Trying to mount my monitor on a bamboo wall gave me a seasick workweek

I was staying in a bamboo hut in Bali, trying to set up my remote office because the desk was too low for my monitor. I thought mounting it on the wall would be easy, but the bamboo was so flexible that nails just bent it. I rigged it with climbing rope and duct tape into a swing. For a week, my screen swayed with every keystroke, making me seasick. What's the weirdest thing you've used to set up your workspace?

3 comments

3 Comments

miller.henry11d ago

That bamboo flexibility is no joke. I had a similar problem and ended up screwing a big piece of plywood to the wall first, right into the studs behind the bamboo. Then I mounted the monitor arm to the plywood. It doesn't move at all now, the wood spreads out the weight.

kai_white11d ago

How thick was that plywood you used? Bamboo really is such a tricky material to mount anything heavy onto, it looks so solid but bends so easily. I fought with a wobbly shelf on a bamboo panel for way too long before giving up. Your plywood idea is smart, it sounds like it fixes the whole annoying flex problem for good.

the_terry10d ago

Man, bamboo is the worst for this stuff. I tried to hang a cabinet on a bamboo wall and it sagged like a hammock after a week. After reading @miller.henry's fix, I did the same thing with half-inch plywood. Drilled it right into the studs and now my stuff doesn't budge. That flex problem is gone for good, just like he said. Solid advice from him, saved me from throwing the whole project out the window.