Thinking of building an IKEA desk... Questions

[Wingsley]

For years, I had a setup in my basement den using an 8-foot-long portable dining table with fake wood veneer top with folding metal legs. Upon inspecting it recently, I found it was starting to deteriorate and it's not worth saving. I'm thinking seriously of throwing out the old, junk table and replacing it with components from IKEA.

Currently, I have an M1 Mac Mini and monitor, plus two older iMacs, on the table. I have no drawers for storage space, so my setup suffers from what I've heard called "flat surface disease", where all flat surface is covered with papers, cables, dust and other clutter.

Here's what I'm thinking of getting:

1: Karlby solid-wood butcher-block-style counter-top, 8 feet long

2: Alex drawers of differing types, possible to support the Karlby counter-top on both ends as well as in the middle.

3: I'm not sure, but I seem to remember that some desk setups on YouTube are shown with some other support that looks like a sawhorse. I cannot remember what this is called. Anybody remember?

4: I saw also thinking of getting an extra Alex drawers setup on casters, to use as a combination mobile cabinet and platform to place my Epson Perfection V.39 flatbed scanner so it can sit next to my office chair while I'm at the Mac Mini.

The issues I anticipate, and I'm not sure how to deal with them:

1: My current setup's tabletop is at 29 inches (74 cm) above the floor. But the Alex drawers (without casters) seem to stand 27.5 inches (699 mm) tall. Am I correct in assuming that if the Karlby countertop is EXACTLY 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick, that this will give me the 29 inches I'm currently have for tabletop height? Is that Karlby thickness correct, and exact? (I've never bought from IKEA before, but I watched several desk setup videos featuring IKEA setups during the COVID pandemic).

2: How heavy is the Karlby countertop? I'm asking because this will be a DIY project and I'll be doing it solo. Just want to know what I'll be facing.

3: Anyone on this forum ever installed any cable management on a Karbly-and Alex setup? Any problems?

4: Is the Karbly countertop heavy enough to set on the ALEX bureaus and not need any attachment? If it has to be screwed down, with are the ALEX bureaus made of? Is it okay to drill-screw into the tops of the bureaus?

5: Is there any mini-counter-top I could eventually get for the top of the extra Alex bureau-on-casters that I would use for the scanner mini-desk? This would be only slightly larger in surface area to the top of the bureau, so it would not make the bureau tipsy buy add extra space. I would consider this as an additional purchase down-the-road when I get the money.

6: Another down-the-road idea I'm not sure of: I might want to eventually drill grommet holes into the Karlby counter-top for cable management. I'm really not sure about this one. I may instead want to keep in intact for future re-purposing as a real counter-top if I build any cabinets for installation in my den. Has anyone here ever done this?

7: Has anyone here ever painted/stained a Karlby? Is it even necessary? How easy are they to keep clean?


Thanks in advance.

 

[splifingate]

I faced a similar task a few years ago.

Having been previously satisfied with my current desk (the Make:Model currently escapes me), I endeavored to purchase the same a few years later.

IKEA--being IKEA--cycles their Products, and phases-out/introduces-new all the time.

What I had existed no more!

I had to make-do with purchasing an (un-related) stand, and table-top:

I don't remember the names of the un-married products, but it was a definite challenge to get the base to align to the tabletop.

The main challenge was that I had to drill new bores into the tabletop, into which I inserted the grommets mating the stand to the tabletop. I did a lot of measuring, and aligning.

IIRC, I had to drill new bores into the stand, as well.

A worthwhile adventure, which produced a very usable product 😉

 

[colodane]

Make sure that whatever work surface you purchase is wide enough. A lot of the IKEA products are not, in my opinion.

Specifically, you want to be able to support a 27 inch monitor at a reasonable viewing distance plus have adequate work space in front of it for your keyboard, mouse/trakpad, and still lots of room for working with papers, calculator, books, etc. etc. I don't like feeling cramped in this regard. Consequently, my work surface (glass) is 34 inches deep.

You can get by with something less wide if you use a desk or wall mounted VESA monitor.

 

[PaulD-UK]

I've just looked at the Karlby product page, and it's not solid wood, but particle board with an 1/8" wood veneer.
Weight is 86 lb 15 oz in its cardboard packaging.

Looks OK - I've got two IKEA rise and fall motorised standing desks with tops that are less solid than the one you've chosen, and I'm very happy.

@splifingate That looks like an IKEA Bekant top and legs.

 

[splifingate]

@splifingate That looks like an IKEA Bekant top and legs.

Solid topper (not veneered-particle). IIRC, it's bam-boo.


I was in a flurry to achieve Completion for my Woman; She is not so, anymore, which is partly why I do not remember the details....

