DIY Standing Desk Cubicle

Preparing the Cubicle

• 1

  Put on your safety goggles and steel-toed boots before beginning any work on this project. With the help of a partner, remove any items on the desk from the work area.

• 2

  Remove any cords, power strips and battery backup units from the work area. Tuck away any ceiling- and floor-installed network cables, to avoid damage and tripping hazards.

• 3

  With the help of a partner, use your power drill and any required driving bits to remove the existing desk. Remove the old desk's parts from the work area.

Cutting the Parts

• 4

  Measure the cubicle's width. Place the countertop on the sawhorses. Mark off the cubicle width on the laminate countertop. Using the T-square, draw a pencil line from its rear to the front.

• 5

  Place the circular saw against the pencil line. Mark off the saw's edge with the pencil. Use the T-square to draw a line across the countertop.

• 6

  Place the scrap wood onto the countertop, flush with your second pencil line. Clamp it in place on each end with the C-clamps. You now have a jig ensuring a straight cut.

• 7

  Place the circular saw tightly against the jig. As your partner holds onto the countertop's free hanging end, make your cut.

• 8

  Cut three lengths of 2-by-4 with the circular saw. Cut the first piece to the cubicle's width, the others to 20 inches.

Installing the Desk Supports

• 9

  Draw a pencil line along the cubicle's inside at 37 7/8 inches. Use the spirit level and straight edge, to ensure the line is level and perfectly straight.

• 10

  Mark the lines on the cubicle's sides with pencil at 2 1/2 inches and 19 1/2 inches, counting from the cubicle's back. On the line in the back, place pencil marks 2 1/2 inches from the corners. Add another pencil at the line's center.

• 11

  Lay your 2-by-4 sections flat on the ground. Draw a parallel line across the length of each piece, 1 7/8 inches from the edge.

• 12

  On the 20-inch pieces' pencil lines, place the pencil 1 inch from each end. On the other piece's pencil line, place marks 2 1/2 inches from each end and one at its center point. Place the 2-by-4s against the cubicle walls, to ensure all pencil marks line up.

• 13

  Attach the 1/2-inch drill bit to your power drill. Drill through all marks on the cubicle walls and in the 2-by-4s. Attach the 2-by-4s to the cubicle walls with bolts, washers and nuts, but only finger-tighten the nuts.

Installing the Desktop

• 14

  Place the countertop onto the 2-by-4s so that it is flush with all cubicle walls. Attach a Phillips-head driving bit to your drill. Secure the countertop to the desk supports by driving the 4-inch wood screws through the countertop and into the supports, at 5 inch intervals. Countersink the wood screws for a better look and added safety.

• 15

  Tighten the support's bolts and nuts with the crescent wrenches. They need to be "dog-tight," in other words, as tight as possible.

• 16

  Re-tighten all bolts two weeks after installing the standing desk in your cubicle. The 2-by-4s will expand or loosen slightly in that time.