ᐅ Pax / PAX Malm IKEA Assembly Instructions and Support for Sliding Doors
Created on: 24 Oct 2011 09:42
C
Christoph_6153
Hello everyone,
I’m a new member here in the forum and I’m coming straight to you with a problem. I’ll try to explain it. If it’s not clear, I can provide the “correct” names for the parts later at home; here at work, I only brought my concerns and not the assembly instructions.
Starting situation:
– Two cabinet carcass parts of the Pax system. Of course, still containing various items, several shelves, three drawers, and a hanging rod.
– The carcasses were connected to each other as described in the instructions—with three of those screws. I drilled and screwed once at the top, middle, and bottom.
– Mounting to the wall: both parts were attached to the wall with two screws each, through the openings at the top.
– This means the carcasses are now firmly fixed, which makes sense but might be the cause of my problem.
– Oh, and an important detail: since we live in an old building and nothing is perfectly straight, and because we wanted to fix the cabinet to the wall, we tilted it slightly against the wall and supported the front bottom with wooden shims. This is quite stable but probably not perfectly level everywhere.
So far, everything went smoothly.
Now I wanted to start assembling the sliding doors (my wife says they are called Pax Malm? Anyway, sliding doors—one or even both of them might be mirrored doors, I’m not exactly sure at the moment, I haven’t unpacked them yet). The first step was attaching four gray plastic clips on top of the cabinet, which were supposed to “clip” and secure the metal rail later on.
There should have been a “click” sound when inserting the metal rail. The metal rail was quite difficult to insert into those plastic clips but, with some effort and force, it worked.
So, the metal rail was clipped on top of the cabinet.
Now the problem came: the next step is to screw the metal rail to the cabinet from underneath. For this, six plastic clips should be snapped into the metal rail and then screwed from above into the cabinet ceiling.
I tried doing this first in the middle of the cabinet. It didn’t work because the metal rail was not fully flush against the cabinet at the top but had some distance. This caused the plastic clip from underneath to not fit in height.
When I tried to screw the metal rail tighter in the middle (using one of the four plastic clips mentioned earlier) to remove the gap between the rail and the cabinet top, the plastic clip in the middle broke, along with my nerves, peace of mind, enthusiasm, and optimism.
My assumption:
Is the cabinet deeper in the middle than at the edges? So the metal rail can’t be adjusted properly. Even if I bent the rail a little (the gap between rail and cabinet only a few millimeters (inches)), that would not be a solution, as the sliding doors might not hang optimally and, in the worst case, could slide toward the middle due to gravity. I can’t say how much of a slope that would be.
My question:
Has anyone had a similar problem?
What should I try? I’m thinking of loosening the screws between the cabinet carcasses as well as the wall attachments and then attempting to raise the center of the cabinet with a thicker wooden shim to lift it there?
However, as I said, I have lost my optimism and internally feel overwhelmed by the sliding doors as a hobby assembler.
Do you have any tips or suggestions?
Many thanks in advance for reading.
I’m a new member here in the forum and I’m coming straight to you with a problem. I’ll try to explain it. If it’s not clear, I can provide the “correct” names for the parts later at home; here at work, I only brought my concerns and not the assembly instructions.
Starting situation:
– Two cabinet carcass parts of the Pax system. Of course, still containing various items, several shelves, three drawers, and a hanging rod.
– The carcasses were connected to each other as described in the instructions—with three of those screws. I drilled and screwed once at the top, middle, and bottom.
– Mounting to the wall: both parts were attached to the wall with two screws each, through the openings at the top.
– This means the carcasses are now firmly fixed, which makes sense but might be the cause of my problem.
– Oh, and an important detail: since we live in an old building and nothing is perfectly straight, and because we wanted to fix the cabinet to the wall, we tilted it slightly against the wall and supported the front bottom with wooden shims. This is quite stable but probably not perfectly level everywhere.
So far, everything went smoothly.
Now I wanted to start assembling the sliding doors (my wife says they are called Pax Malm? Anyway, sliding doors—one or even both of them might be mirrored doors, I’m not exactly sure at the moment, I haven’t unpacked them yet). The first step was attaching four gray plastic clips on top of the cabinet, which were supposed to “clip” and secure the metal rail later on.
There should have been a “click” sound when inserting the metal rail. The metal rail was quite difficult to insert into those plastic clips but, with some effort and force, it worked.
