I want to make a work surface in a spare room?
I have a small speare toom in my home. I want to make it into an office. I would like to make like a work surface or desk along a length of one of the walls. What are good but cheap mateials to use for this and what is the best way to fix the work top to the wall. I was thinking of using 2×4 pieces of wood but is it best to nail or screw these to the wall. I am obviously a complete DIY novice. thanks
June 7th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
You should think about what you want in your office. You can buy sets of drawers or cupboards that you assemble then fix the work top bench to. You would always use screws to fix the bench to the drawers and also the wall.I don’t think simply a worktop bench with no drawers would be all that useful, but if that’s what you want then you will need some angle brackets as fixtures.
June 7th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
I made a free standing unit in my spare room in the past.
(1) Work Top the full Length of the room.
(2) Frame of 2x uprights & 2x cross bit (in 4″ x 2″ wood).
1x frame each side of wall.
(3) Span these frames with 2x lengths of (4″ x 2″).
Screw together as a free standing unit.
Place the “worktop” on top unit. (screw safe).
June 7th, 2010 at 8:51 pm
When my mother did this, she did a lot of measuring. She got a good piece of lumber cut it down to size, then sanded it down and painted it. After that, she bolted it to the studs in the wall using heavy-duty L brackets. You should find everything you need at Lowe’s or Home Depot, or a similar store.
Good luck!
June 7th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
measure up exactly the area of work surface you need then go to the builders yard and explain to them what you want to do they will explain what material you need[if its only holding a tower and monitor then the thinnest mdf/ply would hold it ]you then have to consider the aesthetics ,the people in the builders yard should also cut it to fit ,2×4 sounds good and screws are always better than nails
June 7th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Hi
I have done some thing like this all I used was some kitchen work top which is about 600mm by what ever length you require.
I just put a battern along the wall then drilled through the top into the battern and fixed with screws, and at the front I used 30mm dowling every 1000mm which was held in place with some brackets which you can get for holding up a clothes rail in a wardrobe.
The weight will keep it in place but I did put extra brackets at the bottom and fasten them to the floor.
Mine was only 2mtrs x 600mm total cost of £22.50
The top was a damaged piece of work top which when cut down was perfect.
All from B&Q
I did later by some filing cabinets from IKEA which were on offer at £15.00 they just went under the top
Regards
John
June 7th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
real fast and cheap is to simply use a couple of old doors. standing them on wooden sawhorses means no fixing to walls and allows mobility if you change your mind. a couple of bedside tables also provide storage and stability and look better, try op shops for a cheap set.
if you really want to wall mount supports, first, what is the wall made of? if brick then you need to use long screws with plastic expanders to stop slipping and to grip.
if gyprock, then you need to locate beams behind and work in with them , ie the only safe areas are where the studs show, usually around 2 feet apart, you also would need to check that no wiring is behind where you plan to drill into.
next you would need wall mounting bracket either wood or metal that will take the weight of the shelf AND what you plan to put on it. always mount shelving slightly high at the front edge so when weight is applied it does’nt droop forward and deposit belongings on the floor. a thin wedge of wood or cardboard will do that for you.
a friend had a nasty experience of mounting a shelf and discovering they had pierced the bathroom plumbing behind that wall, a costly mistake.
June 7th, 2010 at 10:22 pm
I would use MDF. It provides a smooth writing surface and is relatively inexpensive.