DIY Wrap-Around Office Desktop

Lay a 4-by-8 foot sheet of 1-inch plywood flat on the floor in front of you. Position the plywood so it lies horizontally with one of the longest sides closest to you. The plywood will serve as the desktop for your wrap-around desk.

Measure 24 inches from the bottom left corner along the long bottom edge of the plywood and make a mark in pencil. Make additional pencil marks 24 inches down from the top left and right corners along the narrow edges of the plywood.

Use a yardstick to draw a straight line across the entire length of the plywood. Use the two pencil marks you made along the narrow edges as guides. Draw another line, perpendicular to the first and across the width of the plywood; use the first pencil mark you made along the bottom edge as a guide.

Trace a circle template around the joint where the two perpendicular lines cross. The size of the circular template you use will determine the size of the cut-out for the wrap-around portion of your desktop. You will be able to pull your desk chair up into this cut-out portion of the desktop to access your workspace at close range.

Cut out the section of plywood below and to the right of the lines you just drew, along with the circular portion, with a circular saw. When finished, you should have an L-shaped piece of plywood that is 8-feet-long on one side and 4-feet-long on the other. The two sections of the L should both be 24 inches in width.

Sand the surface and edges of the plywood smooth with fine-grain sandpaper. If there are any divots or deep scratches in the plywood, fill them with wood filler. Allow the filler to dry completely then sand the surface smooth with the fine-grain sandpaper.

Paint or stain your desktop as desired. Once the paint or stain has dried, you may choose to apply one or more coats of clear varnish or polyurethane to protect the desktop from minor wear and water damage.

Place your finished wrap-around desktop on top of your desk frame or whatever you have chosen to use for the supporting structure.

Check to be sure the desktop is sturdy and level. If necessary, cut a 4-by-4 inch hardwood post to the height of the desk and install it under the back corner of the desktop for added support. Secure the post to the desktop by driving 2-inch wood screws down through the plywood into the post.