It is tempting to take your home office setup to the next level. Monitor arms, whilst not typically thought of as the attractive must-have tool, may be the next thing you need for your standing desk setup. Perhaps, you realize that the position of your monitors causes you to bend your neck or look downwards awkwardly at your screens. This can be frustrating. Perhaps, you like to free up more desk space and a monitor arm can do the trick.
But before jumping ahead, you should ensure that your standing desk – whether a full sit-stand desk or a makeshift one – is suitable for mounting heavy equipment like monitors.
Using a monitor mount on a standing desk enables you to adjust your monitors’ height, tilt, rotation, and distance for good ergonomics. For monitor mounting, the desktop of your standing desk should be made of durable material and thickness.
Generally, standing desks made of MDF or solid wood desktops that are at least an inch thick would be a safe bet.
But what if your standing desk is not made of tough material? What other precautions should you take to avoid creating an unstable setup, shortening your desk’s lifespan, or even the worst case scenario… crashing your desk and monitors?
This article provides a guide on what to look out for.
Is your standing desk suitable for monitor mounting?
Generally, standing desks can withstand the pressure exerted by monitor arms without sustaining damage. Standing desks commonly use medium-density fiberboard (MDF) desktops which are durable and harder to crack, bend or get damaged compared to other forms of engineered wood.
I won’t get too much into the technical details of desktops and how monitor mounts work, but just to elaborate on the two types of mounting systems:
- Grommet mount: A monitor arm that is grommet mounted passes through a hole in your desk’s surface and is screwed underneath. If your desk does not come with such holes, you will need to drill the hole yourself.
- Clamp mount: A clamp mount is a C clamp that is attached and fastened to the edge of your desk’s surface.
Your monitor can be mounted at the back of your standing desk, by either a C clamp, or grommet system that comes with monitor arms. After which, adjust your monitor arm’s height, until the top of your monitor is aligned at eye level while you are standing.
What if your desk is made of weaker, less durable material like particle board (or other engineered types of wood)? What if you are simply using a makeshift desk as a standing desk?
If you are unsure if your desktop is durable enough to support a monitor mount:
- Go with clamp mounting instead of grommet mounting. Avoid doing anything that could risk destabilizing your desk.
- Reinforce your desktop. Increase the thickness of the desktop where you intend to place the monitor mount. This could mean placing a block of wood under your desktop, so that the weight of the mount is distributed over a larger area.
- Stick with using single monitor arms. Even if you intend to mount multiple monitors, you want to avoid putting too much pressure on any given point of your desk. Thus, you can mount your monitors individually using single arms.
Thickness of desktop
This may be blatantly obvious but always remember to check the specifications before investing in any monitor arm. To ensure that a monitor arm can be attached to your desk, check the min. and max. desktop thickness specified by the monitor arm manufacturer. Check that your desk is not too thin or thick for the mount.
The suitable thickness of a desktop is typically less than 3 inches for clamp or grommet mounting.
But what if you have a rather thin desktop?
This is tricky because even if your monitors can be mounted, you would want to ensure that the weight does not cause damage to your thin desktop.
Generally, the wider the desk, the thicker the better for the desktop.
For example, if your desk is at least 60 inches wide, you would want your desktop to be at least an inch thick.
Tip: If your desktop is not made of MDF or solid wood and is less than 1” thick, consider adding a piece of wood to reinforce your desk underneath your monitor mount. This would distribute the weight of the mount over a larger area and place less pressure on your desktop.
Of course, check that there are no obstructive components under your desktop. These are crossbars and any other frame elements that might potentially obstruct your monitor mount.
Depth of your desk
The depth of your desk will influence how far back your monitor can sit.
If your desk has a shallow depth, you might not like how close your monitor is to you when it is elevated on an arm. This is because given the design of monitor arms, they will take up a few inches of space at the back of your desk, such that your monitors will sit a few inches forward even when pushed all the way back.
Thus if your desk is less than 30 inches deep, you might run into some functionality issues with your arm and monitor’s position.
Tip: Certainly, if your desk is less than 24 inches deep, you might want to get a keyboard tray that lets you stand further away from your screens. Alternatively, use smaller displays that do not strain your eyes.
This article was originally published on unboundist.com. If it is now published on any other site, it was done without permission from the copyright owner.
Stability of your desk
Another potential problem you might run into is the stability of your desk.
A combination of these factors impacts how stable your standing desk is for monitor mounting: Your desk’s tabletop material, tabletop weight, height adjustment range, and overall frame and structure
We already covered desktop material, so let’s look briefly at the other three factors that impact stability.
