Homemade Wood and PVC Computer Desk. I’ve been using a computer desk I built about five years ago. At the time I rented a room from friends and had limited space. I used a dual monitor setup so my only concern was having space for two monitors. I had to fit in my bed, desk, and TV in the room so I ended up with a long but shallow desk.
Fast forward five years and I’ve outgrown that small wooden hand-built desk. Last year I squeezed in a third monitor by clamping it to the floor lamp. I also have a Wacom tablet that needed its own dedicated space. I simply needed more desk.
Homemade Wood and PVC Computer Desk
I moved out of the small rental room a few years back but have continued to use the same desk. Time to upgrade! I am no longer limited so I can get creative. I also bought a new monitor, a Dell 24″ to go with the 22″ and 19″ monitors. I decided to build a simple but larger desk made from PVC and wood. It’s January so building a desk outside is not an option. Using PVC for the desk frame allows me to cut the PVC pipes indoors and mock up the desk in the living room. I also wanted the ability to pull the desk apart if I ever moved from this apartment. This means building the PVC frame with left and right towers with the connecting center support/keyboard try in the center.
Building indoors also means finding a way to secure the PVC without using the traditional PVC primer and solvent cement. After researching options I found GORILLA PVC CEMENT, which I had never heard of. I could not find it locally so I bought it online. I highly recommend it if you’re needing an alternative to PVC primer and cement, it’s fantastic!
Desk frame mock-up, made from 1″ PVC. To make it easier to mock-up the PVC pipes and fittings, each PVC pipe end was cut so it would compress slightly when inserted into the fitting.
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PVC Light Bar using the old floor lamp. I use daylight CFL bulbs to avoid using the overhead fluorescent light that buzzes and gives me a headache.
The two towers and the middle keyboard tray section are glued separately. Seizing a 50+ degree day in winter, I painted the PVC sections and stained the oak plywood. A nice guy at Lowes cut the wood in the sizes I needed and earned my return business.
The wood desktop is secured to the PVC frame with pipe clips(straps) and short screws:
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Lights wired through the PVC. Adjustable wood monitor shelf, using a PVC coupler fitting, the light bar height can be adjusted.
Final wood and PVC desk: About halfway through building the desk I realized this was a pretty big undertaking for me …but it turned out to be well worth the effort! I love the new desk! I had a friend ask when I was going to start making more! I expect to upgrade the other two monitors in the future and have room for three 24″ monitors, I’m set for years to come!
Update: More than a year later the Homemade Wood and PVC Computer Desk is holding up great! The gorilla glue has held and is an excellent glue. I moved and like planned, the desk came apart and went back together very easily. I don’t regret building this wood and PVC desk, it fits my needs perfectly!