2" thick chair mat solution needed

[benos]

I'm thinking of buying a new desk. My body size, max chair height, and keyboard/height, dictate a max desk top height of 28". The new desk I want is 30" tall (and it can't be lowered).

No chair mat I've seen or found googling are anywhere near 2" thick. But I've seen talk in the reloading forums about these pads that you stand on that reduce fatigue - but I've never actually seen one. Could you roll a chair around on one? If so, how thick are they.

Whatever I would use has to be somewhat flexible. (Couldn't use a piece of wood.) Because no place in my house is the floor level or flat for any actual distance. (It's an old house and I stripped all the carpet tile and ground down/stained the concrete. It looks cool, hides dirt, and is easy clean, but it's not flat.)

Any ideas would be appreciated.

be

(Not really sure of the best place to put this... Maybe I'll link it in the "Don't Fit" forum too.)

[SLM]

I've never seen a two inch thick version but we have really soft foam floor mats at work and I have a chunk in front of my bench. Nice stuff but chairs don't roll real well on it. Maybe contact somebody like THIS and see if they can help you out?

[JThompson]

Ever think about conveyor belt?

http://www.rubbercal.com/Sheet_rubber.html

Edited March 18, 2009 by JThompson

[Nik Habicht]

Brian,

would a underdesk keyboard tray work?

In the alternative --- Sawzall?

Afterthought: You're sure you're in the right chair? That it's ergonomically correct?

[get2now]

How about something like this? http://www.rubbercal.com/Eco_Play.html

Might be too soft though.

Gary

[islandtime]

+1 on the underdesk keyboard tray, just make sure that it's wide enough for the mouse and keyboard. I've got a pet peeve about having the keyboard under the desk and the mouse on the desktop.

[AikiDale]

http://swainmats.com/page.asp?page=62

[benos]

Brian,

would a underdesk keyboard tray work?

In the alternative --- Sawzall?

Afterthought: You're sure you're in the right chair? That it's ergonomically correct?

No go on the underdesk keyboard for this desk. And the way the base is, no go for the Sawzall either. And yes, I spent a lot of money on a real good chair. There's even a thread somewhere in this mass of forums on it.

How about something like this? http://www.rubbercal.com/Eco_Play.html

Might be too soft though.

Gary

That's the only promising thing I've seen so far. If its not too soft it might be perfect.

http://swainmats.com/page.asp?page=62

I found some cool mats there, but the minimum purchase is 15 mats!

Thanks for all the great ideas!

Current workstation:

[Toolguy]

All the mats are too soft for chair wheels. You could make a very inexpensive solution with some 1/2 inch plywood and 2x4

blocks. If you cut the plywood to the size you need and put a 2x4 block about every square foot, the platform will bend enough to

conform to the floor. You could paint or stain it to make it look better. A 2x4 is actually 1-1/2 x 3-1/2, so with the plywood

it would be 2" thick. I would put some molding around the edges because if the chair goes off the back you could

hit your head on the floor really hard.

[Yardbird]

This is just under an inch and a half. But might give you more ideas.

http://www.delaval-us.com/Products/CowComf...35R/default.htm

[AlamoShooter]

I do some work in office building improving work stations. I normally make a mouse leg on the bottom of a key board rack. The good ones would have to be screwed to the desk

Double sided tape could be used to attach a key board drawer. = the good stuff that Hobby shops sell for attaching radio control units in model planes. I used that same tape to hold a set of 16 oz barrel weights to my S&W md 41 barrel = lasted two nationals.

If you got one of the generic Office max key board draw you could tape it to the glass. the simpler thing is to use silicon glue = I would just use regular tape to hold it in place with silicon as glue. The big advantage is the desk top stays clean.

If you don't like it a razor knife will take it off no harm to the glass

1/2" mats are available in bright colors at home depot for play room floors = a chair will not roll on it though

[Nik Habicht]

1/2" mats are available in bright colors at home depot for play room floors = a chair will not roll on it though

Just musing out loud --- what about mats covered by a piece of furniture grade plywood, with molding around the edges? Cushy, no wobble, and potentially rollable....

I had the opposite problem and put my desk up on hunks of 2x4....

[benos]

Thanks for the additional suggestions. And note that the desk in the pic is my current desk, the replacement desk is made out of wood.

be

[North]

Seems like a sub-floor is the answer. Simply build up an area around/in front of the desk for the chair and a few feet in the direction you would access it from. You could make it look nice or cheap.

[Flexmoney]

1/2" mats are available in bright colors at home depot for play room floors = a chair will not roll on it though

Just musing out loud --- what about mats covered by a piece of furniture grade plywood, with molding around the edges? Cushy, no wobble, and potentially rollable....

+1

[kimel]

They make keyboard trays that attached to the chair and swing out of the way to allow entry and egress. Get wireless keyboard and mouse and you are styling.

[Flexmoney]

Cool. Sounds like Star Trek goodness. Next thing will be to hang the monitor from the ceiling, and there won't be any need for stuff on the desk at all.

[NoSteel]

Getting up 2" is quite a bit doing it at the floor level. If it's not going to end up being a tripping hazard I would go with a standard cushioned mat sanwiched between 2 pieces of plywood. The bottom could be of construction grade with the top being of a denser higher quality grade. This would give you up to A 4'X8' space to work with. If you want it to look great you could use wood laminate (glued ) for the top layer and add trim around the edges.

[Storm52]

Go to a good office furniture supply store. I had a chair mat that was actually 1 1/2" thick by 4' wide and 4' deep (not including tongue that positioned underneath desktop) It was made of wood, stained and sealed (like oak flooring) and tapered on 3 edges down to carpeting/floor. It was a designed to keep the heavy executive chairs rolling and not tear up carpeting below. I haven't googled it, but I have to imagine they are still available.

Steve

[danny]

Put a nice stiff chair mat atop the floor mat you find.

[raz-0]

Since it appears nobody mentioned it. If your chair is made by other than "anonymous chinese store brand", call the manufacturer and ask if they make a pneumatic column for tall people.

They usually have 1.5-2.5" more extension.

Given the state of the economy, if you lack a name brand chair with options, I'm sure their are auctions around to score one relatively cheap.

[Dale Rader]

Go to a farm supply store and look at the mats they make for the inside of stock (horse) trailers. It is a very dense foam and sounds like it would work well on your uneven floor.

Dale