brace to keep everything solid
Click to expand...
No, just screw a batten along the underside of the worktop, central (Or there abouts) along it's length.
eg. If you use 2" / 1" batten, drill and screw through the 2" side with the 1" face against the underside of the work top.
If your worktop is 2" thick this will effectively give it the "flexibility" of a 4" worktop by bracing it.
 
JonathanRyan said:
OK, all done*


View attachment 308213View attachment 308214View attachment 308216
View attachment 308212

* of course it's not done, these things are never done. I need to reposition the big monitor (it sits too far into the desk) and do even more cable management.....

Desk frame is a height adjustable sit/stand desk from Flexispot, top is 2m of 27mm oak from House of Worktops. It is finished in Danish oil - HoW did this for me and then suggested I put 2 coats of Osmo on top. My local wood finishing experts said don't do that.... I'll probably leave it 6 months, sand a little and recoat.

Some things I learned along the way

1. Do **not** underestimate the challenges of 3 monitors each of which can rotate landscape to portrait connected to 2 computers on floating arms on a desk that goes up and down by 70cm. You will have cable nightmares. (I'm going to live with it for a week or two and then recable - it's likely I'll move stuff to the right and have more deskspace on the left.)

2. The Edifiers recommended in another thread sound properly nice connected to the optical out on my desktop. They are even nice on BT from my phone.

3. I got a thin worktop because of concerns about the weight in case I had to move it - if I was doing it again I might go up to 40mm but I'd want to be very sure it was in the right place.

4. Yes, I wish the Dells matched (for one thing cabling would be easier) - they are monitors I had lying around :)

5. Screwing things to the bottom of an oak desk is never fun - even if you can raise it up to allow enough space not to bang your head.

And yes, I've put way too much effort into this. But I've ended up with a really nice, huge desk for the price of an Ikea so overall I'm happy.
Click to expand...

So.....7 months ago I said I'd refinish this after 6 months :) So here we are.

Love the desk still but don't really like the finish. It's a little rough to the touch and can watermark. It had 2 cotas of Danish oil at the worktop place and with hindsight I would have sanded it on arrival and added mroe.

I think I have a couple of choices for renovating it:

1. Clean and cover with Osmo wood protector which will make it pretty waterproof followed by a couple of coats of Osmo top oil
2. Clean and wax with a few coats of Liberon Black Bison polish which should give it a beautiful finish but will be less protected.

Option 1 would be very tough and easy to maintain but I'm thinking option 2 would be much more beautiful. After 7 months of daily use it has one small mark on it from where I forgot a coaster but has only been cleaned about twice - it's usually covered in computers.....

Any thoughts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top