The manufacturer makes changes to the technical characteristics of its product over time to improve the quality of the parts.
For example, seemingly insignificant changes affected the design of the Pax wardrobe doors: the thickness of the vertical frames in the doors was changed, the side plug is now installed on the door, previously it was attached to the cabinet frame, the door assembly process has been improved - rubber bands no longer need to be inserted - they are glued in advance in frames.
Additional options include door closers and interior lighting using photo elements. Attention was also paid to filling the cabinet, including auxiliary elements. In our opinion, the instructions for assembling the Pax wardrobe, developed by Ikea, best show the step-by-step sequence of connecting parts and all the nuances of assembly; only the inattentiveness of the assembler and external factors can lead to errors.
When installing a wardrobe on their own, the buyer sometimes encounters certain problems.
The Pax wardrobe doors touch each other and do not move well along the guide.
1. The doors are mixed up. On older cabinet models, the vertical frames of the front door are wider than on the inside. The frames of the door closest to the cabinet frame are marked “A” . It is necessary to rearrange the roller system on the doors.
2. Do not tighten the screws when tightening frames or installing rollers. If the screw cannot be fixed - it is torn off or does not “go” along the thread - it is unscrewed using pliers, we “drive” the thread with a tap, and tighten the screw.
3. The roller has come off the guide, the door stop is not closed. We install the roller and bottom bracket into the guide and fix the limiter.
4. A foreign object has fallen between the doors.
5. Changes in cabinet geometry: uneven floors, uneven screeding of cabinet frame sections, fastening to the wall, which caused the cabinet to bend. Level the structure and eliminate all unevenness in the cabinet frame.
The closet door knocks when opening.
1. The wheel in the roller system is deformed. If the wheel is chipped, replace the roller bracket.
Which is better: heated floors or radiators?
Warm floorBatteries
2. Visually inspect the roller wheel and remove any adhering particles of debris.
3. Sand in the top guide. We remove dust and other objects from the guide groove.
4. The guides are not tightly connected to each other. We remove the gap.
It is impossible to hang an assembled door.
Move the limiter on the inner door to a horizontal position, then hang the door - then move it to a vertical position - the door is locked.
Updated interior door roller! To open the lock - press on the appendage and pull it down. Secure the pax wardrobe door - pull it up until it clicks.
On the outer door the limiter is towards you, after hanging it - away from you.
Updated roller for the outer door of the Pax wardrobe! To open the lock - lift the element and pull it towards you. Lock the lock away from you until it clicks.
The Pax closet door rattles.
1. The density of the internal elements of the door is lost. Older models were equipped with rubber bands and foam stickers; perhaps over time the rubber bands lost their rigidity or popped out. There are often cases when the client himself removes the seal from the door frame during assembly, citing the reason that it was difficult to insert, which is absolutely not necessary to do, since the door will subsequently rattle when opened. More details - how to remove the door from the Pax wardrobe.
2. The screws are not tightly secured when assembling the doors and installing the roller brackets.
Drawers hit the doors when rolling out
1. Adjust the doors.
2. Move the bumper on the upper guide to the desired position.
3. Install the cabinet frame level, aligning the doors.
The back wall is falling out.
According to the assembly diagram of Ikea furniture, the Pax cabinet is attached to the wall of the room - this is what the Ikea manufacturer provided. This is not only for safety reasons, but also for the smooth movement of doors and the tight fit of the back wall of the cabinet to the wall of the apartment. If for some reason you refuse to drill, replace the nails with self-tapping screws.
There are not enough screws to assemble the doors.
Read the instructions carefully; not all holes are screwed into all the holes when connecting door frames. After installing the device for smooth closing of doors, the screws in the roller mechanism fastening are replaced and three extra screws remain.
Gas mounting gun HILTI GX 120
Sano published an article in Tools and Equipment, March 11, 2012, article
But a tool is a tool, and knowledge of safety precautions and rules on how to work with it has never stopped anyone.
By the way, it would be useful to note that bringing a tool to the workplace like this, showing it in action, even in the hands of a representative, or even trying out the signature move of the Hilti company yourself, it’s very convenient to try everything yourself before purchasing and then decide whether the tool is suitable or what you need. something else.
Addition (drilling) of holes for corner cabinet
I did all the addition myself, fortunately I know how and there are good conductors. This is probably the last closet I’ll make in the apartment, there’s really not enough space.
Here are some of the tools and accessories used:
Clamps are our everything! I would especially recommend that anyone who makes furniture (chipboard or solid wood, it doesn’t matter) purchase KREG Face Clamps. They do not leave marks even on soft wood, let alone chipboard, but at the same time they have a very high degree of compression. The only things missing from the photo are jigs and screwdrivers. Yes, it's better to have two or more.
