Hello everyone,
I am currently facing the challenge of fitting IKEA KALLAX shelves with doors in my old building project. The problem is that the walls are not completely straight—some sections of the old wall deviate by several millimeters (a few tenths of an inch), which causes the KALLAX doors to hang noticeably crooked when installed.
My question is:
How can I adjust or install the KALLAX doors in an old building so that they don’t hang crooked or tilt backward despite uneven walls? Are there specific construction steps, mounting materials, or tricks to make the doors appear plumb and visually straight on KALLAX shelves?
I am particularly interested in how to work with angles, frames, or possible shims—or whether it makes more sense to install the doors regardless of the wall condition and compensate for the wall irregularities through other methods.
I’ve done some research, but many instructions assume perfectly straight walls. Thanks in advance for your opinions and experiences!
I am currently facing the challenge of fitting IKEA KALLAX shelves with doors in my old building project. The problem is that the walls are not completely straight—some sections of the old wall deviate by several millimeters (a few tenths of an inch), which causes the KALLAX doors to hang noticeably crooked when installed.
My question is:
How can I adjust or install the KALLAX doors in an old building so that they don’t hang crooked or tilt backward despite uneven walls? Are there specific construction steps, mounting materials, or tricks to make the doors appear plumb and visually straight on KALLAX shelves?
I am particularly interested in how to work with angles, frames, or possible shims—or whether it makes more sense to install the doors regardless of the wall condition and compensate for the wall irregularities through other methods.
I’ve done some research, but many instructions assume perfectly straight walls. Thanks in advance for your opinions and experiences!
Thanks to everyone for your detailed and helpful answers! 🙂
For clarification: The wall deviation is about 8-10 mm (0.3-0.4 inches) over a span of just over one meter (3.3 feet), so it’s definitely noticeable when aligning, but not extreme. I have tested that I can align the KALLAX shelves themselves using wooden shims.
What is still unclear to me:
- Are there specific hinge models offering better adjustment options than the standard IKEA plastic hinges?
- How thick should the wooden strips be that can be added to compensate, without making the gap between the door and the shelf uncomfortably large?
I want to keep the appearance as close to the original as possible, so the doors should look original but hang perfectly straight. Thanks also for the tip about refinishing the doors – I will take a close look at that on a sample.
For clarification: The wall deviation is about 8-10 mm (0.3-0.4 inches) over a span of just over one meter (3.3 feet), so it’s definitely noticeable when aligning, but not extreme. I have tested that I can align the KALLAX shelves themselves using wooden shims.
What is still unclear to me:
- Are there specific hinge models offering better adjustment options than the standard IKEA plastic hinges?
- How thick should the wooden strips be that can be added to compensate, without making the gap between the door and the shelf uncomfortably large?
I want to keep the appearance as close to the original as possible, so the doors should look original but hang perfectly straight. Thanks also for the tip about refinishing the doors – I will take a close look at that on a sample.
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