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Desk Layout

Sorry for the terrible paint drawing. I'm looking to stick two desktops together to create an L-shaped desk. I honestly have no clue what I'm doing, I've barely done any woodworking in my life, if you would even call this woodworking.

If I placed legs where the red circles are, would this desk setup be viable? The desk will only ever have a moderate load: a few monitors and a PC and maybe a printer.

Also, should I screw some kind of joint to the desks where the blue square is?

I'll be glad to answer any questions for clarification.

Here are my materials:

Desktops: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/belanger-laminates-inc-72-inch-x-25-5-inch-x-1-5-inch-unfinished-bamboo-wood-kitchen-countertop/1001602594

Legs: https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/adils-leg-black-70217973/

Finish: https://www.homedepot.ca/product/live-edge-timber-co--omnia-natural-wood-oil-237-ml/1001592786

Pez18000
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  • Hi, welcome to StackExchange. We actually have two highly related previous Questions, not sure if either is close enough that this Q will be deemed to be a duplicate, but the mods will decide on that. The first is the closest, but I think you'll want to look at both just in case there are any details in no.2 that might be helpful. Best way to join pieces of L shaped desktop and Leg placement on L-Shaped Desk. – Graphus Jun 13 '23 at 18:08
  • These are some very long spans here (plus the Adils legs are noted for not providing the most stable support). While the bamboo laminate is likely very stiff, your leg placement is all peripheral, increasing the chances that leaning on it (or the unplanned-for accident that you must account for) will cause any weakness or instability in the legs to become an issue. So I think one or more additional legs placed somewhere centrally, or diagonal bracing of some kind, will be absolutely mandatory for stability (and safety) right in the corner. – Graphus Jun 13 '23 at 18:19

2 Answers2

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My current desk is basically this set up. so in general yes where you have the legs is where you will need them.

Where you have your bracket however, I would make it a lot longer to help spread the torque out some more, you might even let it go all the way to the back of the table and put another leg down there to help support or just move the one from the corner to line up with the front edge of the other table on the back, as you correctly guessed where you have the blue bracket mark is going to be the weakest spot.

I hope my description was clear enough.

bowlturner
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You might need two more support legs in the back about half way between the existing corner legs.

You will want to also have bracing in the joint. I would do something bigger than your little square. I diagramed two options. Red or Green. You can wood or plate steel for this.

enter image description here

Dwight T
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  • Awesome yea this is what I was looking for. What are those green squares called? Some sort of bracket? Just need to know what to Google for / ask for at the store. Thanks for your help! – Pez18000 Jun 13 '23 at 16:59
  • Green are what ever you what to make them. I'm assuming limited tools. 1/2 x 3 Poplar or aluminum flat bars – Dwight T Jun 13 '23 at 19:04
  • @Pez18000, as this is your chosen solution they make flat steel plates pre-drilled with multiple nail/screw locations. A good local hardware store might have some of these, but if you need to order online "steel tie plates" is a search term you can use. These are also called connector plates or mending plates; some of those will naturally come up in the returns for the search above but look for them separately if you want to be thorough. Go for heavy duty, in galvanized or stainless. Attach them with screws; make sure they're not too long for your tabletop thickness! And pre-drill pilot holes. – Graphus Jun 15 '23 at 07:13