I did a bit of research into standing desks, motivated by the health concerns that Jason mentions (which are pretty worrying actually).
TL;DR - stability is everything. I ended up just getting a fixed height bar table for home (105cm height), which is fine given I only use it during the evenings, but David is absolutely right that you can't really do that all day, and most of us don't have the space for two different height tables (let alone the pain of moving your kit) If you've got the money, the electric variable height desks are definitely the go. I went and had a play with a few at InnerSpace here in Perth, surprisingly stable to lean on etc… They're about $2k mind, but because they make the transition easy, the idea is you are more likely to stand when you feel like it etc … Gas lift ones are about the same price, so I'm not sure why you'd bother. If that's too much, there are a number of products similar to what Anthony links to that convert an existing desk into a sit/stand desk by putting the monitor and keyboard on a big arm or riser. They're definitely an option on a budget, but they do have some clear disadvantages, not least lack of desk space when elevated, and you can't really lean your elbows on them. You'd also want to be really sure the one you went with was stable, nothing worse than the surface wobbling around whilst you're typing on it. Stacking furniture is definitely an option, provided your base table is stable, and you can get your legs / feet under it - your torso needs to touch the table, so your feet need to be able to go under. ie no shelving units with a fixed base! Jason's could probably benefit from a cross-bar at the back for additional rigidity. Finally, one really cheep way of making a difference in your office environment is just by encouraging stand-up meetings, and I don't just mean the morning standup. A high table in a meeting room combined with stools enables meeting participants to sit or stand and still be at the same eye height, and if you're standing anyway, there's less of a barrier to grab the pen and hit the whiteboard. I try and schedule all my meetings around the availability of said room. If you're thinking of proposing changes to your boss, it's a much sell to the boss than refitting an entire floor. I'll dig out some other links to the health stuff another day. It's worrying stuff. Cheers, From: [email protected] Sent: Monday, October 27, 2014 9:51 AM To: ozDotNet Thanks for that Anthony - looks pretty sweet! Jason Roberts Journeyman Software Developer Twitter: @robertsjason Blog: http://DontCodeTired.com Pluralsight Courses: http://bit.ly/psjasonroberts =========================================================== I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at http://vsre.info/ =========================================================== From: Anthony Borton Sent: Monday, 27 October 2014 8:48 AM To: ozDotNet I’ve been using a Varidesk Pro Plus from Varidesk (http://au.varidesk.com/) for a while and find myself alternating between standing and sitting every hour or so. It’s $440 plus delivery but it can be placed on most existing desks to convert it into a sit/stand desk pretty easily. I have dual 26” monitors on it and raising/lowering the desk is really easy. Cheers Anthony Borton Senior ALM Trainer/Consultant Visual Studio ALM MVP Enhance ALM Pty Ltd From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Richards Sent: Monday, 27 October 2014 7:49 AM To: ozDotNet Subject: Re: Hacked together standing desk I had been considering a standing desk on the condition that I also have a sitting desk. I'm not convinced standing for 8-9 hours a day would be a good idea. The option I was considering (but haven't tried to implement yet) was to setup a standard sitting desk but then add an additional monitor, keyboard and mouse as a standing desk next to the sitting desk. You then have a KVM so you can switch between your standing and sitting monitors. This means switching between sitting and standing is as simple as pressing a button and standing up (or sitting down). It doesn't require a fancy or modified desk and if you happen to have a spare monitor/mouse/keyboard you only need a standard cheap standing desk and kvm. This setup would even work with multiple monitors, especially since you don't need to switch all the monitors. David "If we can hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards... checkmate!" -Zapp Brannigan, Futurama On 26 October 2014 22:44, <[email protected]> wrote: Yeah I did look at some of those, there was a really cool adjustable one, but Perth Ikea never had the bits in stock, also this AU kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2052694050/the-bystander-wooden-standing-desk Jason Roberts Journeyman Software Developer Twitter: @robertsjason Blog: http://DontCodeTired.com Pluralsight Courses: http://bit.ly/psjasonroberts =========================================================== I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at http://vsre.info/ =========================================================== From: Scott Barnes Sent: Sunday, 26 October 2014 3:01 PM To: ozDotNet You guys should check out IkeaHacks .. basically combine Ikea furniture and you end up with some gnarly looking things like standup desks etc :) --- Regards, Scott Barnes http://www.riagenic.com On Sat, Oct 25, 2014 at 5:22 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: Just finished making this - it’s not pretty but cost < $200 total to make… Typing this email while standing up - seems stable with only very slight almost imperceptible wobble…. Will be interesting doing a full weeks work next week standing up… Jason Roberts Journeyman Software Developer Twitter: @robertsjason Blog: http://DontCodeTired.com Pluralsight Courses: http://bit.ly/psjasonroberts =========================================================== I welcome VSRE emails. Learn more at http://vsre.info/ ===========================================================
