Image Title: Using Pax doors to replace sliding doors for an existing closet
Description: These pictures show how to replace sliding doors for an existing built-in 80" x 60" closet (common for houses built from the 1950s to the 1980s) with any Pax sliding door.

The problem was straightforward - we had converted a small bedroom into a very stylish office with aluminum and glass Anga shelving and an oval glass Galant desk. So the room was all aluminum and glass.

Unfortunately, the bedroom closet had an old set of hollow lauan plywood bypass sliding doors that we had painted white to try to make them fit in. (This picture shows similar ones varnished natural).

The nominal size for these closets (there must be 100s of thousands of them across the country) is 80" x 60" - in practice they vary a bit due to framing and plastering. As it turns out, the Pax line of doors has a 79 1/8" x 59" size which is actually the size of the wardrobe that it fits on to and not the size of the doors – the doors alone are actually a bit smaller. But smaller is OK - because unlike the other projects here, we are going to fit the doors INSIDE the closet framing just like the original lauan doors, not in front of the wall. We chose Pax Lyngdal to match the aluminum Anga shelving.

First, the top track that IKEA Pax uses is perfect for this application as it has a horizontal top lip about 1 1/8" wide that can be attached under a furring strip with screws. Unfortunately the door itself is much shorter than the one it replaces (only about 77 3/8" to the top of the hanging rail) so we have to build the top of the opening down so that the door gets within about 1/2” of the floor.

In this picture of the INSIDE of the closet, you see from the top down - the wallboard, the original trim (yes, in those days they applied trim on the inside of the closet as well), a standard 2x4, a custom cut 1x1-1/8" furring strip, and the IKEA Pax top rail screwed to the bottom of the furring strip. Most of these closet frames are about the same but measure to ensure that yours is similar. We had figured on about 1/2" of bottom clearance and therefore needed about 2-5/8" to allow the 77 3/8" door to fill the space properly. A 2x4 provided about 1-5/8" to 1-3/4" of that. The rest was filled in by ripping a 1-1/2x1-1/2” furring strip down to 1x1-1/8” – it had to be no wider than 1-1/8" so as to avoid interfering with the track as the outside door wheels bracket is taller than the track.

The 2x4 is attached to the furthest inside edge of the lintel with five 2-1/4" wood screws. The 1x1 1/8" furring strip is attached to the furthest inside edge of the 2x4 with six 2" wood screws. It is essential that the 2x4 and furring strip are attached to the inside edge of the lintel because the IKEA Pax doors hang off the outside edge of the track and therefore need about 3-3/4” to operate – and the closet wall is about 4” and change wide. The IKEA Pax track rail is attached to the 1x1-1/8" furring strip with five 1" sheet metal screws.

The other problem is that because Pax doors hang off the front side of the rail, they do not hang straight down like ordinary sliding closet doors and therefore use the bottom rail supplied with the doors to make them plumb. In a closet situation, you can't install the bottom rail because it would be a trip hazard (although some projects have in my view unwisely done this). There is a much better, cheaper, and safer solution – it turns out that the very same bottom guide from the 1950s sliding closet doors will work with the Pax doors (you can get these at any hardware store ). Mounted in the middle of the closet, they hold both doors plumb and this is also why you need to hang the door about 3/8 to 1/2" above the floor - to clear the bottom guide.

Because the door hangs so low, there is a bit of a gap - but never fear. Supplied with the doors are aluminum end panels for the side of the wardrobe - so we cut the end panel and mounted its lip to the bottom of the overhang to cover the gap.

Also because the door is recessed into the closet, handles are essential and I happened to have some extra Berom handles which I used on the other furniture in the office.

Total cost
$249 for the doors
$2 for screws
$2.99 for handles (on sale)
$2 for furring strip
had the $2 2x4 and the $3 bottom guide already.
We figure a similar setup from a well-known website supply sliding glass doors for closets would cost at least $1000.

