IKEA Pax wardrobe

smk77

Hi bought and fitted an IKEA PAX wardrobe a few months ago. The ceiling was exactly the same height as the frame and the recessed space was the same width. After a lot of hard work I managed to get the frame into the gap. Job well done..unfortunately, one of the doors rubs the ceiling when opened. I think that this is because the ceiling dips slightly as the door moves away from the wardrobe and the walls (not surprising I guess!). The hinges have been adjusted as much as possible.

If it was a wooden door then the solution would be to use a plane and take a millimeter off the top. However, as it's MDF this isn't really possible as it would split and leave a mess. Any suggestions?

sickparrot

The only thing I could think of would be to drill some offset holes 10 mm or so lower down, to use the 'A' slots instead of the 'B' slots on the hinge brackets (or vice versa). Use the same size drill that just fits in the existing holes, and use a depth stop so you don't drill out the side!

Ninja Edit: have you tried adjusting the brackets out slightly at the top so the whole door tilts slightly down when you open it?

smk77

sickparrot wrote: »

The only thing I could think of would be to drill some offset holes 10 mm or so lower down, to use the 'A' slots instead of the 'B' slots on the hinge brackets (or vice versa). Use the same size drill that just fits in the existing holes, and use a depth stop so you don't drill out the side!

Thanks for the reply. The problem with this is that the wardrobe is a double and a single so 3 doors in total. It's only the door on the single having a problem. So, adjusting by 10mm on one door is going to look at bit odd. I can see at the moment that this door is slightly higher than the other 2 and this is causing the problem. I just can't work out why it's higher...although, thinking about it now, it could be because I've literally squashed the frame in. As I said there was a gap designed for a wardrobe (new build property) and I gambled that I could get the frame in the space. To get the sides up for the single frame I had to hit them into a vertical position so it's possible that this one is slightly buckled and therefore the door is rising when opened..I might swap it onto the other side and see how it goes.

sickparrot wrote: »

Ninja Edit: have you tried adjusting the brackets out slightly at the top so the whole door tilts slightly down when you open it?

Can you do that? I could only make them go up and down slightly.

sickparrot

Possibly not, I forgot they were clip-in ones, not the screw in ones you get on other stuff.

amilotte

We had exactly the same problem with our PAX wardrobes, out of 5 doors one scuffed the ceiling. Luckily we had just changed the ceiling from artex to flat plaster so what we did was sanded down the area where the door caught. Luckily it didn't need much but of course this is possibly not an option if you have artex....

smk77

amilotte wrote: »

We had exactly the same problem with our PAX wardrobes, out of 5 doors one scuffed the ceiling. Luckily we had just changed the ceiling from artex to flat plaster so what we did was sanded down the area where the door caught. Luckily it didn't need much but of course this is possibly not an option if you have artex....

Thanks, That is definately an option as no artex. I did think about this but thought that the sanding would take far too long. The room needs a bit of decorating so I may sand and re-paint. I hate painting ceilings and sanding won't be easy

sickparrot

Update: the rear cross head screw on the hinge moves the whole lot forwards or backwards, dunno whether this helps.

gmgmgm

If it's an MDF door, can't you just plane the top of it? I doubt MDF would split.

Also worth googling the hinges: standard (European) cupboard hinges have all sorts of simple adjustments which can be made.

andrew-b

Just use a standard wood file to file a bit off the top of the door. More likely to damage it with a plane i think.

Andy

grassit

You might be easier running your plane over the plinth at the bottom. You'll prob have to dismantle the wardrobe to turn it over, but you can get away with a rubbish finish on the bottom if it sits on carpet.