How I Built a Standing Desk for Under $90

Health experts will tell you that sitting down at a desk all day is bad for your health. And I have a bad back to prove it.

First, some background. My desk isn’t fancy by any means, but it’s functional where it counts. Essentially I work on a fold-out table, purchased almost 5 years ago for the whopping price of $50 at a local office supply store. It’s a sturdy beast, supporting 4 displays, two desktops and a laptop. As a sit-down desk, it’s a good one.

But I needed a standing desk. My research on the subject was pretty extensive. I spent about a year poking around, reading up on the topic. I found many options that were either too kludgy for me or too expensive. What I really wanted was a solution that would convert my existing desk to a standing desk. Why get rid of a perfectly good table, right?

At one point, a friend of mine was going to design custom legs for my table (but that fell through).So I put the search on hold.

Then I discovered a really interesting product called LiftYourTable that promised to deliver exactly what I was looking for, all for about $33 plus shipping.

LiftYourTable sells extensions for existing tables, and come in two sizes (36″ or 42″). The price seemed right, so I pulled the trigger and ordered a set from Amazon. Two days later, the product was at my door.

The box, shipped priority USPS in the states, includes a postcard and 4 LiftYourTable extensions. Essentially, LiftYourTable is a custom cut PVC pipe set. It’s solid and specifically designed for angled table legs. (LiftYourTable also sells extensions for straight-leg or T-designed table legs.)

The product was super easy to install. Simply lift each end of your table and put on a LiftYourTable extension. That’s it. When performing the install, I held the table while my 7 year old daughter Sonia installed the extensions. I opted for the standard size model, which raises my table up from 28″ to 36″ (counter height).

Here’s a close-up photo of the LiftYourTable product after installation.

Below is a picture of my newly converted desk, with the LiftYourTable extensions. I checked the stability of my table by shaking it. It didn’t budge once.

LiftYourTable is exactly what I was searching for. It’s a well-built product that has given me a standing desk for a very nominal price. Customer support was quick to respond to my inquiry when I had a pre-sales question.

Time will tell how I feel about my standing desk, but my initial impressions have been good. LiftYourTable earns 5 out of 5 Bob Weiners.

Krishna January 17, 2015 converting table to standing desk, inexpensive standing desk, LiftYourTable, office productivity, standing desk, table extensions