The green one is an old 12V hammer drill. Sometimes I use it to torment my neighbors when I’m too lazy to take out a suitcase with a network punch and don’t need to make a lot of holes. It has a 1/4'' hex chuck. In fact, it’s not a very convenient tool, but it was once given to me as a gift and I use it from time to time. I would like something more powerful - 18 volts
In almost all my posts with furniture, in the absence of a filler router, I use this jig for dowels. I ordered a 5mm insert in the center from a turner: on the second try it was the right size XD
For a novice furniture maker, this conductor is probably the best you can find.
Craig's tongs are, of course, gorgeous, but they are not always convenient to work with, and they are the only ones I have. But when drilling the face, it is better to clamp it on both sides so that the jig does not move during drilling.
For serial holes there is a special stopper with a pin that is inserted into a previously drilled hole. And so that the conductor does not move, I rest it against a shelf attached with clamps.
If you do everything carefully and don’t rush, the connections will turn out perfect.
I already said that standing assembly imposes some restrictions: I cannot fasten the bolts from below, and it is problematic from above. Therefore, where it is not possible to use tie screws, I use eccentrics.
If for screws, the need for dowels is a matter of debate: whether they are needed or not, then for eccentrics they are strictly necessary, because before tightening the parts must be centered!
And now about my first mistake in design. To save money, IKEA baskets on roller guides were chosen. They cost 700 rubles per set.
Ikea focuses its fittings on its own products: neither the website nor the fittings themselves indicate filler dimensions. But since we are making a corner cabinet with our own hands, then we will count everything ourselves!
There were overall dimensions on the website, where the width was indicated as 500mm. I was completely sure that this was the width inside the cabinet... But no! This is what cabinet width these baskets are suitable for, i.e. external dimensions! It’s also worth clarifying that the pax cabinet is made of 18mm chipboard, which I already googled after receiving the baskets (chipboards were already in production and it was too late to change the sizes). My niche was larger than it should be...
But, more is not less... Let's add panels. It was not possible for me to find 18mm laminated chipboard, but in chain stores and in markets they sell furniture panels: just 18mm.
Right in the store they cut the shield to size for me, which made my life easier.
After adding additives to the guides, the sheets were milled along the edges and painted white with interior enamel.
With the help of a jig for hinges/shelf supports, I made an additive for the guides. Holes in the jig with a pitch of 32 (it is with this pitch that the factory additive is now made on most of the fittings: from hinges to handles).
First steps. Slab countertops
Sano published a blog entry in Furniture made from slabs, solids, and various differences, October 7, 2022, blog entry
The first attempts to make something from the brought slabs. Although there may be some attempts, the material costs money and the right to make mistakes is as much as there is money in your pocket. Train at your own expense, as they say.
Therefore, each board is carefully inspected and tried on; the proverb about measure seven times is in action.
The work itself is not tricky, creative, there are several boards and they need to be selected so that they look beautiful and there is no overspending. All sizing and trimming is done with the minimum possible removal of material, simply sawed off a little here, cut a little there with a chisel.
“TUNING” IKEA CABINET
Following on from our housing issue, let me talk today about the final episode of the series “Bedroom renovation in 7 days. I’ve already told you everything and everything about how we did it, and even gave 5 cool tips for preparing for a DIY repair
.
Today I want to talk about my workplace and about a small but super-important remodel of the Ikea cabinet under the great name Pax, which stands in my workplace as the main repository for all work documents and other office delicacies.
Everyone knows that PAX from IKEA is famous all over the world. Making yourself a comfortable wardrobe from the Pax system is a very good option in modern realities. And taking into account the recent changes in the cost of IKEA, it has become not even very cheap. But this is if a famous closet goes for clothes in a dream home. What if we turn it into a bookcase? What to expect? This is what I want to tell you about - how I put the Pax in my office and what happened to it after five years of living with me.
Immediately after moving in 2008, my workplace looked like this:
workplace 2008
Everything was modest. An IKEA shelf, a Soviet chair and a table with a laptop. This did not last very long, since it was immediately clear that I would absolutely not have enough space for everything that needed to be kept “at hand” in the “office”. And on top of everything, the fact that the former loggia was very poorly insulated also became clear. Therefore, literally a year and a half later, in the fall of 2010, the former loggia, and now the “office”, underwent a complete remodel.
