It’s not all kittens and rainbows when signing up to be a standing desk enthusiast, as Mr. Kravets from ArsTechnica writes in his latest post “Welcome to my Sit-Stand Desk Nightmare“.
The post details the trials and travails of a man who bought a relatively inexpensive standing desk ($599), and proceeded to have issue with the motors that drove the desk lifting mechanism.
All of sudden, as the desk was rising, I heard a cracking sound and realized my computer monitor was about to fall onto the floor. Only the left side was rising. I didn’t immediately notice it. (…) My pimp ride had turned into a nightmare. The left side had risen about five inches higher than the right side.
Most sit-stand solutions have an electric motor that raises and lowers the desk surface. As is the case with all electrical/mechanical devices, sometimes they malfunction or break.
Use this as a cautionary tale–the cheaper you go, the better chance that you’ll have issues later down the road. Also, be very careful when it comes to assembly–if either side is unbalanced it can lead to an uneven work space or degradation of the motors.