
A Desk That Allows You to Stand or Sit - troystribling
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/technology/personaltech/22basics.html?ref=technology
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dougbradbury
I built my own for $200. Mine has a treadmill underneath it too.

<http://blog.8thlight.com/articles/2010/2/25/walk-and-code>

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hoprocker
How much of the $200 was the treadmill?

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jrp
$140

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eru
Nice. Sounds cheap.

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misterbwong
I've been using the steelcase airtouch adjustable desk for about 3 months and
I can tell you that it has made a huge impact on my workday. This desk has
improved my productivity significantly because I'm no longer bothered my my
back or by the low desk/high chair combo I was confined to.

It's not just the standing that helps-it's the ability to switch back and
forth easily. Before this desk, I could feel my back start to tighten up after
about 3/4 of my work day. Now when I feel a twinge of a backache, I switch to
a standing position and things feel much better. Another underrated benefit of
the desk is the ability to change its height _while I'm sitting_. In the cases
when I either lean lower and sit straighter than usual, this desk allows me to
move the monitor to eye level without much effort, thus preventing neck aches.

One problem with the steelcase, however, is that it doesn't go high enough. I
have a colleague that is 6'2" and he finds that the standing height of the
desk is too low for his tastes. I'm shorter than he is, so this isn't as big
of a problem for me. Now if only I could afford to buy one of these for
home.....

 _edited: clarity_

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wmeredith
We looked at these for the office (we have Steelcase Leap chairs and love
them) but they're $1400 desks. Yikes!

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chancho
So? A $2500 computer will be obsolete in a few years. A $1400 desk will
(hopefully) last at least a decade.

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johnyzee
Here in Denmark motorized desks are the norm rather than the exception. I am
always surprised when others speak of them as a curiosity.

I tend to stand for about 25-50% of my time working. It really relieves the
back to get up and shift around for a bit. Helps to burn a little calories
too, during what would otherwise be sedentary office time. I also seem to work
more focused when standing up. Finally, it is a lot easier to do pair work
with a colleague while standing - no jostling chairs around for position.

A sit/stand desk is a condition of employment for me, nothing less.

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MikeCapone
They are the norm in all kinds of office work in Denmark, or among hackers/the
type of people who would read HN?

Very cool if they are widespread in all kinds of workplaces. Makes me a little
jealous.

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grk
I think it has to do with the law requirement that every employee should be
able to adjust his/her workplace to be ergonomical. In practice, the only
reasonable way to do this is to give everyone height-adjustable desks and
chairs. I'd love to see some monitor arms tho.

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nooneelse
Dang laws for the benefit of human health and quality of life. Don't they
mandating such things cuts into the holy bottom lines?

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Loic
I have been using such desk for the past 5 years and will never go back (maybe
like switching to Dvorak + Typematrix). Anyway, in Europe, you can buy just
the electrical part and mount your own desk on it.

I bought my one here: [http://www.bueromoebel-
werksverkauf.de/inwerk_bm/sofort_lief...](http://www.bueromoebel-
werksverkauf.de/inwerk_bm/sofort_lieferbar__steh-sitz-tisch-
gestell_ohne_platte___elektrisch_hoehenverstellbar_von_630-1300mm_gestell___inwerk_dynamik___in_breite_variabel___zum_nachruesten_oder_fuer_individuelle_tischplatten-
bm17063.htm)

You can find it through other dealers (this one is in fact a drop ship company
specialized in office stuff). It is cheap but the start/stop of the motor is a
bit rough, better not to have a full cup of coffee on your desk at the same
time. I had one in Denmark with a very soft stort/stop but it was way more
expensive (1500Eur+).

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chipsy
I got an artist's stool. Instead of adjusting the desk height, I merely hop on
and off the chair as necessary.

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eston
What stool did you buy? I've been wanting to do that but can't find a nice
one.

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chipsy
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MS719M/ref=oss_product>

I bought it "blind" and lucked out; the assembly was simple and it's worked
reliably so far(just a month or so now).

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paulsmith
I made an adjustable height desk recently, using the frame of a GeekDesk and a
salvaged door:

[http://www.flickr.com/photos/psmith/4491882894/in/set-721576...](http://www.flickr.com/photos/psmith/4491882894/in/set-72157623646834487/)

The door is from a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It was ~$25. I sanded,
stained, and sealed it, and mounted it to the desk frame.

The frame was $550 so not the cheapest solution but I love the extra space,
flexibility, and plan to have it a while.