Instead of a metal shelf, we bought a large PAX 1000*350*2360, which became a bookcase for us, and instead of a built-in countertop, we bought a vintage Drexel Heritage table. Today such a table can be purchased from JR DECOR in Moscow (where I actually bought it then). Why PAX and not Billy, for example. because it was his size range that satisfied me. My 105 cm partition fits exactly a meter-long cabinet perfectly. And Billy is 80cm.
photo by Dina Alexandrova
The cabinet contained: all the books that should be at hand, all the educational materials, all the folders with documents, plus a printer, plus in the spring even seedlings were grown there, since the husband made a light on each shelf of this cabinet (everything is turned on with one key , which is located next to the closet on the wall - very convenient. Every useful little thing is stored in IKEA boxes, flowers are located at the very top.
On top of the closet itself I hung a huge MEMO board, which I made myself from a simple beautiful wooden frame and remnants from the customer’s cork floor - it’s also very convenient, and such a memo board, although in an already modified form, still lives in my work space.
But miracles do not happen... The number of books grew, as did the folders with albums, sketches, drawings and other things. Additional space is needed for paints, samples of materials, plus all photo accessories must be there. A second computer has appeared and the laptop should also move to the closet. My world has never stood still.
As it became clear after a couple of years, these shelves will not be able to live forever (like all IKEA shelves - they are NOT DESIGNED for such a number of books). Back in 2015, it became very noticeable that the shelves noticeably sagged under the weight of the volumes, and above, under the ceiling, the warehouse of my sketches turned into a terrible mess in which I could no longer find anything.
Pay attention when you plan to buy bookshelves in IKEA that they will not hold the complete works of F.M. Dostoevsky and the Great Soviet Encyclopedia... Therefore, if you look at my Billy bookshelves in the room, then everything there is now very sparse and mixed with decor , exactly because of this reason.
At first, I really wanted to order everything from a friend in a carpentry workshop, I even asked him to come and measure it and make everything convenient for me and, of course, beautiful. But my friend probably thought that he couldn’t afford to tinker with my shelves and he wouldn’t make a million from it... He didn’t come to take measurements.
So my husband’s free time came to the rescue.
What had to be done to:
- save the closet
- don't spend extra money
- don't throw away shelves
Everything was quite simple: we measured all the distances between the shelves (I had previously carefully rearranged them again, taking into account the intended storage), went to OBI and sawed white chipboard to our sizes. We ended up putting “spacers” between the shelves that hold the heaviest books and stuff. (secured with screws and metal corners).
And also: we extended the cabinet almost to the ceiling, attached it securely to the wall, decorated the top with a “cornice”, drilled holes for the wires of office equipment, touched up the paint where it was necessary to touch up and attached new hooks for the memo board and my briefcase.
It took us 2 days to do everything. But it was worth it! Now, I am sure that the closet will be able to hold out for another couple of years.
repurposed Pax from Ikea
This is such a beautiful photo for the well-known resource INMYROOM, for an article all about my apartment. Read with pleasure and take another look at our apartment.
photo: Sergey Krasyuk for @inmyroom.ru
On the right you can see the man-made shelves, which I have already told you all about HERE. Above them I glued a chalk board for writing (the board was glued with double-sided automotive tape), and above it hangs my diploma drawing - as a reminder of “STEPS IN THE HISTORY OF ME.” By the way, on Instagram I tell you how it all began, my love story for colors. You are also welcome to visit me SUBSCRIBE !
This is how we redesigned the pax, maybe it will be useful to you in the future. Stay with me! AND…
Good luck with the renovation!
Plywood shelf. Furniture made of plywood and veneer
Sano published a blog entry in Furniture made from slabs, solids, and various differences, March 29, blog entry
If in the first case (the niche already exists) we operate with the dimensions, which are a given, and based on them we make a decision about WHAT can be done there, then for the second case we clearly need to know the dimensions of the niche in order to draw a plan and give clear instructions for builders. If you clearly understand that the cabinet will be made TO ORDER , according to an individual project in a good carpentry workshop, then the width of the niche can really be made absolutely any, since an individual project is individual. And today’s technologies allow us to operate with any size: 1 meter, 1 meter and 34.5 cm. I made 1.5 cm. On top 2. I think 1 cm is possible, if you are confident in the builders that they will respect the geometry.
The first cabinet was first assembled and then pushed into a niche. The second large one was assembled in a niche, but it was left without a back wall. The single door was pushed into a niche after assembly. No matter how well the walls/corners are aligned, there will still be errors in the geometry. That's why built-in wardrobes were invented.
But I really like Pax, so I was looking for a compromise. So, the PAX wardrobe reminds me of children's LEGO. First, I designed all the shelves, drawers, baskets, and hangers in a computer planner and came with this plan to the store employee.
A huge plus of PACKS is the variety of fillings; at any time I can buy an additional item, or even re-hang all the shelves. STRIEBERG lighting, an irreplaceable thing! Insanely convenient, economical, has 3 modes: always on, off and automatic.
