ᐅ Assembling Ikea Pax with Sliding Doors in Rooms with Low Ceiling Height
Created on: 4 Nov 2014 13:32
K
KermitHere are some additional details and tips as I am currently facing an issue, even though I measured the ceiling height beforehand. This is an example for the Pax with a height of 236cm (93 inches).
The Pax or sliding doors are offered with a maximum height of 236.4cm (93.2 inches) or 236cm (93 inches). In my case, I measured a room height of 238cm (94 inches). What I did not consider is that with a tiled floor, there can be slight height variations during installation (even if minimal), for example rising from right to left, or a suspended ceiling with panels that is not perfectly level. Unfortunately, I have both, and I only measured at one spot. The cabinet body fits under the ceiling everywhere.
Tip: Before purchase (okay, this is probably not read beforehand here) be sure to measure the room height at several points.
The real problem is not the cabinet height but the sliding door (in my case UGGDAL) after installation, or the parts required for it. To mount the sliding door on the cabinet body, aluminum rails need to be installed at the top and bottom. The lower rail has several centimeters of play down to the floor – allowing adjustment with the baseboard if necessary. With the upper rail, there are a few important points to consider during installation!
- The cabinet body and sliding doors come in separate packaging with separate manuals that do not reference each other – this is very important to know when dealing with low ceiling heights.
- For ceiling heights under 244cm (96 inches), the cabinet must be assembled standing up (see manual). For the sliding doors, plastic holders for the upper aluminum rail are needed. These must be inserted from above into pre-drilled holes on the cabinet body and screwed in. The insertion sleeve of these plastic holders is about 2cm (0.8 inches) long – this is the height of the plastic holder and the play for clipping in the aluminum rail. With a ceiling height of about 238cm (94 inches), this is impossible.
Tip 1: When assembling the cabinet body, insert the necessary plastic holders for the upper sliding door rail (found in the sliding door packaging and only described there) into the cabinet top panel before you complete the final assembly of the top panel. This is necessary only for room heights smaller than about 240cm (94 inches).
Tip 2: If the cabinet body (including plastic holders) is upright, but there is no room left to clip in the aluminum rail from above, you can try sliding the rail in from the side (if space allows) or gently tap it in with a hammer. To do this, push the plastic holders upwards from inside with a suitable tool as far as the ceiling allows.
The next problem is the top fitting of the outer sliding door. This fitting extends (due to its design and safety feature) above the sliding door and thus beyond the cabinet body.
Tip 1: If there is not enough clearance at the top to hang the outer sliding door, you can slide the door in from the side (if space allows) after removing the stopper. Don’t forget to reinstall the stopper after installation!
Tip 2: If the outer sliding door rubs against the ceiling after final assembly (this is the door safety), it can be removed by destruction (WARNING: at your own risk). The safety part is plastic and can be pried off easily with a flat screwdriver. The remaining metal pin (on which the safety runs) can be removed with a hacksaw. This gains you about 3-4mm (0.1-0.15 inches) of clearance. Removing the safety is only unproblematic if the ceiling is so low that the door cannot be lifted off after final assembly. In other words: If your sliding door can be installed according to the manual (from the front - not from the side) and does not rub against the ceiling afterwards, you should definitely keep the safety in place.
Since these tips unfortunately do not help in my case and my sliding door still rubs, I will either have to raise the lowered ceiling or shorten the height of the baseboard. Special tools are needed to shorten the baseboard. I have not done this yet and will probably try with my pull saw. It can cut a maximum of 30cm (12 inches). That should work for the side panels if I cut from both sides (hopefully). For the front and rear baseboards (75cm / 30 inches long) that won’t work – I will have to think of another solution.
Final tips:
- If you’re not sure whether everything fits, I recommend setting up the cabinet body first without the Pax back panel. Because of instability, use as few nails as possible at first. This way, you can try the upper aluminum rail, and if everything fits, you can still nail the Pax back panel in later. This makes it easier to disassemble the cabinet body if you (like me) still need to work on the baseboard.
- When assembling the Pax with sliding doors, always leave out all interior fittings (drawers, rods, shelves, etc.) until the cabinet and sliding doors are fully functional.
