How to join two timber tops for floating desk?

eluguru

Hello workshop!

Looking at creating a "Floating desk" by possibly joining two timber tops together top achieve 2720mm length to fit perfectly under my window.

My question, would joining two panels be structurally okay or should i look elsewhere to achieve the desired length. I also thought about kaboodle and ordering custom "Kitchen Benchtops" in laminate wrap. 

What L Brackets would be best for weight and can they be fastened over plaster into studs or wall needs to be removed, not too fussed about them being concealed.

https://www.bunnings.com.au/specrite-1800-x-600-x-18mm-golden-teak-acacia-multi-use-panel_p0456515

Looking for some feedback and ideas if anyone could help would be greatly appreciated! 

JacobZ

Hi @eluguru,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question about joining two timber tops together to create a floating desk.

You can certainly join two timber tops together or you can custom order something to length. Either option will work but we will need to support them well to get the floating look while maintaining strength.

If you'd like to join two timber tops together, there are a few ways to do it with a combination of them being the best for strength.

There are biscuit joiners which are often used to align and glue timber together like you are looking to do. Dowels also operate in much the same way as biscuit joiners do and can be used without specialised tools, only requiring a drill and a suitably sized drill bit to install them. With the thickness of your materials, either of these would be a good option.

Alongside these joiners, you can use bracket plates with suitable screws to bridge the join and connect the two timber tops. This will add strength and support to the join and is worth using in combination with dowels or biscuit joiners.

For your brackets, you'll want to use stayed brackets that extend out a good distance from the wall. These Carinya 500 x 400 x 30 x 4.5mm Black Heavy Duty Stayed Twisted Bracket or these Carinya 400 x 350 x 25 x 3.5mm Stayed Straight Bracket are good options.

Use a bracket on all available studs to ensure it is well supported in all areas, particularly the join. A stud finder will make it easy to locate all your available studs. Check out How to use a stud finder for some guidance on how they are used.

There's no need to remove the plaster to screw the brackets into the stud. You can use Zenith 10 - 8 x 75mm Galvanised Countersunk Rib Head Timber Screws through the plaster into the stud to get a nice solid connection and Zenith 8G x 16mm Zinc Plated Hinge-Long Thread Countersunk Head Timber Screws through the bracket into the underside of your timber top.

Let me know what you think and if you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob