How to Make a Floating Desk

Рет қаралды 117,626

7 жыл бұрын

Here's how I made a floating desk for my little girl's bedroom, last Saturday!
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I made some floating shelves over 10 years ago, and so when I started refurbishing my daughter's bedroom this year I had an idea of taking the floating shelf concept and making it work for a much bigger, deeper desk.
I constructed the desk in the same way as I made the shelves, with two sheets of 12mm mdf, with 20mm x 20mm battens screwed to the wall, sandwiched between the sheets of mdf, to create the illusion that the shelf is unsupported.
But because this desk is much wider and, because of the curve, deeper, I needed to create a lattice work of battens across the width and length of the shelf, to give it additional strength and to prevent it warping - something mdf is susceptible to doing.
A strip of 4mm ply curves around the front, to conceal the two layers of mdf and to give the desk even more strength.
In Today's Toolkit:
- Wooden battens 20mm x 20mm
- 1200mm x 2400mm sheet of mdf, 12mm thick
- 4mm x 45mm strip of ply (for front of desk)
- Wood glue
- Wall fixings
- Wood screws (4mm x 60mm)
- Electric drill
- Electric/ manual screwdriver
- Electric wood planer
- Sliding bevel
- Laser level/ spirit level
- Hammer
- 2 part epoxy Wood filler
- Sand paper
- Paint - wood primer undercoat and satin top coat
- 1.6mm x 20mm panel pins
- 1.6mm x 40mm panel pins
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Пікірлер: 121

@CharlieDIYte 2 жыл бұрын

🛠Charlie DIYte Amazon Tool Store amzn.to/3fcLnY4 - all my tried, tested and much loved DIY tools. You can help support me by Buying me a Coffee ☕ bit.ly/3xuQ3zb or by becoming a Member to unlock a host of benefits - thanks so much 🙏.

@DenilsonJuniorSF 6 жыл бұрын

OMG, what a steady hand. That lines 😱

@zedman442 7 жыл бұрын

Lovely work Charlie, great workmanship.

@jamiebjorklund288 5 жыл бұрын

Best floating desk video I've seen yet! Brilliant approach.

@CharlieDIYte 5 жыл бұрын

Thanks Jamie - I really appreciate that!

@andrewsmith8399 2 жыл бұрын

Just built one for my wife and it went very well. Build took a couple of days and painting ages. I’ve used Johnstone’s floor paint to try and avoid scratches. Also, I waxed the wall supports which really helped when sliding the desk into position. Great video, thank you.

@CharlieDIYte 2 жыл бұрын

Excellent work Andrew 👍

@mikes6844 6 жыл бұрын

As usual Charlie you have a knack of doing great work with common none expensive tools. Great idea well executed. Thanks

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Mike S Thanks Mike!

@ozyboy123 7 жыл бұрын

This guy deserves more subscribers!!!! Great job mate keep it up.

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

Can't thank you enough for that, mate! Hopefully I'll get there in the end, but any sharing you can do in the meantime will be much appreciated! Cheers

@TheDeezadee2003 7 жыл бұрын

This is just what I want and wasn't sure was possible! Now to find someone to execute it on my behalf...THANK YOU!

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

+Dionne Russell You're very welcome Dionne! Thanks for the comment!!

@richardw6592 5 жыл бұрын

you'll save hundreds of dollars doing it yourself. Can do all this under $100. Don't hire someone for something so easy. If your a girl, use your next boyfriend lol. Really a girl can do this if they try.

@RTSFoto 6 жыл бұрын

Nice one Charlie, will try this method my self, thanks for sharing.

@MarkWell808 4 жыл бұрын

Great video thanks Charlie. I have to make a desk soon, so will try that.

@bigdatakid5465 6 жыл бұрын

GREAT VIDEO! Very well produced, informative and concise! Awesome!!!

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Cheers mate - that's really kind!!

@KioMilenium 6 жыл бұрын

Amazing job, mate. You inspire us.

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Kio. No, it's comments from people like you that inspire ME to keep doing this, when everything's telling me to stop wasting my time! Thanks so much - so appreciate your comment!

@gehringer37 6 жыл бұрын

Awesome work!!! Looks great!!!

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Cheers, mate! The daughter was very pleased!

@jimcar53 6 жыл бұрын

Mate - That was fantastic

@sidofmidd 5 жыл бұрын

amazing job

@TK42138 4 жыл бұрын

Brilliant!

