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Anyone DIY an office? In the next few years I will be buying a house and I already have my mind set on building a home office in the garage. I enjoy DIY so this is something I am interested in doing. I was looking online for some ideas, figured someone here must have DIY an office. Looking for Ideas, tips, pictures. :)
Gracias :wave:
How exotic are you going to get?
I have a treadmill with a computer attached to it. Standing desks are becoming all the rage, but standing in one place used to be considered really bad for you. Walking has never been considered bad for you, so treadmill desks are becoming more popular. However, a good treadmill will cost up to $2000, especially if you want one you can run on. Running and computing don't mix well, though, so you can save lots of money by getting a less rugged treadmill if you want to go in that direction.
If I was building an office, I'd be putting in one or two, 4x4 or larger, beams that anchored to floor and ceiling and acted as a solid backing into which arms could be mounted for monitors. Lots of people in my office have two flat screens mounted on swiveling, extending, arms. These mounts put a significant amount of torque on whatever they are attached to. You aren't going to hang such a thing in drywall, and I wouldn't want to mount them with lag screws into a 2x4. Thus, if I was going to go that way, I'd want something that would make a good backing for the mount. If I could build it from scratch, I'd use either metal studs, or a 4x4 (or two, if needed), through which I could run bolts. That kind of a setup would require that it be done before the drywall, though, which might be a problem. In any case, such a design would work better than what I had to do for the treadmill desk, too. Since I couldn't attach the monitors to the wall, I put them on a shelf attached to the treadmill. I had to strap the monitor onto the platform, or else the vibration would walk it right off the shelf in short order. As it is, there isn't much vibration in the screen while in use, so that's ok, but I had to buy a monitor based on its stability, which caused the salespeople to look at me funny. Nobody buys monitors based on stability.
How exotic... As much as I would love to have a treadmill at my desk, I don't see myself actually using both my computer and treadmill at the same time. I have been using my treadmill more frequently than usual, but I would prefer to keep them separate. I do intend on having the rest of the garage devoted to storage and some basic workout equipment.
I like the idea about having the solid 4x4 as a good backing for monitors. I intend to have at least two large monitors for my main computer, plus a few monitors mounted for monitoring other computers and for surveillance system. I also like the idea of using metal studs, I feel like those might be cheaper to buy, but I dont have any experience in building with metal (I actually really dislike using a welder).
One thing that is important to me is good cable management. Currently (at my parents house) I have wires ran through the attic and I hate the way that I did it, I wanted to go through and redo the wiring, but its not worth spending my own money on their house, when I can just figure out the best way to do it in my own house. With that said, This office will be the home of all the networking gear (besides access points in the rest of the house). Any ideas for good cable management within the office (I want to be able to run wires through any wall in my office any time. My first thought was to do a raise floor, but a raised floor system looked expensive and couldnt think of a way to do it myself. Additionally, what is the best way to run wires through a prebuilt house? I guess it might depend on the type of attic that I have and what type of space I have to work with...
My two car garage was converted to an office before I moved in and I love it. On the other hand - a garage would bring more value to the home and with the occasional hail storm - I wish I could park my expensive as heck truck inside.
Wiring shouldn't be a big deal since you won't be spending a lot of time in the attic. You'd want to run as much of it as you can together and then split out to other rooms as needed. If you live in the south you'd want some good thick cable to protect against heat.
A drop ceiling would probably be cheaper than a raised floor, but I've never looked into it. I just feel that there is less foot traffic on the ceiling.
The house itself will certainly dictate lots of what you can do. My house sits on a solid slab of concrete, so there is no running cables under the floor. Furthermore, it has radiant electric ceiling heat, so there are very few options for running cables to the first floor in any way at all. What cables are there run either under carpet, or outside the house. As for running cables in an attic, you might look into using electrical conduit to keep them organized, out of the way, somewhat insulated, and somewhat reinforced. PVC conduit would be pretty cheap and easy to pull cable through, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve R Jones
I have to deal with the very harsh weather of Southern California. The idea in my head is to only convert a portion of the garage into an office. I won't be needing a huge office, But i want to have space for a networking gear, computer desk (long), plus an electronics work area (arduino, etc). Then the rest of the garage I want for storage and for a few workout items like treadmill, weights, etc. I think I know what I will be sketching out later today.
I actually tend to have a lot of foot traffic on my ceiling. Its one of the downsides to having a spider pig.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
I will look into drop ceilings. I am now thinking I will have conduit run down each wall (some walls a few runs of conduit) that will run from ceiling to wall receptacle. That will make it easy for me to run wires down the wall in the office.
I considered doing PVC for attic runs too, but the problem I have with that is I cant see the wires that I run if I wanted to pick a wire or I was having some type of problem with a wire, I cant trace it as well. I was thinking maybe using U-Brackets mounted on the studs in the attic. I can easily run wires through them since they are large (I cant find a picture of them online, I use them at work). I also considered using a wire tray, but idk if that would be over kill...
I have a lot of ideas. I hope I will have the money to support these when it comes time to buy a house.
