ᐅ Installation Guidelines for Wall Panels

Hello,
I’m currently in the process of upgrading our kitchen.
I have stocked up on Imperativ wall panels. Strangely, the installation manual includes a diagram that states there should be a 2cm (0.8 inch) gap between the top trim of the wall panels and the bottom edge of the wall cabinet. What does that look like – a 2cm (0.8 inch) gap between the panels and the wall cabinet? Does anyone know what this gap is for?

I appreciate any advice.

Regards,
Big-Jim

Hello,
here is page 7 of the manual again. Maybe someone still has an idea what the "gap" is supposed to be for....

Regards
big-jim

I’m not entirely sure, but I think the top strip is designed to be easily mounted and removed without having to take down the cabinet above. It’s also possible that not everything is installed perfectly parallel, so it might not fit properly in some places. Additionally, the cabinets might settle slightly over time. If the strip rests on the glass, this could cause the glass to crack.
If a decorative strip is installed under the cabinets, the gap is usually not visible.

Hello IKEA expert,
Hello everyone,
yes – the IKEA expert is right, I think that’s why there needs to be a 2cm (1 inch) gap. I also checked all the kitchens at IKEA again, and every kitchen has this “crown molding” installed on the upper cabinets. So, normally you wouldn’t even see the gap...
But unfortunately, our upper cabinets don’t have the crown molding or this decorative strip.

I’ve left about a 5mm (0.2 inch) gap just in case the upper cabinets settle a bit. To remove the trim, I’ll have to take down the upper cabinets first...

Now I still need to cut two glass panels – that’s going to be interesting...

Also, I’d appreciate any tips on the best way to backlight these glass panels. I have already tried several LED strips behind them, but you can always see the individual LED points, which ends up looking like a fairground. Does anyone have an idea how to do this better?

Regards
big-jim

PS: My countertop is about 4m (13 feet) long and unfortunately wasn’t perfectly level. That makes installing the glass panels really challenging because the joints are no longer parallel – sweat – I had to wedge pieces of paper or cardboard underneath every time. Not so easy if you want to be precise...

Now I still have to cut 2 glass panes – this will surely be fun….

Cheers
Big-Jim

Please DO NOT TRY TO CUT THE GLASS PANES!!! This is tempered glass and will shatter into a thousand pieces!

That would be a shame...

NfU

Na.

Please share if and how you managed to solve the issue with cutting the panels! I would also like to install the panels myself, but I would need to do some cutting, and I have already heard various opinions on this, including from Ikea employees: ranging from "have it done by a glazier" to "that's impossible."