This is our first project post to IKEA FANS so please post if you need further clarification or extra pictures. It is actually less complicated to do than it sounds - the trickiest part is getting the measurements right so the door hangs to within about 1/2" of the bottom. Using the end panel to extend the overhang gives some wiggle room as well for various openings. And this is the only way to go if your closet opening is framed with trim. Personally, I think this looks better than mounting the door to the front of the wall because the glass is just clear enough to see through, although this would be a viable alternative for solid doors.

Hi All-
I am new to this forum but have already read and applied much of the advice from posts over the years!
I am working a design where I have a ~43" wide wall where I will be placing the fridge, leaving ~13" to the right of my fridge. Ideally I'd like a 12" Wide x 88" H x 24"D high cabinet with a door and pullout drawers. Sadly, this option does not exist. There does appear to be a 12"W base cabinet with pullout drawers.

From what I can gather my options are :
1) attempt to modify an 18"w high cabinet. However from what I can gather this may require me to also purchase the 12"W pull-out base cabinets in order to get the 12" drawers (i dont see them available in any other configuration)

2) i've also considered stacking base cabinets or some combo of base/wall cabiet combos to get to the desired height. Of course need to consider varying cabinet depths in this configuration. I think I could stack three of the 12"W base units if i don't put the legs on the bottom unit.

Any tips would be most appreciated!!!

Thanks
Kiana

Hello,

I just bought this picture and I would prefer it have a dark brown frame instead of a black one:
IKEA | Frames & pictures | Ready to hang | HALLARYD | Picture

Can I paint this frame with spray paint? It says it is made of fiberboard with a foil.

If I can paint, it what type of spray paint do I buy?

Thanks!
V

Both of my teens need new mattresses, and I would like them to be latex. I like the Ikea Latex, but unfortunately, both of my teens require twin xl mattresses. Ikea does not carry this size. I thought that I could purchase a king size latex mattress, and cut it in half lengthwise. I saw a few in As Is the other day.

Has anyone done this successfully? I thought I could remove the mattress from the cover, use a sharp serrated knife, carefully measure and cut the latex and any additional padding, then use mattress covers on each. If I purchased a mattress in As Is, I could have two twin xl latex mattresses for about $250 each, by far the best price I can find. A good mattress cover would add an additional $40 or so to each mattress.

Any one have any advice? Am I crazy? Thanks all!
Hestia

Hello,

We are wondering if it is possible to use a rubrik door on a horizontal cabinet.
I phoned Ikea and they said that it wouldn't work without a modification.
Does anyone know how to do this modification?

Thanks!

Larry

Hello--first Ikea kitchen experience here, a very slow DIY with a giant learning curve. First post--and I am loving this site! Thanks to all for sharing your wealth of info. I'll skip the details about why other sensible alternatives wouldn't work, but I am butting two base cabinets together in a corner and leaving some dead space. On the right side is a 15" and on the left, a 24" with a 12" door (half blind). I left some space for filler--but I'm not sure how to put that filler in. Just screws? Or do I need L-brackets or something? Also, for the hinges to be in the corner, I will need to mount the 12" door to the filler rather than to the side of the cabinet. Should I just drill holes in the filler for the door hinges? Hope this isn't too confusing. Thanks in advance!

Just wondering if anyone here has found a damper that works for

1) 130 degree hinge item no. # 757.192.00



2) 153 degree hinge # 501.058.63

1. Is it possible to take a vertical wall upper 39" (or even taller floor cabinet), turn it on its side, and install the special hardware that is used on the horizontal cabinets, in order to turn it into a horizontal cabinet? I'm looking for more flexibility in both the height and width of my horizontal cabinets than is currently offered in the current 15" heights available.

2. If it IS possible, is there a way to get the Ikea planning software to render this? Haven't figured it out!

Image Title: Fish tank by IKEA?
Description: My computer cabinet/desk becomes a fish tank!:P

As I await delivery of my Stat kitchen (so excited! :D ), I find myself waffling big time about having chosen the 18" 3-drawer unit with Stat detailing over the 4-drawer one with plain drawer fronts. This unit sits in the corner of a small L-shape of cabinets and the plain 4-drawers on the planner mockup looked really out of place...dropped the cohesion factor of the space several notches. ;) See pics below. However, I'm used to having 4 drawers, and this is a compact kitchen where every nook and cranny needs to be put into service, so I'm worried about how much functionality we'll lose by not having that 4th drawer.