Does your office have HVAC installed? I am good with electrical work and carpentry (as well as plumbing, but I wont be needing that in my office...) But I have never done any HVAC work. I wonder if it is something that I would absolutely need in my office. I guess It would depend on how well I have my office insulated, and if the garage is already insulated. I could also just use a cheap freestanding AC unit and floor heater if I needed...Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve R Jones
So many options.
The HVAC duct work was tweaked and two vents added. It's about 5º colder than the rest of house this time of year... You'd want to look into the insulation and add as needed.. No sense going back in and doing it later.
I don't remember Spider Pig causing all that much damage to the ceiling, except for the hoof marks...Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
What about splitting the PVC down the middle lengthwise, make it like the wire tray, like you mentioned... probably would be cheaper. Use Velcro straps to hold things in place.Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
Whaaaaat? You mean have a Functional Spec AND a Design Document AHEAD of time!? Doesn't that go against every fiber as a developer?Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve R Jones
-tg
Oddly, that was the exact thing I was thinking about when I wrote that comment.Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
Garages are rarely insulated, and when they are, it is rarely done well. Very few people either heat or cool their garages, or want to bother with the expense of heating or cooling a garage, so why bother with insulating it? Even when you see a finished garage where the studs have been drywalled, there often is no insulation at all. That may well prove to be a significant issue when buying a house with this in mind, because your options might be a bit reduced. If you are willing to frame in a wall to separate the office area from the rest of the garage, then you can insulate just the area you want, and you can do a very good job of it, which would mean that a wall or window mounted air conditioner may be all the HVAC you need.
Do you own a Spider Pig? You would be surprised.Quote:
Originally Posted by techgnome
I like this idea.Quote:
Originally Posted by techgnome
Great minds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
I only plan on making a portion of the garage into an office. Probably the back corner of the garage, with windows on the two interior walls so I can see into the garage. So I would insulate the added interior walls as well the the exterior walls attached to the office.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shaggy Hiker
What kind of things do you expect to see out the windows? Or do you want would be burglars to be able see into the office?
Building frames for the windows and the windows themselves will add to the cost of material and labor.
I want to be able to see into my garage while I work in my office. I dont intend to use my garage for car storage (mostly because i drive a large truck that wouldnt fit into the garage. I want the office to be open to the garage. Without a window, It would seem a lot smaller and more confined, in my opinionQuote:
Originally Posted by Steve R Jones
Here are some very rough ideas of what I am thinking. Based off my parents garage layout. Its 14'x8' with a 20'x20' garage
WOW...that's almost exactly what my garage/office looks like except the smaller part is my laundry room and I have a wall with a window where the garage doors are.
So your whole garage was converted into an office then? The garage door replaced with a wall? What occupies the rest of the space? Is it living space?
I have a workbench (home tools etc) in front of the laundry room and a closet next to that. The rest is filled with dead computers/computer parts/printers/monitors... and a rather large desk and table that cover most of where the garage door was.
One thing to think about is having physical walls separating the room from the rest of the garage. It makes for easier calculations for tax write off of the office square footage. Mounting those swiveling arms for monitor mounts work great when you also have a desk or bench as they clamp to them. I have 2 in my cube at work. The desk back is contoured a bit to allow for the clamp to go between the desk and the cube wall.
Definately insulate the exterior walls as the hot summer and cold winter weather will make it unpleasant to be in during those seasons. Mine is insulated and have 1/4" plywood with electricals running between it.
Dont worry about network troubleshooting the cables. There is a device that you can buy to send signals accross a wire to help detect which wire is which. Telcom tech guys use that technique all the time.
Yeah, I've got one of those devices for troubleshooting Cat-5/6 connections.
What are they called and they shouldnt be too expensive. I eventually will need to get one
Are you talking about a cable analyzer or like a tone/probe set?
I forget. It's been a couple years. Many years back I had a cable analyzer, but you had to have both ends of the cable to plug into the box. The one I currently have has a dongle that plugs into one end, while you plug the analyzer into the other end. It had to be down around $40, or lower, or I wouldn't have bothered, because the same result can be accomplished with a good multimeter, a few alligator clips, and a boatload of wire. I've got all that, so the cable analyzer had to be cheap enough that it was easier to buy that than to run wires throughout my house to check connectivity.
I've got one for trouble shooting cats.Quote:
Yeah, I've got one of those devices for troubleshooting Cat-5/6 connections.
A taserQuote:
What are they called
I thought it was called a dog?
Around here the words "garage" and "office" are mutually exclusive. It's been well below freezing here for weeks with a few more to go before "work in the garage" doesn't involve multiple kerosene heaters.
Is a house with an extra bedroom out of your price range?