So, the metal rail was clipped on top of the cabinet.
Now the problem came: the next step is to screw the metal rail to the cabinet from underneath. For this, six plastic clips should be snapped into the metal rail and then screwed from above into the cabinet ceiling.
I tried doing this first in the middle of the cabinet. It didn’t work because the metal rail was not fully flush against the cabinet at the top but had some distance. This caused the plastic clip from underneath to not fit in height.
When I tried to screw the metal rail tighter in the middle (using one of the four plastic clips mentioned earlier) to remove the gap between the rail and the cabinet top, the plastic clip in the middle broke, along with my nerves, peace of mind, enthusiasm, and optimism.
My assumption:
Is the cabinet deeper in the middle than at the edges? So the metal rail can’t be adjusted properly. Even if I bent the rail a little (the gap between rail and cabinet only a few millimeters (inches)), that would not be a solution, as the sliding doors might not hang optimally and, in the worst case, could slide toward the middle due to gravity. I can’t say how much of a slope that would be.
My question:
Has anyone had a similar problem?
What should I try? I’m thinking of loosening the screws between the cabinet carcasses as well as the wall attachments and then attempting to raise the center of the cabinet with a thicker wooden shim to lift it there?
However, as I said, I have lost my optimism and internally feel overwhelmed by the sliding doors as a hobby assembler.
Do you have any tips or suggestions?
Many thanks in advance for reading.
C
Christoph_61532 Nov 2011 09:37Problem 4:
The installation was ultimately not difficult, and hanging it up was basically no problem. However, the issue is that even after installation, I cannot push the wardrobe all the way into the corner because it would then hit the slant, causing the sliding doors not to align flush with the rest of the wardrobe wall. This is, on the one hand, a visual disaster, and on the other hand, I am concerned that the material will be significantly damaged. Therefore, I have left the wardrobe in the more level position, about 50cm (20 inches) away from the corner.
--> This is obviously unfortunate. My wife is not happy about it at all, but off the top of my head, I don’t see an effective way to fix this.
The installation was ultimately not difficult, and hanging it up was basically no problem. However, the issue is that even after installation, I cannot push the wardrobe all the way into the corner because it would then hit the slant, causing the sliding doors not to align flush with the rest of the wardrobe wall. This is, on the one hand, a visual disaster, and on the other hand, I am concerned that the material will be significantly damaged. Therefore, I have left the wardrobe in the more level position, about 50cm (20 inches) away from the corner.
--> This is obviously unfortunate. My wife is not happy about it at all, but off the top of my head, I don’t see an effective way to fix this.
C
Christoph_61532 Nov 2011 09:38Errors and Issues:
1. I moved the cabinet with the feet extended. That was obviously not a good idea; the feet are now bent in all directions and are no longer usable.
2. We installed the interior of the cabinet before the doors. I would do this again because it allowed us to start organizing the cabinet earlier and gave us a feeling of “we are almost done.”
3. The installation of the inner door (wood on the inside, mirror on the outside). The rollers at the top are screwed in. I attached the two parts on the left and right so that the part labeled "R" was screwed on the right side. Looking back at the instructions, it was clear that this was incorrect. This caused the roller to be on the outside, and the metal cylinder, which operates the closing mechanism, to be on the inside. This is not how it should be, so after everything was already taken apart, I had to remove the inner door again and swap the two parts.
Note: We installed the doors differently than the standard version provided by Ikea; in our case, the mirrored door is on the right and the wooden door on the left. On one hand, this is possible; on the other, you only need to do a few steps differently from the instructions, and those steps are the ones that are not symmetrical. I should mention that I usually have no idea what I’m actually screwing in when I’m at step 12 or any other step. I do it because I trust that Ikea knows what they are doing, since I do not. Therefore, it is not easy to understand how and what you need to do to have the left door on the right and vice versa.
1. I moved the cabinet with the feet extended. That was obviously not a good idea; the feet are now bent in all directions and are no longer usable.
2. We installed the interior of the cabinet before the doors. I would do this again because it allowed us to start organizing the cabinet earlier and gave us a feeling of “we are almost done.”
3. The installation of the inner door (wood on the inside, mirror on the outside). The rollers at the top are screwed in. I attached the two parts on the left and right so that the part labeled "R" was screwed on the right side. Looking back at the instructions, it was clear that this was incorrect. This caused the roller to be on the outside, and the metal cylinder, which operates the closing mechanism, to be on the inside. This is not how it should be, so after everything was already taken apart, I had to remove the inner door again and swap the two parts.