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dws
A co-worker built his using the GeekDesk frame and a butcher-block table top
that he scavenged from somewhere. Quite nice.

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paulsmith
Interesting -- I considered looking for salvaged butcher-block but worried
it'd be too heavy for the motor to lift. (The docs say the motor is rated for
80 kg max.) Has he had any issues with raising the top? I'd worry about
burning out the motor.

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dws
It's a 1" thick table top, not the thicker butcher block you often see used in
kitchens.

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toisanji
I'd like to get one, but at $750, it is way too expensive!

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billybob
My reaction too. What's the cheapest, non-sucky option anybody has used?

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ebiester
I used an ikea adjustable desk. However, I really needed to keep your desk
clean, because it was a manual adjustment. It became too much of a bother, but
I am considering readjusting it as a standup desk again now that I'm working
at home again.

<http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60111123>

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goodside
I can vouch for this desk, and it's nothing short of wonderful. I've been
using it for a year as a standing desk, supporting the load of a 24" iMac, a
second monitor, and a stereo receiver. The trick to avoiding back pain is to
make sure the desk is at elbow height. It feels like it should be lower, but
anything short of elbow height will cause serious pain. Picture of it in use:
<http://cl.ly/beQ>

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ebiester
I presume you put your monitors on a separate shelf to keep them at eye level.
That is how I set it up, anyway.

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r0s
<http://pic.rossradford.com/SetUp01.jpg>

The shelf and wall mounted display work for me, I can't go back. Originally I
set this up to counter the constant hunched posture I get at work. For anyone
who tries this:

\- You will need to adjust the height of your keyboard at least once.

\- Get a foot rest, I plan to build one into the wall.

\- Opposite that wall is a couch. With some nice speakers you can have a
decent home theater going. My 24" Westinghouse has a great one touch
brightness adjustment. It might seem small, but native 1920x1200 resolution
makes even blueray movies look good.

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wyclif
Here's an old post from the Make blog on how to build a stand-up desk on the
cheap:

[http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/06/diy_standup_desk.ht...](http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2006/06/diy_standup_desk.html)

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wyclif
...and Lifehacker had a more recent article on turning a file cabinet into a
stand-up desk:

<http://lifehacker.com/5503957/the-file-cabinet-standing-desk>

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dionysiac
I have been looking into drafting tables for this very purpose - used ones can
often be found in the local buy & sell for quite cheap. Being adjustable by
design, they look ideal (not sure about weight capacity though). Anyone have
any experience using one of these as a computer desk?

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wesley
I have a similar looking one to the geekdesk model, but it was from a local
company at a cheaper price.

Had to add some improvised shock absorbers and place it against the wall
because my monitor would otherwise shake when typing...

Did investigate several other options after that, up to 1500 euros and they
all shake (the expensive one even more so).

Does the geekdesk model also shake?

That said, with my shock absorbers (just two pieces of memory foam), and
sliders under the desk to move it against the wall, it works just fine and a
great investment for general health.

Also have a mini stepper to do an hour of stepping in the early morning,
whilst I read my email and check my RSS reader.

I may upgrade to a treadmill later, see <http://officewalkers.ning.com> for
inspiration

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lutorm
It sounds like you need to train yourself to strike the keys with less
force... That in and of itself is better for your body, too.

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wesley
I don't strike the keys with much force at all (I use the tiny apple
keyboard).

It's because of my arms (and wrists) resting on the desk and transferring that
force to the desk.

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johnyzee
A lot of comments miss the point that the table should allow you to stand OR
sit - standing all day is probably as hard on the back and legs as sitting.
That rules out most of the DIY options. I also wouldn't trade away a properly
crafted desk plate with a nice finish, bezel, body contour etc.

Really, these desks aren't that expensive considering what people are ready to
spend on other gear and gadgets with a life span of one-two years. (I would
personally trade in my Aeron for a motordesk if forced to choose).

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cpr
I'm a huge fan of the Biomorph desks (<http://biomorph.com>), particularly the
Personal desk in maple. I've got 4-5 in various places I work.

They're expensive ($2K), but I keep a standing Google search for them and buy
them used ($400-600). Very well made and quite worth it.

You can crank 'em up and down but that's pretty tedious. Best to just leave
'em all the way up.

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rsl7
I bought a used Multi some time ago. It's awesome, the build quality is
superb.

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synnik
I love this concept - not everyone realizes that the original design idea
behind the cubicle was exactly this kind of feature:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_Office>

We lost the idea along the way, but I am glad we're getting back to it.

