Height-adjustable desks have moved from perk to standard in most new office fit-outs. That shift has also flooded the market with desks that meet the headline specification and fail on the details. Here is what to look at when the quotation arrives.

One motor or two?

Single-motor desks drive both legs through a shaft. They are cheaper and slower, and the synchronisation relies on a mechanical linkage that develops play over time. Dual-motor desks drive each leg independently and synchronise electronically, which gives smoother travel and better load distribution. For anything wider than 1400 mm, or for daily use, dual motor is the safer choice.

Load rating and what it hides

Published ratings usually range from 70 kg to 120 kg. Read the number as a static load, then subtract monitors, arms, a PC tower and the constant downward pressure of someone leaning on the front edge. A 100 kg desk supporting 40 kg of equipment is a comfortable margin; a 70 kg desk with the same load is not. Also check whether the rating applies across the full height range — some frames lose capacity at maximum extension.

Travel speed and noise

25–38 mm/s covers most of the market. Slower desks feel deliberate; faster ones feel responsive but draw more current. Noise matters more than speed in open offices: below 50 dB is quiet enough that a neighbour does not look up. Ask for a measured figure, not an adjective.

Stability at standing height

This is where cheap frames separate from good ones. At 1200 mm of height, a desk with a narrow foot and thin columns will sway visibly when someone types. Two things predict it: the footprint depth (a 700 mm foot is noticeably steadier than a 600 mm one) and the column overlap — three-stage columns are stiffer at full extension than two-stage. If the desk will be used standing for long stretches, test it at maximum height with a monitor on it, not empty.

Memory presets and anti-collision

Four presets are the practical minimum; two forces users to re-adjust every time. Anti-collision detection stops travel when the desk meets an obstacle — necessary in rooms with filing cabinets, window ledges or chair arms underneath. Check whether the control panel locks, which matters in shared and education settings.

Top size against frame size

A frame rated for 1600 mm tops will not stabilise a 1800 mm top. Match the top to the frame's stated width range, and keep overhang symmetric — an off-centre top on a lift frame produces a permanent lean. For tops over 1800 mm, consider a third leg or a reinforced beam.

Cable management is part of the specification

A desk that rises to 1200 mm needs cable slack for that travel. Specify a cable tray or spine that moves with the frame, and check the rating of any under-desk power module for continuous flex. Cables that were fine on a fixed desk fail on a moving one, usually within the first year.

Warranty and spare parts

Look for a frame warranty of at least five years and confirm that control boxes, handsets and motors are available as spare parts. A desk with a ten-year structural warranty but no control box availability in year three is a disposal problem, not an asset.

None of these checks require a laboratory. Ask for the load test report, put a monitor on a sample at full height, and run it up and down twenty times in a quiet room. Most of the difference shows up in that five minutes.