@patrickmurray2220 6 жыл бұрын

Very cool job

@TQVIP 6 жыл бұрын

Great work, sir!

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

TQVIP Thanks!

@NedaNeda 6 жыл бұрын

Nice...I really like this.

@josephhanley8461 6 жыл бұрын

What an amazing piece of work 😉 brilliant wish you could come up with an idea for a wardrobe in a roof space with its tricky shape

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Thanks Joseph - really appreciate that. D'you mean like this one kzfaq.info/get/bejne/i5qqf72gyNCmo2Q.html

@josephhanley8461 6 жыл бұрын

Yes this is what am looking for thanks

@Brighton939 5 жыл бұрын

Just found your videos. All excellent. Thank you. Have learnt loads. I used to be a landscaper, to get a nice smooth curve on paving we used garden hose but better still is using a super bendy 3 meter length of plastic water pipe. No matter how you bend it, it always has an 'in proportion' curve. Keep those vids coming.

@diyhandcrafter 2 жыл бұрын

very cool build! thanks for sharing

@CharlieDIYte 2 жыл бұрын

You're welcome. Thanks for the comment 👍

@suj1945 6 жыл бұрын

Impressive work

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

+Suj Thanks 🙂

@rafabarryguitars 5 жыл бұрын

GENIUS!!

@jonrobinson8064 6 жыл бұрын

all you need to do is pop a hole in it for power cords - i guess that comes later when the little one is asking after a PC. Great job.

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Jon Robinson You're absolutely right mate, and it's one job I STILL haven't got round to doing!!

@meeanupavan1925 6 жыл бұрын

good job

@t1mwatson 4 жыл бұрын

Great video, just done this myself - how do you stop the ply on the front when cracking when you nail it? Stretching it across the front seems to weaken it and it cracks when I put pins in.

@noumanbutt2212 7 жыл бұрын

A good informative video. I would appreciate if you answer my question. I am planning to make two decorative shadow boxes with paint job and want to hang it on the wall by drilling holes in the box and hanging them on the screws in the wall so that the screws remain invisible. Should I use MDF or plywood?

@MinhNguyen-iz1pj 2 жыл бұрын

Cool 😎 thank you

@scotsoxfan 6 жыл бұрын

Hello Charlie, this video is very inspiring and I am now getting organized to make and install one. I never thought I could do something like this but thanks to you I believe I can. I have two questions, firstly how many panel pins did you use to hold the top section. Second in the spirit of DIY I have two spare tubes of decorators caulk lying around which I am going to use to fill the panel pin recesses. Would this be OK or should I use wood filler? I am aware the caulk may shrink a little so some extra filling and sanding may be required. Finally, congratulations on your 20,000 subscribers, well done !!!

@willjones7682 5 жыл бұрын

Great method I couldn't figure out how you were going to make the curved edge face. One question, how did you get a smooth edge to the 4mm ply wood?

@FM-ez8wr 5 жыл бұрын

nice!

@garvielloken3929 6 жыл бұрын

Super!

@scottmclean4237 6 жыл бұрын

Exceptional video. My thought if you used a 22mm sheet may b easier

@ripley12345 5 жыл бұрын

Great video, exactly the way I want to install one in my home and this is the best video I've seen on how to do it! The one difference I have is where you have a window, I have a wall that returns (hopefully the diagram below shows that!) so I can't slide it onto the battens the way you have. Reckon I could attach the top to the bottom whilst in its final position somehow? __________________________________________ | | | | | | | | | | | _________________| | | | | | | | |

@adrian00xo 6 жыл бұрын

Great video 👏🏼, I have one question, would the frame of the desk be better off nailed on the top piece rather than on the bottom piece, therefore the strength is more on the top side rather than on the bottom. Just an idea as I might make one only L shaped

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Yes, I think you're right!

@xw6968 7 жыл бұрын

This made my day.👏🏻👏🏻👍🏻

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

xander witt Cheers Xander!

@davemaynard3826 3 жыл бұрын

Ahoy again Charlie. I have been thinking about. Floating bookcase above my sons bed. And was going to use this method prior to seeing you video. Great that I did as have given me the confidence to go with it as you’re building a desk that will be leant on me I’m Just stashing books. Will 20mm batons be ok for my plan? I am going to do a more simple shape. No curves as no jigsaw. Well no tools yet but a plan is afoot Thanks again for the video very helpful

@CharlieDIYte 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Dave. Yes, 20mm batons will be stronger than what I used. The desk still looks great by the way. My daughter has used it every day for classes during lockdown.