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ableal
"Drafting table? / But that was in another country; / And besides, the bench
is dead." (apologies to Will.S.)

Large wooden drafting tables, and tall four-legged drafting stools (with foot-
rest cross-bars, topped by a square seat sloping slightly forwards), used to
fill many of the classrooms in the engineering school I knew many moons ago.

Alas, it mostly got 'updated' to standard tables and plastic chairs. But those
unpadded high seats still strike me as healthier than hunching in a chair.

An old furniture store might have some around - a cheap alternative to
expensive desks.

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mikecane
That article got me to Googling for lecterns and podiums. Wow, some of those
are very, very expensive. And the ones that are more stand-like than furniture
don't look like they'd stay upright if a cat jumped on them (as you know a cat
will!).

This is the cheapest I found locally -- just $15! -- but it's not local enough
for me to get there economically efficiently. If you're in the NY/NJ area,
though ...

<http://cnj.craigslist.org/fuo/1700842957.html>

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conorh
I have one of these, I bought it because I was having back issues. I have the
mini version that I used with my own desk top. I alternate back and forth
during the day standing and sitting, usually a few hours at a time either way.
It took a little getting used to, but it has definitely helped my back. An
added bonus that isn't immediately apparent is that you can easily adjust the
desk height when you are seated, which I find helps my back quite a lot.

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teyc
Buy a second monitor $300 Buy a second keyboard $15 Buy a 4-way USB $15 then
add a little stand to the existing table, $50.

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wastedbrains
I have the geekdesk or something that looks exactly like it. I love it. I sit
in the mornings and after lunch switch to standing mode. Occasionally if I
have to really focus or type a lot I will switch back to sitting mode, but it
definitely helps to get me move around more / feel healthier.

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arketyp
I feel like making somersaults in front of my desk but I usually just end up
in unusual sitting positions e.g. with my legs on the wall or one knee in my
face as right now. But I don't think I could ever stand standing. That makes
me tired and wanting to lie down just thinking about it.

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sh1mmer
I just have 2 desks at work and two monitors. Works pretty well for me.

If you don't want to buy two monitors (hint I didn't) then you could always
make a desk with a hand crank. That wouldn't cost too much, it seems like a
motor and controls is the expensive part of that desk.

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MikeCapone
Question for those with standing/adjustable desks: How long does it take to
get used to standing for long periods of time?

Maybe it's all the sitting I do, and maybe I've atrophied a few muscles, but I
feel like I'd get tired pretty quickly..

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atodd
I just stick my laptop on top of a filing cabinet at work that's sitting right
in front of a window. It could be a little taller but it's close to the right
height and I get an upgraded view

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mhb
_An inner-tube accident as a teenager left Mr. McNutt with a bad back._

I wish they had elaborated a little more about this tantalizing nugget. Inner-
tube rafting, blowout on a bike,... ?

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wesley
These stories always make me think it's fabricated PR. Sit/stand tables
existed before the geekdesk, but a story like this is of course good
marketing.

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ColinDabritz
I don't know, he seems like a stand-up guy to me...

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parbo
Is this newsworthy? Where I work, all desks are motorized. Some even store up
to three different heights, for easy access without fiddling to get the right
height.

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parbo
Ikea has motorized desks (sorry about the Swedish):

<http://www.ikea.com/se/sv/catalog/products/90088946>

About €450 (for the stand only).

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wesley
Unfortunately they don't supply this to all countries where they operate.

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niallsmart
Can anyone who uses an adjustable height desk comment on the impact it has (if
any) on their productivity?

For some reason, it sounds hard to procrastinate standing up :)

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Luyt
Wouldn't it be great to have a classical church pulpit to rest your laptop on,
then have your Holy Code propagate to the masses?

Maybe at 0800-RENT-A-CHURCH ;-)

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wyclif
I've done that...a lot of churches are getting WiFi, and even though the
intent is to cover the church school or office, you can often find some sweet
spots in the sanctuary.

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proee
Does anyone know the rated spec on these for max weight? That is, what is the
motor capable of lifting without damaging the desk?

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proee
I emailed the company and got the following reply: The official (i.e.
conservative) maximum recommended regular lifting weight for the frames is 176
pounds

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kunley
Cool. I've seen and used stuff like this at peer's company in Stockholm, in
2000, just before the dotcom crisis.

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maw
Both have horizontal bars underneath. I prefer my knees and shins nonbashed
when I have the choice, thanks.

