Standing Desks & Treadmill Desks

By far the most populous category of sit-to-stand products, electric standing desks are powered by precision, linear motor drives and easily change in height with the press of a button. They have a distinct advantage over most manually-operated desks in speed, convenience, and performance, but tend to cost a little more than their crank-operated cousins. Nevertheless, with dozens to choose from spanning a wide range of capabilities, feature sets, and price tags, it remains the active workstation of choice for homes and offices across the country.

Planning to build a sit-to-stand desk or treadmill desk with your own desktop lumber? There are some great options available. We'll take you through the pluses and minuses of each model. Understandably, DIY'ers are always looking to find the lowest cost option for any components they need to buy versus make. In the case of electric height-adjustable bases spending a little more, as a rule of thumb, is going to buy you a quieter, faster, heavier-lifting, more reliable desk base, a longer warranty period, and a longer "stroke" (total distance between top end and bottom end).

The IKEA Bekant desk underwhelms us. With a weak 150-lb lifting capacity, a surprisingly light frame, and only one desktop size available, this desk comes in at the low end of electrically adjustable sit/stand desks. For only $100 more you can find a desk with much stronger, quieter and faster motors, and a tabletop that'll last much longer, look much nicer, and stand up better to cuts, dings and chemicals. What exactly can you expect if you buy this desk? Short answer: a typical IKEA product strategy of cutting corners on components in order to achieve an extremely low price point. Most of us here at WorkWhileWalking are more than a little familiar with IKEA – having purchased, [...]