Discuss Cabs next to wall--will they open? on IKEAFANS.com. We're Personalizing the IKEA Experience. Cabs next to wall--will they open? - Please limit the posts in this section to questions and answers about assembly and installation issues only..
Hi Everyone,
Well day 1 of cabinet installation has left me with a couple of worries. Somehow, I, the IKEA planner, and my contractor were all off on our measurements because we are barely going to make it in for one wall, and that's after getting rid of several cover panels. I have no idea what went wrong, they marked the cab sizes on the wall and then built the half-wall at the end of the run, and we should have had a couple of inches to spare, but now we don't and need to cut out 3 cover panels.
Namely,
#1: We have 2 15"x88" pantry door/drawer cabs next to each other, one of which is next to the wall. The idea was to have a cover panel next to the wall, but it just doesn't fit. So my question is, will I be able to pull out the drawers?? If so, will I be able to attach a handle (Varde) to the door, or will that then make it impossible to pull out the drawers? My contractor said we can't squeeze another 5/8" to put in the cover panel, it is just too tight. Is it crazy to think I could live without the handles here, as long as the drawers will pull out?
#2: I had planned on putting cover panels on the base cabs (36" drawers) on either side of the oven, but since this is on the problem tight wall, there's no room. The contractor said this will not be an aesthetic problem b/c since the oven comes out another 1.5" no one will ever see the birch base. Is that true? Will we have trouble opening either the drawers OR the oven without a cover panel?
#3: I have an 18" 3 drawer base cabinet next to the opposite wall. Do I need a cover panel here for the drawers to pull out? I have space on this wall if it is needed. (but will it look weird if the other wall doesn't have it?)
thanks, I'm so stressed out by this news!!
Last edited by mishmish; May 5th, 07 at 7:59 pm.
Reason: ps: we do have the one cover panel next to the fridge and run of base +wall cabs, but that's the only room we had!
#1, # 2 and #3: Your drawers will work without coverpanel spacing them out from the wall. Looking at my drawers, I see that the drawers do not extend beyond the edge of the cabinet itself. You should be able to place it against a wall and open the drawers without a problem.
If you end up wanting a more finished look at the wall, you can rip down deco trim and use as very thin molding strips- again, this should not block the function of the drawers.
Mishmish, please correct me if I misunderstand but this is what I think is happening.
The 15"W pantry on the far right wall will have 153 degree hinges and internal drawers. You are wondering if there is no space between the cabinet and the wall, will you still be able to open it and use the internal drawers. From what I understand it will work with no handle but if you have a handle then the door will not open enough for the drawers.
However! Have you considered putting the hinges on the opposite side and have the door open the other way?
PS. Oops, maybe it wouldn't work with no handle. Torrus says the 153 degree hinges need a minimum of 95 degrees for the drawers to work. 153 degree hinge clearance
HTH definition
HTH means Hope that helps!
W definition
W is a wall cabinet designation, as in W18, can be a stand-in for Wide, or when followed by a / stands for With.
Last edited by Gloria; May 5th, 07 at 9:54 pm.
Reason: to add ps
I hate to be the bearer of bads news, but it seems to me that if you are that tight for space, you may have issues with the interior drawers.
The Varde handles stick out approx. 1 1/4", so you would need approx.
1 1/2" of filler to get the door to open enough for the drawers to operate properly. A couple of alternatives here: put the handle on the right side, the hinges on the left; or use the pullout pantry fitting. In either case, you need no filler.
On the 18" cabinet, I'd use a piece of filler - 1/2"-3/4"or so - instead of the cover panel, and install it flush with the front edge of the cabinet.
You will not miss the cover panels on either side of the oven - the drawers and oven door will operate fine without them.
Yes, Gloria, that's exactly my problem. Right, it seems I will have to do what you and Chuck suggest, which is to open the door away from the wall, which is not ideal, but at least makes it all work! I wanted to put in the drawers yesterday before the builder goes back tomorrow just to make sure I'm comfortable with the fit/open, but alas, the huge pile of small IKEA stuff overwhelmed me. **** number system...why don't they make it easier for us? Like bundling the cabinet components together? We have 27 cabs and all the parts are out of control.
Chuck, I don't think I bought filler panels--these are not the deco panels or the plinth/toe kick, right? I just saw that there is such a thing called filler panels in my 10,000th post-trip scroll through the catalogue and old posts. But alas, I live 5 hrs away from IKEA and we will not be able to get back there soon. If the drawers don't work then I guess I could get the builder to leave the gap and we will be back to IKEA anyway to return extra cabs and cover panels, but is there a pic or something so I can visualize what these things are?
Also, now that I have you guys, what's the deal with the 24" deep over-fridge cabinet? It does NOT align with the adjoining pantry which is also supposedly 24" deep. Will this remain obvious after the doors are on?
I seem to recall reading another post about this, but this weekend's search came up with a ton of posts that mention fridge, and I never found the answer.
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