 

[meson]

1. If the drawers are in fact 27.5”, then mounting to butcher block on top will provide the desired height of 29”.

2. An 8’x25”x1.5” butcher block should be around 100 lbs. Not obscenely heavy, but awkward enough that picking it up is much easier with a helper.

3. A spade bit or hole saw will easily cut a hole for cables to run through that can be finished off with a grommet from the hardware store along with some trays or cable sleeves attached to the underside. Neither project I’ve done required it, but I did build a couple outlets into my bar with a pigtail to run to another wall outlet to reduce wire clutter.

4. No. Screw it down. Drill holes at least twice the diameter of the screws in the drawer cabinet. Also make sure you use small pilot holes in the butcher block. The larger holes in the base will allow for expansion and contraction of the counter top as the temperature and humidity changes.

5. A large butcher block cutting board would work well if you don’t have another project that could be done with cut sections of another counter top.

6. I have an 8’x25”x1.5” poplar edge grain butcher block on my bar/work from home desk. I opted to not drill it for cable management. I framed up a 23”x84”x40.5” box for the top to sit on. A partition is in the middle so I have a 10” overhang for bar seating on one side and 9 shelves about 12” deep on the other side. The base is clad in green painted plywood with 1x2 pine stained in Early American. The top is finished with mineral oil and furniture wax. Don’t leave behind standing water and all will be good.

I use it for building fishing rods as well. The idea is that it is nice, but finished in a way that if I damage the surface I just have to pull out the sander and then finish with simple supplies wiped on with an old t shirt or sock.

7. Never worked with IKEA’s butcher block, but the desk I. My family room is a builder grade block from Home Depot, birch maybe. It is stained with Early American and finished with multiple coats of wipe on poly urethane. As long as the block is unfinished, it should take stain just fine. The legs are black pipe legs I found on Amazon. It has an old 21” iMac and is meant to be a homework station for the kids.

My handiwork is not furniture grade, but holds up much better than all of the big box store furniture pieces we’ve bought over the years.

 

[PaulD-UK]

@splifingate If it's solid bamboo then it was an IKEA Ovraryd top, on a Bekant frame.

 

[Wingsley]

Does anyone know of a good deal on an 8-foot-long solid wood "btucher block" that I could use as a large desktop in place of the IKEA Karlby? Thanks in advance.

 

[MacDaddyPanda]

1: My current setup's tabletop is at 29 inches (74 cm) above the floor. But the Alex drawers (without casters) seem to stand 27.5 inches (699 mm) tall. Am I correct in assuming that if the Karlby countertop is EXACTLY 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick, that this will give me the 29 inches I'm currently have for tabletop height? Is that Karlby thickness correct, and exact? (I've never bought from IKEA before, but I watched several desk setup videos featuring IKEA setups during the COVID pandemic).
Yes it's 1 1/2" thick. So the total height should be around 29"

2: How heavy is the Karlby countertop? I'm asking because this will be a DIY project and I'll be doing it solo. Just want to know what I'll be facing.
The 74" is about 64 lbs/30 kg. It does feel heavy, but I was able to do it solo. Just remember to lift with your legs.

3: Anyone on this forum ever installed any cable management on a Karbly-and Alex setup? Any problems?
I did a cheap cable management of plastic raceway I had laying around. But any solution should work well.

4: Is the Karbly countertop heavy enough to set on the ALEX bureaus and not need any attachment? If it has to be screwed down, with are the ALEX bureaus made of? Is it okay to drill-screw into the tops of the bureaus?
I used Scotch brand bumper buttons and the top doesn't move at all. I've bumped it numerous times with my chair and it's stayed in its position.

5: Is there any mini-counter-top I could eventually get for the top of the extra Alex bureau-on-casters that I would use for the scanner mini-desk? This would be only slightly larger in surface area to the top of the bureau, so it would not make the bureau tipsy buy add extra space. I would consider this as an additional purchase down-the-road when I get the money.
Not sure

6: Another down-the-road idea I'm not sure of: I might want to eventually drill grommet holes into the Karlby counter-top for cable management. I'm really not sure about this one. I may instead want to keep in intact for future re-purposing as a real counter-top if I build any cabinets for installation in my den. Has anyone here ever done this?
I have not done this. I thought about it, but that's kind of permanent and I may change my mind in the future so I didn't want to put any irreversible holes in it.

7: Has anyone here ever painted/stained a Karlby? Is it even necessary? How easy are they to keep clean?
I've heard some people stain it or put a coating. But I just keep it clean with wood cleaner. And it's held up well.

 

[meson]

Does anyone know of a good deal on an 8-foot-long solid wood "btucher block" that I could use as a large desktop in place of the IKEA Karlby? Thanks in advance.