The Pax or sliding doors are offered with a maximum height of 236.4cm (93.2 inches) or 236cm (93 inches). In my case, I measured a room height of 238cm (94 inches). What I did not consider is that with a tiled floor, there can be slight height variations during installation (even if minimal), for example rising from right to left, or a suspended ceiling with panels that is not perfectly level. Unfortunately, I have both, and I only measured at one spot. The cabinet body fits under the ceiling everywhere.
Tip: Before purchase (okay, this is probably not read beforehand here) be sure to measure the room height at several points.
The real problem is not the cabinet height but the sliding door (in my case UGGDAL) after installation, or the parts required for it. To mount the sliding door on the cabinet body, aluminum rails need to be installed at the top and bottom. The lower rail has several centimeters of play down to the floor – allowing adjustment with the baseboard if necessary. With the upper rail, there are a few important points to consider during installation!
- The cabinet body and sliding doors come in separate packaging with separate manuals that do not reference each other – this is very important to know when dealing with low ceiling heights.
- For ceiling heights under 244cm (96 inches), the cabinet must be assembled standing up (see manual). For the sliding doors, plastic holders for the upper aluminum rail are needed. These must be inserted from above into pre-drilled holes on the cabinet body and screwed in. The insertion sleeve of these plastic holders is about 2cm (0.8 inches) long – this is the height of the plastic holder and the play for clipping in the aluminum rail. With a ceiling height of about 238cm (94 inches), this is impossible.
Tip 1: When assembling the cabinet body, insert the necessary plastic holders for the upper sliding door rail (found in the sliding door packaging and only described there) into the cabinet top panel before you complete the final assembly of the top panel. This is necessary only for room heights smaller than about 240cm (94 inches).
Tip 2: If the cabinet body (including plastic holders) is upright, but there is no room left to clip in the aluminum rail from above, you can try sliding the rail in from the side (if space allows) or gently tap it in with a hammer. To do this, push the plastic holders upwards from inside with a suitable tool as far as the ceiling allows.
The next problem is the top fitting of the outer sliding door. This fitting extends (due to its design and safety feature) above the sliding door and thus beyond the cabinet body.
Tip 1: If there is not enough clearance at the top to hang the outer sliding door, you can slide the door in from the side (if space allows) after removing the stopper. Don’t forget to reinstall the stopper after installation!
Tip 2: If the outer sliding door rubs against the ceiling after final assembly (this is the door safety), it can be removed by destruction (WARNING: at your own risk). The safety part is plastic and can be pried off easily with a flat screwdriver. The remaining metal pin (on which the safety runs) can be removed with a hacksaw. This gains you about 3-4mm (0.1-0.15 inches) of clearance. Removing the safety is only unproblematic if the ceiling is so low that the door cannot be lifted off after final assembly. In other words: If your sliding door can be installed according to the manual (from the front - not from the side) and does not rub against the ceiling afterwards, you should definitely keep the safety in place.
Since these tips unfortunately do not help in my case and my sliding door still rubs, I will either have to raise the lowered ceiling or shorten the height of the baseboard. Special tools are needed to shorten the baseboard. I have not done this yet and will probably try with my pull saw. It can cut a maximum of 30cm (12 inches). That should work for the side panels if I cut from both sides (hopefully). For the front and rear baseboards (75cm / 30 inches long) that won’t work – I will have to think of another solution.
Final tips:
- If you’re not sure whether everything fits, I recommend setting up the cabinet body first without the Pax back panel. Because of instability, use as few nails as possible at first. This way, you can try the upper aluminum rail, and if everything fits, you can still nail the Pax back panel in later. This makes it easier to disassemble the cabinet body if you (like me) still need to work on the baseboard.
- When assembling the Pax with sliding doors, always leave out all interior fittings (drawers, rods, shelves, etc.) until the cabinet and sliding doors are fully functional.
I
IKEA-Experte5 Nov 2014 17:06Thank you for your tips. One more suggestion: replace nails with screws, especially if the PAX might need to be moved later.
Kermit, when assembling, did you notice whether the front door has to be hung first must?
Kermit, when assembling, did you notice whether the front door has to be hung first must?
Kermit, did you notice during assembly if the front door has to be installed first?It is definitely not mandatory. The instructions do not explicitly state anything about this. However, if you follow the instructions strictly, the front door should be installed first, followed by the rear door. But I have also done it in the reverse order.
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