How To Build A Simple Desk/Table Partition Using Cardboard

This blog post is about how to build a simple desk/table partition using cardboard.

Last year I had a momentarily need for a temporary partition. The result didn’t need to look good, just functional and would be placed when a table wasn’t in use. I also needed to build something quickly. The end result is what you see in the photo above.

This isn’t one of my good how to guides, but the solution that I needed, worked well and I wanted to share the guide and details of my experience with others. It’s likely you might require a different partition design, but I hope you can find some inspiration from what I required.

I built two of these partitions, which I places next together. Personally, I found it easier to store two, rather than if I had tried to store one larger partition. If I needed something more permanent, I would have spent more time on it. It was my first attempt, worked, met my needs and so I moved on to other tasks. After I used them for a short while, I took the partitions apart and recycled the cardboard.

I’ve decided to write about the experience and whilst it’s reasonable fresh in my mind, provide some thoughts for future improvements, should myself or others wish to build one.

Warning: This how to guide isn’t for children. I recommend that only an adult attempts to build the partition.

2nd Warning: You build and place a partition at your own risk! I wasn’t placing mine near electrical equipment, heating or other areas that could cause problems if a partition fell over. You use a partition at your own risk! Don’t blame me for any problems.

What you need

• Large cardboard box (I used a rectangle shaped box)
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

How to build the build the cardboard partition

1. Cut four flaps from the box.
2. From a larger section of the box, cut a large rectangle, but try to stick to a height, roughly no more than double the length of one of the flaps.
3. As seen in the photo, hot glue two of the flaps to the intended inside top area. *
4. Then hot glue two flaps to the lower inside area, to create a triangle shape. **

* As you can see in the photo, one of the flaps had a lot of hot glue removed. That is because I placed too much hot glue, which cooled too much before I attached it. Instead on the non-triangle flaps, I added four dollops of hot glue and then quickly attached, pressing down whilst cooling.

** I personally found that creating a slightly narrow, but longer triangle was more stable.

Thoughts for improvements
Firstly if I cared about appearance, I would have painted the cardboard. Secondly for the triangle area, I might be tempted to use gaffer tape instead of glue. Another idea is to cut slots, so that the triangle area is completely removable, without the need for glue.

Conclusion
This was a quick solution for a temporary use that worked well. It might not be what you need, but perhaps gives you an idea on how to meet your own requirements. I might revisit this topic again in the future for fun, but for now I hope you found this blog post helpful.