Where are you located? In the US, any big box home improvement store will have them such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, etc. Outside of the US, I don't know. My 8' bar top was custom made by a local lumber company. It was about twice the cost of a builder grade top from the big box store. More sought after species of wood would have increased the cost significantly.

 

[Wingsley]

Where are you located? In the US, any big box home improvement store will have them such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, etc. Outside of the US, I don't know. My 8' bar top was custom made by a local lumber company. It was about twice the cost of a builder grade top from the big box store. More sought after species of wood would have increased the cost significantly.

I'm in the northeastern US

 

[Fishrrman]

An 8' long table top is probably going to be pretty heavy.
Just sayin'...

I use a "conference table" with folding legs.
These are affordable, come in various top lengths (such as 72"), and can be handled by one person.
I just checked, and the top is 29" from the floor.

Works for me.

 

[splifingate]

@splifingate If it's solid bamboo then it was an IKEA Ovraryd top, on a Bekant frame.

ah!

It's a great tabletop . . . even with the mods, it's fantastic 😉

 

[splifingate]

Where are you located? In the US, any big box home improvement store will have them such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Menard's, etc. Outside of the US, I don't know. My 8' bar top was custom made by a local lumber company. It was about twice the cost of a builder grade top from the big box store. More sought after species of wood would have increased the cost significantly.

FYI:

The BB slabs @lowe's are 0.25in thicker than the ones @HD, but the wood used seems less dense.

All subjective, of course.

Great products, but IMO quite thick for a desk.

 

[liam899]

For years, I had a setup in my basement den using an 8-foot-long portable dining table with fake wood veneer top with folding metal legs. Upon inspecting it recently, I found it was starting to deteriorate and it's not worth saving. I'm thinking seriously of throwing out the old, junk table and replacing it with components from IKEA.

Currently, I have an M1 Mac Mini and monitor, plus two older iMacs, on the table. I have no drawers for storage space, so my setup suffers from what I've heard called "flat surface disease", where all flat surface is covered with papers, cables, dust and other clutter.

Here's what I'm thinking of getting:

1: Karlby solid-wood butcher-block-style counter-top, 8 feet long

2: Alex drawers of differing types, possible to support the Karlby counter-top on both ends as well as in the middle.

3: I'm not sure, but I seem to remember that some desk setups on YouTube are shown with some other support that looks like a sawhorse. I cannot remember what this is called. Anybody remember?

4: I saw also thinking of getting an extra Alex drawers setup on casters, to use as a combination mobile cabinet and platform to place my Epson Perfection V.39 flatbed scanner so it can sit next to my office chair while I'm at the Mac Mini.

The issues I anticipate, and I'm not sure how to deal with them:

1: My current setup's tabletop is at 29 inches (74 cm) above the floor. But the Alex drawers (without casters) seem to stand 27.5 inches (699 mm) tall. Am I correct in assuming that if the Karlby countertop is EXACTLY 1.5 inches (4 cm) thick, that this will give me the 29 inches I'm currently have for tabletop height? Is that Karlby thickness correct, and exact? (I've never bought from IKEA before, but I watched several desk setup videos featuring IKEA setups during the COVID pandemic).

2: How heavy is the Karlby countertop? I'm asking because this will be a DIY project and I'll be doing it solo. Just want to know what I'll be facing.

3: Anyone on this forum ever installed any cable management on a Karbly-and Alex setup? Any problems?

4: Is the Karbly countertop heavy enough to set on the ALEX bureaus and not need any attachment? If it has to be screwed down, with are the ALEX bureaus made of? Is it okay to drill-screw into the tops of the bureaus?

5: Is there any mini-counter-top I could eventually get for the top of the extra Alex bureau-on-casters that I would use for the scanner mini-desk? This would be only slightly larger in surface area to the top of the bureau, so it would not make the bureau tipsy buy add extra space. I would consider this as an additional purchase down-the-road when I get the money.

6: Another down-the-road idea I'm not sure of: I might want to eventually drill grommet holes into the Karlby counter-top for cable management. I'm really not sure about this one. I may instead want to keep in intact for future re-purposing as a real counter-top if I build any cabinets for installation in my den. Has anyone here ever done this?

7: Has anyone here ever painted/stained a Karlby? Is it even necessary? How easy are they to keep clean?


Thanks in advance.

Your math on the height is spot on—drawers plus the Karlby hit exactly 29 inches. Keep in mind that the 8-foot top is around 30-35 kg. Doing it solo is a workout, which is actually why I skipped the IKEA DIY route back then and went with a motorized frame from Deskup Australia instead.