Well I dont know what my price range is now. I am intend on saving at least $1,000/month for at least 2 years (~$24,000). Depending on how much I can put down and what my salary is when I get there (currently $41,000). Plus intend on having some friends as roommates (bad idea huh :p) and charge them rent. I would like at least 3 bedrooms. Master is mine, then two roommates at least. I wouldnt want to waste a bedroom on my office when I could just convert the garage.Quote:
Originally Posted by homer13j
Plus I'm buying in Orange County where the housing market is expensive. I have considered buying a house in the Inland Empire, but I dont care much to live next to a meth house... But the house would be dirt cheap :D
Hey now! I object that general characterization of the IE... Parts of it, sure... but there are some parts that aren't bad at all. If I had my pick of the area, I'd probably go or Rancho, maybe Corona, not sure what it's like in Chino. But I'd stay away from Ontario, Fontana and San Berdoo.
-tg
Food for thought... Keep in mind resale value. While more and more people are working from home - not everyone wants a home office.
There are tons of articles on the net about "the best buck for value." Spending 50grand on landscaping on a house that is only worth 100grand is the same as burning money..... Unless you're really into landscaping and live there for ever.
Sticking a desk in a bedroom in one thing - ripping out the walk in closet and adding a huge bookcase that takes up a whole wall are considered bad ideas. This is especially true in a family neighborhood where the more bedrooms the better.
If you get a house with a double car garage - consider leaving the door(s) as is... And keep in mind about the next buyer being able to rip out the office for little cost.
Lucky for me I like to do things around the house. I was actually watching King of the Hill last night and though... maybe my lawn will be the best lawn in the neighborhood. So I went out and bought a ride on mower for my future lawn.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve R Jones
Im talking future tense for all of this. I want to say I will live in the house for years and years. But I am still young, it is the first house I will be buying and I know I will move. But having a decent office for me to work out of is something that I really want. If I go to sell the house and they tell me that i would get more value for having no office, then I would spend a weekend taking the office out. If i get more value out of the house then it would be worth a weekend of work... or two weekends...
Ok it is true that there are nice parts. Corona is pretty nice. I know I will never be visiting Perris thats for sure. The real reason I wouldn't move to IE is simply because I would be stuck in the 91fwy traffic. No thanks. Coming in and out of OC during peak hours is a nightmare and I don't care to pay $10 for the fast lanes every day.Quote:
Originally Posted by techgnome
Oh, yeah... the 91 is horrendous.... th 10 isn't much better... and I left before the 210 was completed (it was still a strip of land at the time... and now that it is done, I'm... shocked... neighborhoods where I used to deliver papers, are now under the #4 lane...) but the few times when I have used it, it's worked well. It depends on where in the IE you're trying to get to./from... but isn't that true of just about anywhere in SoCal?
When I used to commute between IE and OC (I lived in Ranch, worked at DLand) I actually found the best route was surface streets through Diamond Bar, then down through Fullterton to Anaheim... skip the freeways all together.
-tg
I don't use the 10/210/60 much. I don't usually travel past Brea too often. 55/91/57/405/5/22 are the main ones I use. Freeways in LA are much worse than OC freeways. The quality of the freeway, and the signage sucks. I feel like they dont tell you about freeway interchanges until you are already changing to a freeway you don't want.Quote:
Originally Posted by techgnome
This reminds me... my disneyland pass will be expiring soon... And You probably used to work Small World huh...Quote:
Originally Posted by techgnome
My current commute isn't bad. I drive from Orange to Fullerton. However It can be a 10 minute drive, or an hour drive if I hit traffic at a certain point. Right now they are doing construction on the 55/91 interchange that I take to work, its now a nightmare all day long. If i take surface streets, major streets to get into Fullerton from my house are Kraemer (closed for construction), Tustin (closing for construction soon). They are making it impossible for me to get to work. I work graveyard, so getting to work isnt so bad, but getting off at 6am when everyone is going to work sucks...
I did Tomorrowland and ToonTown... I was a Restaurant Busser... which was cool. I was also tagged a lot to help with special event clean up - particularly Fantasmic!
What are they doing with the 55/91 now? Seems like that stretch has always been under some kind of construction for the last 30 years... bleh. That's one aspect of SoCal I don't miss.
-tg
I always forget about ToonTown... Never go that way. They changed the way that Innoventions boards... I liked when we got to hop aboard the moving building and watch Tom-Orrow animatronic. I Digress..Quote:
Originally Posted by techgnome
55/91 they took the Interchange from NB55 to WB91 down to one lane. One mile prior to that interchange there is a lane merge as well. People are really bad at merging lanes... Once you get through the interchange you have to merge over two lanes to stay on the 91WB...
Those are teh 3 worst places in the IE, spot on!Quote:
Originally Posted by techgnome
Chino is ok but Chino Hills is baller lol
Rancho Cucamonga is nice and reasonable. Only trouble with the IE is everything is in LA so that means traffic trying to go anywhere you want to be.
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A 1 hour commute is average for SoCal. Consider yourself lucky.Quote:
Originally Posted by dclamp
Does converting your garage to do business production work count? :D
Throwing a bed with some spot lights in your garage is hardly a conversion
[too much?]
I considered adding a tiny green screen photo/video area in my garage as well. Every once in a while I will mess around with video production... it was one of my original majors in college.
Throwing a bed, some spot lights, AND a green screen in your garage will certainly make a statement....of a sort.
Don't worry about traffic. Once you run out of water, it will get better.