Be Excellent To Each Other

Howdy,

I am redesigning my office at home this week. Out with the old cramped desk. I am building a new desk with the help of the father in law, this will be the full length of my office (2.5m ish). To give me room for my own PC, my Linux box, and Xbox when I get one (if the wife lets me).

Sooooo I could do with some advice.

What office chairs do you chaps & chapess have?
What power extenstions do you use? I have seen a 12 gang surge protected in Argos, is this a good idea.
What screen do you use for you xbox if it is not connected to you TV in the lounge?
Is there any other tips you can give for a home office?

I have seen the 22" Samsung 'Pebble' TVs (2 hdmi, 1 vga, 1 dvi). This will allow me to upgrade my current screen monitor to this TV and allow the xbox to be connected. Is it better to buy a seperate monitor?

Thanks

Kov

I will have a look in staples I never thought of there.

The big bare desk you suggested it not far off what I am doing. basically a work top full length of the office, with holes drilled in for cable pass through.

Just do some checking on heights and stuff. Invest in a decent chair if you can afford it.

If the desk is going to be full width between two solid walls then just baton it in place and put a vertical support in near the middle - you could get fancy and build shelving units or drawers - but I wouldn't recommend attempting that without at the very least a half decent router.

Check those 12 gang surge protector sockets for simple ergonomics - I've found with the large charger plugs for some devices that it's impossible to plug things in next to them as the sockets don't allow enough space for them, but basically the more sockets the better.

When you say 'holes drilled', make them big enough to pass a plug through, or you'll regret it later.

Can you not undo plugs, then? I thought we learned how to do that in GCSE physics.

They're all sealed now. You can cut them off and fit a new one, but it's more effort than you want, really.

I'd rather the 10 minutes fucking about with the plugs than have to carve a plug sized hole in my desk.

Every time you want to replace or move something?


(Yay! MrChris is back!)

Yeah. Ideally you want the socket strips on the back of the desk or at least leave a 2 inch gap between the desk and the wall to throw cables down.


You are insane and wrong. WB by the way!

Alternatively, if the larger holes are a problem, you can cut smaller ones and either feed the cables up from underneath (as whatever connector on the other side is usually smaller than a UK mains plug) or leave the desktop floating on the batons and pull it out a few inches, feed the plug through, then push it back again.

Just make one small hole and screw a socket strip to the wall, much better than scrabbling about underneath the desk when you want to move stuff.

Fine for computer stuff, not so good for desk lamps etc.



This I like.

I think markg's idea is best. After mine, obv.

While it's good for convenience, I'm surprised you think that a visible 4-gang on top of the desk is more aesthetically pleasing than a plug-sized hole.

Lifehacker has run some good inspirational articles you might like to look at, including:

• Decluttering cables with an under-desk basket
• Declutter Your Desk with a pegboard
• Top 10 Ways to Get Cables Under Control
• Wall mount your monitor
• And finally, their excellent workspace show-and-tell on flickr.

You hide it behind the desk top.

I'm intrigued as to how you intend to cut this plug sized hole through a one inch-plus thick slab of wood, by the way. Neatly.

With a jigsaw, assuming you're putting it at the edge (and hence it would be a semicircle). With a core drill or circle cutter bit if you're not.

You use a jigsaw and cut a semicircular (if your hand is steady enough) or rectanglar (if it isn't) notch out of the rear edge.

I'm aware of the tools one would use; I was enquiring as to how Craster would manage to do this.

With a hole saw?



Don't tell me you don't have a selection of those, or your status as "man" will have to be revoked.

[yes I know that's a metal one but you get the idea]

I'd pay someone.

If you're paying a chippy to come and cut holes in your desk for you you may as well save the money and buy a proper office desk complete with tidy holes.

Surely even if you wanted it away from the edge you could always just drill a hole first to start the jigsaw blade. In any case you can buy those little plastic grommets to tidy the hole up for about two quid, if you used one of those you can just cut the hole with a drill. I'd still rather have the plugs where I can get to them though but that's probably just me, I find myself unplugging chargers and adapters on a regular basis to move them around.

In fact you're all gayers for aspiring to have a tidy desk in the first place.

After you have drilled the plug sized holes you can buy a widget that fits neatly in allowing the wires to pass through. This was the option that I chose as I have what is basically a kitchen style worktop with a wood finish and chrome legs spanning the length of my computer room.

Robo-gay.

Get your name on a brass plate for your door. And a rolodex.

And an inspirational picture.

And a pretty secretary in a short skirt.

A proper desk will not fit in my office with out wasting lots of space.

Hence I want to build a desk. I like the idea of the 12 gang under the desk as well as a 4+ on top.

we have already discussed how to get cables through and drilling inkwell size holes will be the best way, not keen on a big gat at the back of the desk.