If you stick with IKEA, you don't need to screw the top down; standard rubber pads will keep it in place because of the weight. It comes pre-treated, so no need to stain it, and normal cable trays screw easily underneath. Definitely avoid drilling grommet holes if you want to reuse it as a kitchen counter later. For the mobile unit, a simple wooden chopping board on top works perfectly.

 

[Pkupman57]

You pretty much described my setup. Pictured the day I built it, and a few days ago.

Mine is the 98" top. I would say it was about 100lbs. It was definitely easier to bring in with 2 people. I dont believe this is veneered particle board, it feels way too solid. I believe it is bamboo as the post above mentioned.

I havent run screws through my cabinets into the bottom of the counter top yet. As it usually takes me about 2 years to finally settle into a "permanent" set up, so Ive held off. But I will be doing that soon. The top will slide around if bumped. This is especially the case for me as I have base boards at the floor and do not keep the desk top pushed against the walls. So I have room for cables and some distance for my back lighting.

Ive had no issues with sagging, it's been set up for about 2 years now. But I did use some cabinet risers/feet from Ikea along with the Lack floating shelf to build a monitor riser, so the weight of the displays are more over the cabinets. YMMV here.

I came here after having a Jerker for 10 years, so I definitely do not feel like this desk is deep enough. Even with the monitor shelf for more space, I wish it were about 12" deeper. But it works fine.

The top rests flat onto of the cabinets, ,and I have about a 2.5" gap between the top of my rack and bottom of the desk top. Which works well for the fans on the top of the rack cabinet.

Cable management, I just have the cables routed fairly nicely and tied with velcro at regular intervals behind it all. Most everything runs into the rack for power or connections anyway, and with the monitor shelf and gaps, I dont have many visible wires. Though a more thourough arraignment will be made eventually. Like I said, it took me 10 years and 4 moves to perfect my Jerker set up. This is an ever evolving thing for me, and my desk setup is a hobby in and of itself.

Im open to any questions you may have.

 

[Guenter]

If you spend a lot of time at the desk you should think about a hight adjustable desk.

 

[dblissmn]

You pretty much described my setup. Pictured the day I built it, and a few days ago.

Mine is the 98" top. I would say it was about 100lbs. It was definitely easier to bring in with 2 people. I dont believe this is veneered particle board, it feels way too solid. I believe it is bamboo as the post above mentioned.

I havent run screws through my cabinets into the bottom of the counter top yet. As it usually takes me about 2 years to finally settle into a "permanent" set up, so Ive held off. But I will be doing that soon. The top will slide around if bumped. This is especially the case for me as I have base boards at the floor and do not keep the desk top pushed against the walls. So I have room for cables and some distance for my back lighting.

Ive had no issues with sagging, it's been set up for about 2 years now. But I did use some cabinet risers/feet from Ikea along with the Lack floating shelf to build a monitor riser, so the weight of the displays are more over the cabinets. YMMV here.

I came here after having a Jerker for 10 years, so I definitely do not feel like this desk is deep enough. Even with the monitor shelf for more space, I wish it were about 12" deeper. But it works fine.

The top rests flat onto of the cabinets, ,and I have about a 2.5" gap between the top of my rack and bottom of the desk top. Which works well for the fans on the top of the rack cabinet.

Cable management, I just have the cables routed fairly nicely and tied with velcro at regular intervals behind it all. Most everything runs into the rack for power or connections anyway, and with the monitor shelf and gaps, I dont have many visible wires. Though a more thourough arraignment will be made eventually. Like I said, it took me 10 years and 4 moves to perfect my Jerker set up. This is an ever evolving thing for me, and my desk setup is a hobby in and of itself.

Im open to any questions you may have.

View attachment 2638687View attachment 2638688

This is fantastic! Where did you get the desktop from? (the drawer stacks look very IKEA). I just got a roughly 66x36 piece of 5/8" ply and lacquered it up and put it across two half height file cabinets. The extra thickness on the slightly lighter wood stock makes sense for this longer span.

 

[Pkupman57]

This is fantastic! Where did you get the desktop from? (the drawer stacks look very IKEA). I just got a roughly 66x36 piece of 5/8" ply and lacquered it up and put it across two half height file cabinets. The extra thickness on the slightly lighter wood stock makes sense for this longer span.

It's all from Ikea. Drawer units, the top (I think it's 29"x98", and solid. Was sold as a kitchen counter top.), a Lack floating shelf, and cabinet risers/feet.

I also use a TV stand/cabinet, also from Ikea, as a printer/laptop charging station. Yes, that is a dot-matrix printer, and yes, it actually gets used significantly more than the ink jet. Good old Federal Govt forms with 5 carbon copies. I work in hazardous waste, I think my industry alone keeps the suppliers of feed roll paper in business still.