@patrickmendoza 6 жыл бұрын

better if you had a hole at the end of the desk for the outlet cables to go down. :) but nice work. I learned a lot!

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

PJ That was (is) the intention. I haven't got round to doing it yet though 🙄

@victoriancake 7 жыл бұрын

I want one!!

@rukiakafaji386 7 жыл бұрын

hiii!!!! loving your videos sir! I am about to attempt this hopefully but I have a question, so I plan to put this in the corner of my room but my room is a perfect square so will it work to have wooden battens on only two sides of the table and not 3? I hope I am making sense :)

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

Hi Rukia! Thanks - you're too kind!! I think if you're going to have one unsupported side to the desk, then the desk will need to be thicker so that it derives strength from the structure of the desk, rather than just the battens, if that makes sense. See this and you'll see what I mean uk.pinterest.com/pin/106538347414826485/ Obviously, this will put more stress on the fixings that you've drilled into the wall - particularly on the unsupported side of the table. The beauty of having it supported on 3 sides is that the battens really don't need to be that strong as the load is only vertical, whereas by removing one of the supports, your desk will be wanting to pull itself out of the wall horizontally and vertically, if any substantial weight is put on it. If you curved the desk like I did, and have the taper on the unsupported side, then that is reducing the weight of the desk in this area, which will help in reducing the load on the fixings attaching the desk to the wall on the unsupported side. Hope this makes sense?!

@pragyanbezbo 2 жыл бұрын

Those straight lines tho!

@tonyyeung7637 6 жыл бұрын

Nice

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

+tony Yeung Thanks!

@MohammedAli-vo8hq 6 жыл бұрын

nice project! a hole for the wires may be needed

@kj94leee 7 жыл бұрын

Hey Charlie, how do you create that High Gloss Paint look? it looks sleek!

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

Hi there! Thanks for the kind words. It's not actually high gloss - for once, the camera is flattering! I used a basic wood primer undercoat (Armstead Trade acrylic wood primer undercoat) and Johnstone's water based satin top coat.

@Dommy1218 3 жыл бұрын

Wow this is great! I was inspired by your video to build my own at home, however it won't have the curve in it just a boring rectangle. Although I did have a question. My desk will be significantly longer than yours (About 265cm wide x 50cm deep) would the same application that you've used work for a desk of my size? It'll still be supported by all three walls. Great video!

@scotsoxfan 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Dommy1218! I built this desk two years ago following Charlies's video. I have only just watched the video again as we are modifying the room with the desk and will have to re do the desk. As to your question, my desk had greater dimensions than Charlie's and as of now it is still solid with no warping. We turned aour box room into a work room/office. My wife used it as a sewing room to make our daughter's wedding dress and as an office since the pandemic started as she has had to work from home. I don't think you should have any problems.

@Dommy1218 3 жыл бұрын

@@scotsoxfan Oh that's really awesome to hear :D Thanks so much, glad you've made the best out of yours. Good luck with the redo

@JackPillawa 6 жыл бұрын

omg, how do you draw such straight line by hand :-o

@lachlanc9459 5 жыл бұрын

the paper he was using had horisontal outlines

@CharlieDIYte 5 жыл бұрын

That's right. It's a special pad with a grid that sits behind the page you're drawing on.

@FishatDT 4 жыл бұрын

Awesome! Do a video about it haha

@PB8059 7 жыл бұрын

Just wondering if u did prevent this from bending?

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

Yes - it hasn't moved at all.

@msacco 6 жыл бұрын

It looks amazing and all, but I just wonder how much weight can you put on it? with those as only support it seems hard for me to believe that it can hold much, might be wrong of course.

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

It's like everything, my friend - you design it for what you want it to be strong enough to hold. It's a desk for my daughter so she's not going to be sitting on it (I hope!) It will certainly be strong enough to hold a decent sized computer and monitor and for someone to be leaning on, so pretty much anything you'd expect a desk to cope with.

@msacco 6 жыл бұрын

Awesome, thanks for the fast reply as well, wish I had a little corner like that to build a desk like this. with just an estimation, how much kg do you think the desk can hold?

@crysisprox 7 жыл бұрын

Hey, what did u use to get the white finish on the desk?

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

A water based wood primer undercoat like this goo.gl/XqtrM1 but any wood primer undercoat will do. The top coat this water based satin goo.gl/gUKqZP . It wasn't actually white, but a colour called Clunch, which is a Farrow and Ball colour that Johnstones Decorator Centre mixed up for me.

