Author Ernestas Narmontas
2021-10-01

Working From Home: Building Custom Standing Desk

During the pandemic, I got a standing desk from my work office. The plain white desk reminded me of the place where it came from: my office. It needed some upgrades.

Here is a short DYI project for building a custom standing desk.

Here is how my home office corner looks now with fully assembled desk and custom made oak top.

Desk And here is how the original desk looked like. Not so pretty.

Desk Drawing I drew the desk top using Sketch Up with my required dimensions and location for extra power socket.

I have sent it to the manufacturer and received the finished oak desk top after two weeks. It was cut and sanded, but not fully finished.

Desk When it came in, I’ve left it in a dry place for two more weeks. Well, it wasn’t a good idea and it got bent really badly. More on that later.

Desk Hole for extra power socket.

Desk Old desk top removed.

Desk Cable management was a bit messy, so I removed everything to properly attach the stuff again.

Desk When it comes to cable management, zip ties are the worst. It can damage the cables if tied too tight. Here is the proof.

Desk Drilling holes for the screws.

Desk I am not sure what is the name of this kind of screw, but it’s really useful. It has an outer thread that holds it inside the wood and an internal thread that holds the screw itself.

Desk I will use those screws to attach the desk top to the frame.

Desk New cable management with velcro. In my expierence, velcro is the best solution for cable management. It doesn’t damage the cables and can still hold them properly.

Desk Now about the bent desk top. I’ve called the manufacturer and asked for advice. They said it’s best if I try to screw it to the frame with longer screws and then apply more pressure each day. In the end, it worked out. It took almost a week until all desk sides were touching the frame.

Desk Then, I have applied Osmo TopOil hardwax-oil wood finish to protect the desk from water or food stains. It protects the desk, but maintains the nice wood texture and feel.