Installing IKEA furniture in a prepared niche
After inspecting the niche, the craftsmen discovered that it was built end-to-end, according to the dimensions of the furniture. It is not right! During repairs, you should set the parameters with a small margin, that is, a little wider than the planned furniture. As a result, the cabinets did not fit, both on the sides and in height. The customer decided to expand the niche from nutria. They tried to carry out the expansion carefully so as not to damage the painted walls; the photo shows the result of the work. It was easier with the legs; they, along with the plinth and metal grille, were simply cut off. Fortunately, expansion was required for a small distance of 5 mm. As a result, the cabinets moved into the right place with a grinding and creaking sound. All that remains is to adjust them! But adjustment, unfortunately, is not possible, so during construction the edges must be drawn out perfectly! Any unevenness, even a few millimeters, immediately catches the eye.
Very profitable style with black mirror IKEA Chic
Well, that's a completely different matter!
This is what you get when you combine a table and a small chest of drawers with chairs from IKEA
Another visual transformation of an ordinary linen chest of drawers
The furniture is too stylish to be from IKEA, but nevertheless it is...
IKEA Malm chest of drawers with 2 drawers turned into a comfortable dog house for a small pet
Marshall speaker in retro style, and matches furniture from Ikea (the latter, of course, modified by the owner)
“Create the style of a Skogsta bench with paint and rope,” writes the owner of this beauty
How to make your PAX (or other closet) even better
When you come across a wonderful thing, you want to talk about it again and again... For us, such a thing is the PAX/KOMPLEMENT wardrobe system. These cabinets have a lot of advantages - they are very (VERY!) spacious, well thought out, with excellent fittings, but the main thing is that despite the fact that the site presents many successful combinations, you can choose the filling of these cabinets (using any of the presented ones as a basis). on the website or by creating your own combination from scratch using the planner). Moreover, these series can be useful to you even if you do not plan to change your closet!
Here you can read HERE about the sizes, colors and options of frames and doors, HERE an overview of the contents, but in addition, the series has excellent accessories, the line of which has been significantly expanded this year. Although they fit perfectly in size and are extremely easy to install specifically for PAX, they can be used with any other cabinet (just check the dimensions carefully).
- This hanger costs very little, but it has many advantages! An extra storage solution never hurts. You can hang your clothes for tomorrow on this hanger so you can sleep a few precious minutes longer in the morning. A hanger hanger allows you to conveniently hang things for airing, steaming or trying on. A great solution for a hallway to hang wet clothes and dry them before putting them away in the wardrobe. Mounts inside the wardrobe so there are no visible screws on the outside. The supplied screws fit into pre-drilled holes in the PAX wardrobe frame. If used with other wardrobes, you will need to drill holes. Maximum load 5 kg, sold in white and gray.
- Another option for hanging accessories. It is mounted inside the cabinet and is also available in two colors and two sizes – 35 and 58 cm, for PAX frames of the corresponding depth. A metal guide is screwed to the cabinet wall, and a convenient hanger with hooks slides out along it. The retractable hanger provides good visibility and easy access to your items, allowing you to effectively use the interior space of your wardrobe. Each hook can hang 5 belts or 5-8 beads.
- Inserts with dividers for accessories and decorations. PAXes have very convenient pull-out shelves for accessories; these inserts are perfect for their size, but they are also delightfully convenient in themselves. If you store accessories in your closet, take a closer look at them!
- In addition to the inserts, there are convenient felt boxes. Soft material ensures neat storage of your items. They are not the most budget-friendly ones available at IKEA, but they are certainly very stylish.
- And this is a new product - a retractable mirror with a pocket for accessories on the back side. The mirror is only sold for a full-size cabinet (58 cm deep). Simply pull out the mirror and rotate it to reach what you need. The mirror can be installed in the wardrobe on the right or left. The only caveat is that the mirror is mounted on the wall without hinges (By the way, it doesn’t even have to be on the cabinet
- Pull-out baskets are also new, but they are probably only suitable for owners of a PAX cabinet, because they must fit in size (although if you separate part of your cabinet with a divider, you can put it in any one)
- •And one more thing - KOMPLEMENT baskets can be not only pull-out baskets for the PAX cabinet, but also an organizer for any shelves - just a good-quality metal basket that can be placed on the top shelf. The price on the site includes guides, if you don’t need them, just indicate this, the price will be reduced by a couple of hundred.
- In addition to built-in elements, if you choose PAX cabinets, pay attention to a series of textile storage bags. To make it easier to choose, here is a small cheat sheet:
- The official website has a huge selection of cabinet combinations, they were designed by professional designers and are very convenient, but we are always happy when you find an opportunity to make the furniture you use every day even more convenient. To place an order, simply write to us by filling out the form on the main page of the site.
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