Ikea PAX wardrobes and skirting boards

[chillipickle]

We are planning to buy PAX wardrobes, went to Ikea today for a look and noticed that (unlike our Billy bookcases) they don't have a cut-out bit at the back where the skirting board goes.

Because the sides will be visible, we would prefer to fix them properly against the wall rather than leaving a gap.

I asked the assistant, and she said could we not just cut away that bit of skirting board? I very much doubt these wardrobes are going to stay in the same place for that long, and we can't keep chopping out and replacing bits of skirting board every time they are moved.

I asked whether we could cut out a bit at the bottom ourselves, and she said it would be possible, but then we couldn't put a drawer at the bottom because it wouldn't go all the way in (seems no big deal) and also that it would invalidate their guarantee.

Has anyone done this? Is there anything else we need to watch out for? I couldn't see the back of any display ones to see how they are fixed together and what we would have to cut. Our skirting boards are not huge (60s house), so we'd need to cut out a piece about 10cm high and 2cm deep.

Any advice will be very welcome.

How do they fix to the wall? Can you attch bat tons to the wardrobe the dame debth as the skirting?

As far as I know (and am prepared to be corrected if anyone actually has these wardrobes and knows better) the only fixing to the wall is a bracket at the top. We could in theory attach battens to fill the gap, but again this becomes a job to be repeated if we want to move them. Though far preferable to removing the skirting board in my opinion!

We have only recently moved house, so it's quite likely we will want to move them as we get other bits of furniture and work out where to put everything. Also one is for the DC's room, which is bound to change as they get bigger.

ikeareviews.net/ This is a site where people post reviews of ikea products so they may have info there on this.

The backing board goes all the way to the bottom, we have taurus skirting that is standard in most new builds. I also have billy bookcases so I know what you mean about the cut out at the bottom.

Ours aren't fixed to the wall, they just lean against it. If you wanted it against the wall then you would have to cut the skirting.

I have a million Pax wardrobes, well, 6 doubles and 8 singles dotted all over the house. The problem comes in the flooring, in the playroom we have laminate so the wardrobes stand pretty straight, in the bedrooms it is carpeted and they sit on the carpet gripper so are never straight hence the need for the adjustable legs to be able to tilt them backwards toward the wall.

You can see the side of a few of my wardrobes and I have never found it to be an issue. I agree that maybe fixing it to the wall would be a problem unless it is against the wall. None of mine are but my children are almost 6 and 9 so don't pull on them.

Any wardrobes side by side are bolted together with the connector bolts provided with each wardrobe. I suppose you could cover the gap with a cover panel from the kitchen department as you would fit a filler panel in a kitchen.

Thanks, Fizzy, that's very helpful indeed! Our children are 4 and 2, and although they have never tried to pull over any large items of furniture yet, I wouldn't like to leave these unfixed. We have lots of visitors with small children too.

Aside from whether it can be secured to the wall if it's leaning, my other problem with having a gap between wardrobe and wall is that one of these will be alongside our bed, so it could be annoying to look at, especially if it was a wider gap at the bottom, getting narrower until it touched the wall at the top. I'm less bothered about the one for the children's room as I'm sure no-one would notice it there.

Actually I don't spend that much time lounging in bed, so I would probably notice less than I think. I think we might try it and see, and if it does bother us then we can make a decision about how to fix it.

I know this post is quite old but this is for anyone new. I am planning on buying Pax wardrobes and we have a very deep skirting board. The solution I've come up with is get three long strips of wood (same length as height of wardrobes minus however deep your skirting board is). Paint the wood first to whichever colour your wardrobe is. Measure the width of the wardrobe and mark on the wall. Make sure the woods is flush with the wardrobes. Then screw one piece of wood into the wall where you want one end of the wardrobes to be and then screw the other piece of wood into the wall exactly flush at the other end of the wardrobes. That way you've got the gaps filled in between wall and wardrobes. Screw the third piece of wood slightly above the wardrobes so brackets can be installed into that piece of wood.