The challenge
Having recorded our bedroom, we felt it was time to upgrade our wardrobes. We both very much liked the idea of contemporary fitted wardrobes similar to the design Sharpe’s provide. However the price more than we wanted to spend so with by creative DIY hat on to see if I could achieve the same effect without spending that amount of money!
The plan
So we’ve always been impressed with the design of the IKEA Pax wardrobe range and had already thought they were a contender to replace our old wardrobes. However Mrs B, really liked the idea of fitted units, partly because they looked neater but also because there were no unit tops to dust and also because we were then maximising the storage without anything being on display.
The PAX Planner Tool
So Ikea have a really useful online planning tool which help us really work out what we needed and also what was possible. It turns out Ikea do a door height which was perfect as it was almost as high as our room. Because we knew there would be some adjustment, we could set the room size within the tool and then let the end units spill out of the room. This gave us a really good idea of what it would look like. It also meant we could plan what owe wanted inside the units.
The Plan
The wall we want to fit the wardrobes to is approximately 330cm wide. So we used two 75cm carcasses in the middle of the wall and then flanked them with 100cm carcasses. There is actually about 90cm of room on either side so the plan is to cut off approximately 10 cm either side.
The carcasses and doors come in two heights 201cm and 236cm. We decided to order the carcasses at 201cm and then use doors that were 236cm so we can use the top of the carcass as a shelf.
Starting to construct
So it was a bit of a punt as I didn’t know for sure it would work but I went ahead and ordered the units and fittings. I liked the idea of not having any backing to the carcasses so you could see the wall through them. What I hadn’t appreciated until I build our first 75cm cabinet was that the back panel is actually integral to the strength of the unit it’s self. Initially I built the unit with the back and actually damaged some of the fixings when trying to rotate it from it’s side to upright. I decided to fit the back after all and reinforced the damaged fixings with some extra screws. Fortunately this repair was not visible.
Fixing to the wall
So once the unit with upright, I decided to attached it to the wall with a view to then removing the backing panel as the wall would then take over the structural rigidity the backing panel had given. To get the unit as close to the wall as possible, I cut out a notch from the bottom of the unit. Others have suggested removing the skirting board on that wall would have been a better option. As I had recently decorated, I felt this was a better option.
I then fitted modesty blocks to the inside of the wardrobe and drilled through them into the wall. I knew the unit was square because of the back panel so knew the holes would be in the right place to support it when I removed the back panel. Once all the holes were drilled, I removed the backing panel and put plaster fixings into the wall.I then screwed it to the wall.
Learnings
With one unit built I went ahead and fitted some soft close drawers and a trouser track. I was possibly getting ahead of myself but it was nice to see something coming together. I realised my wall isn’t completely flat and so there is always going to be a small gap between the unit and the wall in some places. For this reason I think the modesty blocks probably weren’t the right thing to use. I feel some metal are probably a better bet as they have the ability adjust them.
Next Chapter
It was great to see something coming together but there was still lots to do including fitting the other units, cutting them down, fitting the doors and the remaining shelves and fittings.
Links
Here’s the link to Ikea’s PAX planner: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/customer-s…
Shelf hole covers: https://amzn.to/3Dxchmm
Modesty Blocks: https://amzn.to/3owtd8l
The angled brackets: https://amzn.to/3Et8YxP
PAX 75 Clothes Rail: https://amzn.to/3pDoAbK