Cheap computer desk for less!!

by Matt
(Covington, KY, USA)

I don't know about you people, but I, myself prefer a desk that has a lot of workspace. I mean a LOT. Most of the computer desks I've looked at are really nothing more than slightly enhanced office desks. But even they become rapidly crowded after you add your system, monitor, printer/fax/scanner, telephone etc to it. Sheesh, you barely have enough room to rest your arms fer cryin out loud!

Here's a solution... How about a keyboard drawer? Umm.. NO! I honestly don't see how people can use these things. They're too low, too close to the body and a pain to use. Everytime you need to type something you have to drag the drawer out do your typing and shove it back in. And If you're a well rounded user like me, (beer gut) it's uncomfortable to use for any length of time. "Thy keyboard must sitteth upon thy desk directly below thy monitor." It's a rule. I know it is.

"Necessity is the mother of invention.", a wise man once wrote. So here's my necessary solution... A table. A table that is wide enough to support my monitor and keyboard but also allows a bit of room to rest my arms... But it must also be long enough to support all the other stuff I need. What kind of table would fit these criteria? A banquet table!

I went out to OfficeMax who happened to have them for sale. I bought two of them for about $80 each. I took them home and unpacked them and set them up in my computer room. I put one along the wall and butted the other one up against it along the the other wall in a corner. The result? A huge "L" shaped desk!

I had more running to do that day so I didn't get a chance to set it all up right away. While I was out running, I passed by a yard sale and decided to stop by and browse. While browsing I found a small teachers desk that they wanted $10 for. I bought it. I then put it in the computer room also for additional space as the tables had no drawers.

While sitting in my office chair and drinking a soft drink, I was mulling over plans in my head on how to set these tables and desk up to afford the maximum workspace in the smallest physical space. The computer room is about 12 X 12 feet. I have two banquet tables at 6 X 2.5 feet and a desk that's roughly 2 X 5 feet.

I examined the teachers desk and then it hit me. "Don't build out, Build up!" I grabbed my cordless drill and rapidly began unscrewing the top to the teachers desk. About 10 screws later I had the top off the desk. The top was your typical fiberboard with laminate surface, and about an inch thick. Good and strong.

I pulled the second table out from the wall and lined it up parallel to the first table and pulled it out about 4 feet. I then placed the teachers desk top at the end of the two tables against the wall, "bridging" them with about 6 inches of overlap on each end. (No chance of slippage and falling.) I then had a huge "U" shaped desk!

I went to slide the lower part of the teachers desk under one of the tables and it kept hitting the steel support that ran around the bottom of the table, so I lifted the table and slid it under the support and the table sat fine over top of the desk.

I then discovered that the top drawers of the desk wouldn't open because of the support being in the way. I thought of cutting a notch out of the support but that would compromise the strength of the table.

So after looking around a bit I found a ten-pack of 1 inch square post-it notes. I put 1 pack of notes under each leg of the table and that did the trick. The drawers now opened with very little clearance room. Perfect. I then did the same to the other feet of the other table so both were sitting at the same height. I have since added another banquet table by stacking it on top of the one that runs the length of the wall.

So for about $250 I got the desk I wanted. No it's not as pretty as some of these artificial "cherry" wood enclosures or the fancy artificial "oak" executives desks, But it's comfortable to use as well as functional and that's all that matters to me.