Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: How Should I Furnish (And Secure) My Work-From-Home Office?
"If someone gave you a big chunk of change to build a small one- or two-room office, what would you do?" asks long-time Slashdot reader darkpixel2k, as he plans to build a small office out in his backyard.
My plan is to trench CAT6 from our ISP fiber DMARC over to the ~12x20 building, wire the structure up for network and power, and furnish it with a small rack, UPS, switch, router, a desk, whiteboard walls, a wireless access point, and an air conditioner for the summer heat... While I have the "big picture" idea in my head, I don't really have a grasp of the fine details that would make it a comfortable work environment... Should I put down carpet and one of those plastic mats for chairs? A friend suggested I wire up speakers so I don't have to listen to my terrible laptop speakers, and a large flat-screen TV so I can display dashboards and statistics.
Lastly, physical security is somewhat of an issue. While everything is insured, downtime of a few days or weeks due to meth heads would be a huge impact to the company and also on my paycheck. I was talking with the local company that builds small office-like structures, sheds, and barns, and they said they can "double up" the 2x4s to strengthen the walls and make a stronger door, but I need to supply my own lock. Should I use some off-the-shelf lock from a big-box hardware store? Should I install a digital lock?
There's more details in the original submission -- but it's also a lot of fun to speculate about what you'd do with a big chunk of change to build your own work-from-home office. So leave your best answers for darkpixel2k in the comments. How should he furnish (and secure) his work-from-home office?
Lastly, physical security is somewhat of an issue. While everything is insured, downtime of a few days or weeks due to meth heads would be a huge impact to the company and also on my paycheck. I was talking with the local company that builds small office-like structures, sheds, and barns, and they said they can "double up" the 2x4s to strengthen the walls and make a stronger door, but I need to supply my own lock. Should I use some off-the-shelf lock from a big-box hardware store? Should I install a digital lock?
There's more details in the original submission -- but it's also a lot of fun to speculate about what you'd do with a big chunk of change to build your own work-from-home office. So leave your best answers for darkpixel2k in the comments. How should he furnish (and secure) his work-from-home office?
For the door, make sure you are not using a hollow core door, and that you reinforce the frame, while also using an aftermarket strike/kickplate that has been developed for security, as that will make it much more difficult to just kick the door in. I would also looking at getting a core from a good company, not just some off the shelf part, because the better locks can be hard to find. Also, something that is more than just your normal pin and tumbler lock, like a dimple lock, can help. ABUS makes really good locks, and I would recommend looking at them. There's a few others too. You might want to look outside the residential core offerings they have into the commercial grade ones. (make sure to look for something as close to bump-proof and rake-proof as possible. Again, things like dimple locks will help here.) Same goes for the protection plates on the doors, so someone can't just card your door open or anything. No solution is going to stop a determined attacker forever, but doing these things will make it significantly harder to breach the door, and makes it more likely that someone maybe tries to kick it in once or twice and then leaves.
That's ok Snowflake...it'll all be ok.
It's kind of more complicated than that, isn't it?
A bare steel container is like an oven in the summer and freezing in the winter. And dark without windows.
You would need to frame it inside, insulate it, come up with some kind of HVAC solution, maybe cut some kind of windows into it for natural lighting, not to mention safely wiring it and grounding it properly, both for conventional power and against lightning (and maybe even for general safety if its near overhead power lines) and making sure the roof didn't leak.
And pretty much anywhere, but especially in a cold climate, you want it on some kind of footings to get it above ground level. Maybe in Arizona you could get away with it on raised slab only, but I'd want it some level above the ground to keep out water at a minimum and in a cold climate to not leach away my heat into the ground. Plus footings would get the whole thing level which would be helpful.
Containers are kind of an interesting building unit, but they still require much of the same interior construction as stick built. I'd bet stick building a single room outside building would be less hassle than converting a shipping container, unless your idea of a shipping container is the same as a third world refugee.
Shipping containers really get interesting if you want to do unusual multi-level buildings where their structural attributes outweigh their complications. I keep waiting for a post-apocalyptic movie to feature a shipping container fortress or walled city.
Or dropbox?
Something that always sticks in my mind was a break in at a working men's club in the UK late on Christmas Eve many years ago. They got a lot of cash as being Christmas Eve they had not had time to bank it yet.
Nice solidly built brick building so they took a sledgehammer and went *THROUGH* the wall. Probably no harder than a chainsaw in the wall, though I could put a bunch of screws and nails in that would make using a chainsaw painful.
Anyway the take away lesson being, if they *WANT* to get in they *WILL* get in. The trick is to make your place less attractive to break in than somewhere else by making it more hassle.