I have never in my life attempted any DIY. I've just bought my first house and I have a spare room I intend to use as an office. There is a space I would like to have a desk wall to wall. Here is a picture of the space: https://ibb.co/bzR0RP7 (Ignore the crap on the floor, its hay, had the pet rabbit in this room until recently).
I've seen "floating desks" online such as this: https://ibb.co/vQKRZvv
I feel that something like this would look really cool in my space. It's the first time in my life I've ever been motivated to try any sort of DIY, as I'd really like to achieve this result.
The width of the room is just over 2m (2030mm to be exact) and there is about 0.7m / 700mm of depth before the radiator starts to get in the way.
I have seen online websites like worktop-express where you can have custom size worktops made. 2030mm x 700mm would run me about £200-£250. They will even cut cable management holes for you. So cutting the desk to size wouldn't be necessary, all I would need is a way to install it. I've been watching some videos on YouTube, and all of them go for different approach and most look quite difficult. I was hoping to get some recommendations of a beginner friendly approach to this. Any ideas would be much appreciated.
Videos
this is what I want
I've seen people using angle brackets or 2x4 for support along the wall and I'm leaning towards the 2x4 rather than a million brackets. I really don't want to hit my legs on anything as I roll along the desk. The dimensions of my desktops are 30x60in and they are hardwood.
I'm just not sure what length the brackets need to be, I'm thinking probably 19 inch. And I would need two for the corner part of the desk.
First of all, you'll need some way to hold up that free-floating corner. And this is a fairly difficult task. The design you have isn't going to cut it, even if you use much bigger supporting members. The problem is that the desk will act as a big lever cranking on the joints between the wall and the desk. One way to deal with that is to use non-bending metal supports attached to the wall studs. Search for "floating countertop bracket", you should see several different designs. Here's one:
You want a simple solution? Put a leg in that corner. I know that's what you're trying to avoid, but it really is the most reliable design.
Secondly, you want the longer edge of the table to resist sagging in the middle. A 2x2 (which is actually 1.5x1.5) is not enough. For a table apron, 3 or 4 inches is the typical height, so that's what I'd use. Pick a board without large knots - unlike the one in your photo. And since the apron will be very prominent, I'd use something nicer-looking than structural lumber. Maybe 1x4 maple, oak or birch.
Yup.. that structure ( for the depth) seems strong enough. the plywood you have selected also seems strong enough if your system is built well enough.
- make sure the ply is glued to the frame ( and even use a few bolts to make the structure as rigid as possible.
- glue the cross members well ( even could use some long nails into the cross-members)
What may not be strong enough is the Fixture position onto the wall - as stated earlier - get some good brackets
- Best would be to use at least 3 shelf brackets - but the issue with this is that they are not invisible, since you will see them below the table.
- if you want to go hidden shelf/table -- then make sure the bracket is super strong ( and involves a bar that goes into the table )