Desktop weight
Certain desktops that are extra thick could add a lot of mass to your standing desk. Bear in mind that MDF, the common material used for the desktops of standing desks, is heavy wood. Further, some desktops carry built-in drawers which add mass to the overall structure.
If you mount monitors on an already very heavy desktop, you could risk destabilizing your setup.
Most desktops used in standing desks are not more than 1.25 inches thick. So, if you are using a really thick desktop, make sure your standing desk has really good structure and feet underneath.
Height adjustment range
At the maximum height, some standing desks can become shaky. If you add multiple monitors on a mount to such a desk, the instability can be worsened.
If you are a taller user, using a standing desk with a larger height adjustment range can help. Why? Because you do not need to raise your desk to full extension.
- For example, you can opt for a standing desk with a 25-50 inch height adjustment range rather than a 22-47 inch height adjustment range.
If you must raise your desk to full extension, check if it shows any hint of shakiness. Do some research on your part. If it does, adding a monitor arm may not be the wisest idea.
Overall frame and structure
In addition, if your standing desk has heavier and longer feet, it would improve your desk’s longitudinal stability. These frames in the legs contain more steel, giving your standing desk a stronger structure.
Tip: If you suspect you might encounter this issue of instability, make sure to buy the right monitor arm that would not cause bounce and shake to your monitors. Avoid the lower-tier arms made of flimsy material. You do not want to introduce a second source of instability.
Can you mount multiple monitors on a standing desk?
So, mounting a monitor on a standing desk is good with the right desktop, feet, and monitor arm. But what about mounting multiple monitors? Are there extra precautions you must take?
You can mount multiple monitors on a standing desk as long as you stick to single or dual monitor arms. Ensure that your monitors’ weight is within the specified weight capacity of the arm. Mounting three monitors on an arm is tricky, unless you are going with a high-end or electric arm.
Before mounting multiple monitors on a monitor arm, you must take care of two things: 1) not exceeding the weight capacity of the monitor arm, and 2) how exactly you want to position your monitors on a desk.
- Whether you are using single or dual monitor arms, it is good practice to never exceed the weight limit of the arm. Otherwise, you risk your monitors gradually/suddenly dropping.
- Typically, mounting 22-24 inch monitors will be fine, but beyond that, you want to be more careful. Some monitor arms may not function properly with larger monitors.
Mounting three monitors
If you are intending to mount three monitors (or more), I recommend that you use a combination of single and dual monitor arms. For example, use a single monitor arm and a dual monitor arm to mount three displays.
Mounting three monitors on an arm is problematic for several reasons:
- A triple-monitor arm might struggle to support multiple monitors.
Many triple-monitor arms in the market have functional issues with regard to supporting multiple monitors. These arms might not hold the weight of your monitors well – hence many companies recommend a high-end arm or an electric arm that can handle as many as 3-6 displays at once.
Moreover, triple-monitor arms tend to give you less ease in maneuvering your screens. Users get frustrated when there is less room to shift their displays around for optimal placement.
However, I found this triple-monitor arm which seems to evade the common issues reported by users. Apparently, the arm accommodates up to 27-inch screens while affording a wide range of motion and flexible adjustment. So, there might be a few gems out there sold at a lower price, but I’ll caution that they are few and far between.
- A triple-monitor arm makes height adjustment troublesome.
Yes, you will most likely be adjusting the height of your monitors if you are using THREE of them, every time you raise or lower your desk. Ensuring that all three of your monitors are back to horizontal alignment can be a pain. The neater you are, the more you will get annoyed.
So you will either put up with any imperfect alignment you might experience, or tolerate the inconvenience of adjusting your monitors.
- A triple-monitor arm places a lot of pressure on your desk.
Needless to say, you do not want to shorten the lifespan of your desk. Unless you are using a sufficiently thick desktop (1” or more) made of durable material such as MDF or solid wood, using a triple-monitor mount is likely a bad idea.
Conclusion
For many, using a monitor arm on a standing desk makes their desk more ergonomic and complete.
Mounting monitors on a standing desk is generally OK with the right monitor arm, desktop, and a quality standing desk with a robust structure. But it is not a green light for all cases. If you are mounting multiple monitors, or if you are not sure about your desktop and desk structure, then you want to err on the side of caution. Consider the safe tips outlined in this article before jumping ahead!
In another article I discuss the numerous factors worth considering in selecting the right monitor arm for your standing desk – it is worth putting proper thought into such a one-off yet long-term investment, which can significantly improve your desk environment for utmost comfort and productivity.