Inspired by the ingenious modifications I've come across on this forum (wow...you guys have helped me squeeze even MORE out of my space...I love it!), I was wondering if it's possible to add another internal drawer mechanism to the middle drawer front of the 3-drawer cabinet. Anyone done this? Is there even room? If so, two ways come to mind:

1. Install and attach an additional drawer unit to the middle drawer front so that both drawer units come out when you open the middle drawer (effectively working like a mini pullout). I realize the bottom of the two wouldn't be as accessible, but I could use it for tea towels or something where that wouldn't matter.

or

2. Install an additional drawer unit, but don't attach it to the middle drawer front. Instead, have it operate independently once the middle drawer is open. e.g. to access the new drawer, you'd open the middle drawer front and then pull out the new drawer that's inside. I'd probably have to rig up some kind of fourth wall for the new drawer so stuff didn't fall out. ("Hee!" for all you theatre folks ;^)

Thoughts? Has anyone done anything like this? Thanks in advance for your input. :)

Pic explanation, if you need it:
Visually, L to R bottom cabinets: 30" 4-drawer, 12" pullout, 18" 3-drawer (problem child), 24" sink cab, dishwasher. The corner cabinet, of which you can see just a sliver in the drawing because of the filler spaces we've allowed for is a drawer unit facing the back door entry area on the other side of the non-window wall. There is an upper wall section to hang upper cab rails, but no lower wall---lower cabs (30"+12") form peninsula between the spaces with a "peekaboo" pass-through-like space between lower and upper cabs.

Attached Images

	4Drawer.jpg (25.3 KB)
	3Drawer.jpg (25.6 KB)

Hey guys!

Recently I finished building an "in-closet" desk. I used oak and stained it with an ebony color to match my Malm set but the results are not satisfactory.

Now, the desk top is a simple 6 by 2 piece of oak board sitting on a wall mounted support. I only have my 14 pound computer monitor on it.

My question is:

Where could I find a king Malm headboard that I could cut and fit to use as a desk? Or, is anyone aware of something that Ikea sells which has a piece of fiberwood that has a dimension greater than or equal too 6' by 2'. (In black-brown)

Hi Guys,

Just moved into a new place and got myself a large ikea wardrobe. Is there a way of preventing the wardrode doors from swinging open too quickly?

I tried searching about dampers but i'm guessing they only help with soft-close not soft-open

You only have to open the door slightly before letting it go & it swings open hitting the side wall..:tears:

I have a trash compactor I need to inset into my kitchen, just as dishwashers are inserted. There is no cabinet made for this. The actual compactor is 15 inches wide. I am just starting to plan my kitchen and would appreciate any suggestions to help my problem. Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I'm new to the kitchen building experience however I'm not a rookie when it comes to construction. I have renovated my "new" old condo with laminate flooring, light fixtures, baseboards, etc. But this year is time for kitchen.

So my dilemma is I'm looking at the following configuration for the one wall in my kitchen. (see attachment) It's 90" of cabinet with an 5/8" end piece all in NEXUS brown-brown black. The problem is, the wall it's going on is 89".... So the question I have is what is the best way I can this look good? Can I cut this down, but not look like a hack job. Do I have to go with a 24" cabinet for the middle? I really don't want to make the wall 2" longer... That seems like a lot more work.

I guess I should mention part numbers in case anyone's curious.

Left & Right: 59829489 - AK WFR fan cb/top cb refrig 30x15"wh/Nexus brn-blk
Middle: 99829473 - AK W2 wall cab/2 drs 30x30" wht/Nexus brown-black

Any suggestions? and thanks for the input!

-KB

Attached Images

cabinets.jpg (96.7 KB)

I have some slightly uneven joints where the deco strips meet in my kitchen, as well as a few minor chips on a cabinet door, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of a good caulk or paint that matches Lidingo white.