ᐅ Is it possible to shorten Ikea Plasta panels in height?

Hello everyone,

We would like to create some storage space in the basement and plan to buy Platsa units 180 cm (71 inches) + 40 cm (16 inches) deep. Unfortunately, the total height is 2-3 cm (about 1 inch) too tall for the basement ceiling. Therefore, I would like to shorten the 40 cm (16 inches) unit slightly. Is this possible while keeping the unit stable? The piece is not made of solid wood. If possible, we would also like to fit the 40 cm (16 inches) unit with fronts and shorten those accordingly. We have a table saw and plunge saw available.

Best regards

That probably won’t work because the parts have grooves and are assembled by slotting them together. If you want to reinforce the system, you might need to screw the top panel to the side panels using brackets.

You could go for larger cabinets, for example Metod (200cm (79 inches) plus an 8cm (3 inches) plinth/base). This way, you will still have a 12cm (5 inches) gap at the top.

Alternatively, you could stick with Platsa using a configuration of 40cm (16 inches) + 120cm (47 inches) + 40cm (16 inches).

Or leave the 180cm (71 inches) as it is and simply place storage boxes along the entire length on top. You could also store long items there.

I did this with our Metod cabinets. They were too tall for the new space.

It worked well. You can see the cut surfaces from underneath, but nobody really looks from below anyway 😉

I simply fixed the shelves on the sides with wood screws and, where needed, added a trim panel in front.
I also screwed in brackets from the inside, but that was actually unnecessary.