Note: We installed the doors differently than the standard version provided by Ikea; in our case, the mirrored door is on the right and the wooden door on the left. On one hand, this is possible; on the other, you only need to do a few steps differently from the instructions, and those steps are the ones that are not symmetrical. I should mention that I usually have no idea what I’m actually screwing in when I’m at step 12 or any other step. I do it because I trust that Ikea knows what they are doing, since I do not. Therefore, it is not easy to understand how and what you need to do to have the left door on the right and vice versa.
E
Elvis_12202 Nov 2011 09:52Congratulations on assembling your Pax!
I can relate – I also built my 2.50-meter (8 foot 2 inch) sliding door Pax on my own, and it wasn’t without issues (though it was my own mistake, not IKEA’s).
I can relate – I also built my 2.50-meter (8 foot 2 inch) sliding door Pax on my own, and it wasn’t without issues (though it was my own mistake, not IKEA’s).
C
Christoph_61532 Nov 2011 10:04Finally:
The overall impression of the sliding doors is that they are “not quite perfect.” Whether this is due to my own work or other factors, I hesitate to judge. As you can see from my descriptions above, I do make mistakes, and working in an older building does not provide ideal conditions. From a quality standpoint, I am not completely satisfied with the result.
In hindsight, I would do some things differently, and might even consider having Ikea professionals install the doors. This was not primarily a financial decision, but as an office worker, I do enjoy assembling things myself at home.
So, as I said: next time I install a sliding-door closet, I will carefully consider whether I want to do it myself. If the doors are not mounted properly, I think it can significantly affect the longevity of the closet. I have some doubts about what I ended up doing there. It is at least not 100% perfect.
Ikea has gained a lot of respect from me—especially because of the problems I had and the support I received. This is a reminder that companies should invest much more in customer-friendly support and goodwill, as that brings far more benefit than advertising.
And last but not least: I intended to do this, but didn’t fully manage it.
Take breaks—these are mental breaks and good for your nerves.
Check intermediate steps—I should have simply checked whether the closet was standing straight. I didn’t think of this and, of course, things are always clearer in hindsight, but maybe just try to think ahead a little.
Listen to your partner. My wife gave me good advice several times and helped me avoid mistakes. I usually like working alone and don’t like being told what to do, but we tried to build the children’s room together, as harmoniously and calmly as possible.
My wife had a much better idea of what should go where, and I’m not as unskilled as this whole description might suggest.
Overall, the room turned out great, and the most important thing is: our daughter likes it very much. And that is what makes all the hard work worthwhile.
The overall impression of the sliding doors is that they are “not quite perfect.” Whether this is due to my own work or other factors, I hesitate to judge. As you can see from my descriptions above, I do make mistakes, and working in an older building does not provide ideal conditions. From a quality standpoint, I am not completely satisfied with the result.
In hindsight, I would do some things differently, and might even consider having Ikea professionals install the doors. This was not primarily a financial decision, but as an office worker, I do enjoy assembling things myself at home.
So, as I said: next time I install a sliding-door closet, I will carefully consider whether I want to do it myself. If the doors are not mounted properly, I think it can significantly affect the longevity of the closet. I have some doubts about what I ended up doing there. It is at least not 100% perfect.
Ikea has gained a lot of respect from me—especially because of the problems I had and the support I received. This is a reminder that companies should invest much more in customer-friendly support and goodwill, as that brings far more benefit than advertising.
And last but not least: I intended to do this, but didn’t fully manage it.
Take breaks—these are mental breaks and good for your nerves.
Check intermediate steps—I should have simply checked whether the closet was standing straight. I didn’t think of this and, of course, things are always clearer in hindsight, but maybe just try to think ahead a little.
Listen to your partner. My wife gave me good advice several times and helped me avoid mistakes. I usually like working alone and don’t like being told what to do, but we tried to build the children’s room together, as harmoniously and calmly as possible.
My wife had a much better idea of what should go where, and I’m not as unskilled as this whole description might suggest.
Overall, the room turned out great, and the most important thing is: our daughter likes it very much. And that is what makes all the hard work worthwhile.
I
IKEA-Experte2 Nov 2011 13:49In general, carefully review the assembly instructions and do not ignore visual cues such as "align with a spirit level," which might be worth emphasizing further.
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