Move my office from the small window-less room to the guest room that was hardly ever used. Building a new desk, shelves and two monitor mounts for some extra room.
Process:
I'm not sure what got into me but one day I was sitting at my desk that I've had for probably close to a decade (I had built it back in Saskatoon around 2003) and decided that I was tired of it and wanted something new. Since I was used to a 6 foot desk with a 4 foot side desk I had gotten used to the extra space and didn't want anything smaller, but anything large like that is getting close to the $1000 mark for something sturdy so I figured I could custom build me one for a lot less than that.
After talking things over with Melanie, who BTW is incredible for supporting me in all these crazy projects, we agreed that I should try to stay within about $200 bucks for the whole thing.
First I had to build the desk, then some extra shelves and last (which actually was an after-thought once the desk was built) some monitor mounts.
Pictures:
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| 30" by 6' MDF substrate with a 1.5" high border |
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| The back of the vertical formica pieces before applying the contact cement to it |
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| The formica countertop material from the "damaged bin" at the Home Depot |
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| The strips after the contact cement was applied. Unfortunately one piece broke so I had to re-do that one |
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| The vertical piece at the front is glued |
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| After the brackets were welded, painted, installed and the desk was put together |
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| An under-the desk look at the heavy duty brackets that makes it possible not having any vertical legs on the desk |
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| A picture of the old desk |
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| Comparing left over batches of laminate flooring at Ritchie's. I ended up going with the weathered barn board look (left) |
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| After the desk and the shelves were installed but with the old crappy MDF monitor stand |
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| Drilling the pipe so they fit together with the nipple and so they're easier to weld and also look nicer |
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| $17 worth of plumbing parts from the Home Depot |
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| The end of one of the cut pipes before deburring |
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| Before cutting through the pipe |
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| The four arms for the two monitor mounts |
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| Dry-assembling them before welding |
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| Assembled mount after welding, before painting |
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| How the pieces fit together |
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| After painting I hung up the pieces to dry over night |
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| The desk once the monitor mounts were installed |
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| A behind-the-monitor look |
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| Another behind-the-monitor look |
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| Another picture of one of the two beauties (unpainted albeit) |
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| A last look at the office and cables all cleaned up |
Table saw
Measuring tape
Pencil
Marker
Square
Nail gun
Router with flush trim bit
Angle grinder
MIG welder
Drill press
Drill bits
3/4" bi-metal drill bit
Cordless drill
Level
Iron
Knife
Sanding block
Paint gun
Compressor
Materials:
2 damaged sheets of formica
2 sheets of 5/8" MDF
1/2 sheet of 5/8" melamine
Iron-on melamine edging tape
Contact cement
Carpenter's glue
Masking tape
20' of 1.5" x 3/16" flat iron
30' of 1.5" x 1.5" x 1/8" angle iron
10' of 1" x 1" x 1/8" angle iron
14' of 3/4" x 3/4" square tubing
6 of 4" x 3/4" black pipe nipples
6 of 3/4" galvanized pipe couplings
About half a liter of rust paint
Screws
32 sq.ft. of laminate flooring
Cost:
$258.61 minus $125 for selling the old desk on kijiji = $133.61
Time:
Desk:10hrs
Shelves: 4hrs
Monitor mounts: 4hrs
Total: 18hrs
Savings:
Shelves: $120
Desk: $600 to $700
Monitor mounts: $235
Total: About $1,000.00
Conclusion:
I love it and the total desk area is so big (30 sq.ft.) that I have plenty of working space
