Fitted wardrobes or standalone ones?

evoke

I've had a look on the Ikea site. The PAX range seems to be semi-fitted! Is this true? You basically screw the frame to the wall and then hang the doors onto the frame? I do like the customisation options.

pinkteapot

We are getting a fitted bedroom put in the week after next, which includes a run of furniture along an external wall. Neither company who quoted even mentioned this as a possible problem. My mum had one done about 6 years ago, again along an external wall and has had no damp problems at all.

I have just had a look online and it seems to primarily be an issue with front-frame only fits. These are where you open the cupboard doors and can see the walls as there are no backs to the fitted units. If the inside of the wall gets very cold in winter then damp can form and clothes left in the cupboards all winter can get mould on them.

We are getting full carcass furniture so I don't believe that will be an issue. (I hope!). We have a modern house and our walls never feel particularly cold....

As for the OP's question, fitted bedrooms cost a lot more than freestanding or the Ikea Pax system so the budget may answer the question. Fitted bedrooms are expensive and if you plan to move house anytime soon they're not so worth it as you can't take the furniture with you.

Due to the layout of our bedroom, we needed the storage you get with the top-box wardrobes that run over the bed so Ikea wasn't going to work for us. You can get freestanding units with top boxes but I wasn't keen on any that I saw.

Maz1963

Yes, mine are the ones where you just have the front structure, and you can see the walls when you open the wardrobes. I'm no expert, but assume having a back to the wardrobes, against the wall, will project you from the damp issue. It sounds like your plan is a better one than my previous neighbours had!

pinkteapot

Fitted bedroom companies still offer 'front frame only' - they're the cheap option.

The issue is really condensation rather than damp (damp being more worrying to people).

Fingers crossed anyway! I hadn't heard of the problem before this thread but my parents had a fitted bedroom at the house I grew up in with no problems (1990 built - same age as our house coincedentally) and my mum has had one in her 1960s house for the last five years or so, again with no issue.

If the Ikea range is effectively front-frame only then you may need to watch out for this issue. But it's only likely if the walls of your house (interior surfaces) get very cold in winter. If they do, the lack of ventilation where wall surfaces are inside cupboards can result in condensation on the walls which makes your clothes damp.

harz99

Maz1963 wrote: »

Yes, mine are the ones where you just have the front structure, and you can see the walls when you open the wardrobes. I'm no expert, but assume having a back to the wardrobes, against the wall, will project you from the damp issue. It sounds like your plan is a better one than my previous neighbours had!

It may protect your clothes from getting damp but still leave black mould behind the wardrobes.

More of an issue in rooms that "feel" cold, sometimes because they don't get the sun, sometimes because an older house has single thickness solid walls etc.

pinkteapot

Useful warning - I'd like to think the bedroom companies would have warned us if it would have been an issue at ours (sunny 1990 built bedroom!) but you never know... I'd love a period house in the future so I'll remember this! (though a modern fitted bedroom would probably look completely out of place anyway at that point).

evoke

Okay, some useful stuff. I'm looking into the PAX wardrobes now.

For anyone who has fitted a PAX, how long would a 2m wide one with two sliding doors and 3-4 internal customisation options take to assemble and fit to the wall? And I presume you need two people to do it?

becs

We had a carpenter do these for us although sure if you're reasonableat diy they would be easy. They're on an external wall over the stair bulkhead and have been in 2 years, we have absolutely no problem with damp.

27col

evoke wrote: »

Okay, some useful stuff. I'm looking into the PAX wardrobes now.

For anyone who has fitted a PAX, how long would a 2m wide one with two sliding doors and 3-4 internal customisation options take to assemble and fit to the wall? And I presume you need two people to do it?

I did exactly this last Thursday with my son. We assembled the main bodies and the sliding doors in a very few hours. I left after we had fixed them to the wall and got the sliding doors working OK. My son finished all the fitting out (High shelves,hanging rails, two drawers and a low level sliding arrangement for trousers). He did all this himself and said that it was all finished by 9pm. I'm well pleased with the whole experience. It has confirmed my previous opinion of the quality of IKEA design and manufacture.

lollol

so happy i found this thread.
my ? is can you carpet the room before putting up the fitted pax sliding doors wardrobes?or is it best to have them sit on a solid floor