@ShivkumarJhadr 3 жыл бұрын

Wow! you can draw a straight line without a ruler 1:08

@starkaran8390 6 жыл бұрын

Very interesting plans for something like that I have found on the stodoys website.

@shantayprueeissen8914 4 жыл бұрын

True

@DIY3DTECHcom 5 жыл бұрын

Brad nailer 😉

@radekkoryczan2695 4 жыл бұрын

That is my project , thank You for hints and tips

@scottmclean4237 6 жыл бұрын

Did you consider using 18mm or 22mm mdf instead of sandwich the two?

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

No, because I wanted the top and bottom layers to be as thin as possible whilst being strong enough to help the desk retain its structure. If I had 18mm or 22mm mdf, even the 22mm would be susceptible to bowing, and without the sandwich effect there would be no way to slot it onto the wall to give it the floating effect.

@debadwolf9727 5 жыл бұрын

What did you finish it with? It doesn't look like just paint. Like the 10th video I've come across that doesn't cover what the finish is when not stained.

@richardw6592 5 жыл бұрын

what is a bat ton??

@Simon-zv4hi 2 жыл бұрын

Hi Charlie, did it bow?

@CharlieDIYte 2 жыл бұрын

No, not at all. My daughter has a sewing machine on it now and still loves using it.

@chicharwali 7 жыл бұрын

do u do this as a living? i need someone to make me one in manchester...

@CharlieDIYte 7 жыл бұрын

Sadly not! A decent carpenter should be able to knock you one up though?

@user-qi2dr9th9j 5 ай бұрын

What wood are the Battons made from?

@CharlieDIYte 5 ай бұрын

Pine

@lachlanc9459 5 жыл бұрын

i live in sydney australai and we were quoted 4,000 for a very similar desk by a carpenter.... seems pretty steep

@CharlieDIYte 5 жыл бұрын

Wow - that does sound expensive! Time for you to tackle it yourself, me thinks!

@BlaGGah 6 жыл бұрын

Whats the maximum weight can a desk like this sustain?

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

Haven't got a clue. It's fine for general "desk" work - leaning on, bearing the load of files, books etc, but you wouldn't want to stand or sit on it!

@BlaGGah 6 жыл бұрын

Charlie DIYte I figured that much. I want to get something like that made for my room for my desktop PC etc.

@CharlieDIYte 6 жыл бұрын

It'll be fine for that. You can increase the strength of it by over engineering the design. Eg plenty of hard wood braces inside, glued and screwed to each leaf of the desk (top and bottom).

@MrNwlucas1984 5 жыл бұрын

Hi just randomly found your channel and have watched a couple of you videos. Really nice stuff so far. I don't know if it's been covered or asked yet, but what paint finish have you used on the desk/fitted wardrobe?

@therecanbeonlyone_6357 5 жыл бұрын

How much did this project cost? Great stuff!

@Sadorath 4 жыл бұрын

So the big money question. 3 Years later did it warp?

@CharlieDIYte 4 жыл бұрын

No, it's as straight as the day I put it up 👍

@raminybhatti5740 5 жыл бұрын

Great job. It's a shame this can't be done without a supporting wall to the side.

@CharlieDIYte 5 жыл бұрын

You'd need a deep wall with steel rods sunk into it to take all that weight on a single back wall.

@raminybhatti5740 5 жыл бұрын

@@CharlieDIYte I think so. Basically, a somewhat modified and larger scale version of a floating shelf.

@raminybhatti5740 4 жыл бұрын

I just realised there is a way to make something approaching this type of corner desk, but it wouldn't be strictly floating. Basically, one would need to fashion two L brackets that would ideally be screwed into the wall studs on both ends of the desk, on top of which the desktop would be attached. It wouldn't be as elegant as your design, but it'd be a decent compromise.

@MikeTheSith200 2 жыл бұрын

This is a torsion box

@sarikatimmi 6 жыл бұрын

my ad cld never. ever. id have to be the one

@MikeParent Жыл бұрын

Great build but I feel like the video leaves a LOT out - patching, and filling, sanding, painting

@CharlieDIYte Жыл бұрын

Thing is Michael, if I put everything in people would complain it was too long 😉 It is an old video though so chances are if I was doing it today it would be more comprehensive.

@MikeParent Жыл бұрын

@@CharlieDIYte people do like to complain LOL. The finish is very nice, just curious how you got there?