Is it true that Ikea kitchens have no backs?

[amumof2]

I was told this by another kitchen company. He says that the units are fixed directly onto the wall and are open at the back.

Does anyone have an Ikea kitchen who can tell me if this is true. We will only be having base units and tall larder units.

I don't know, but I think they come in odd sizes. My sister was torn between another company and Ikea for her new kitchen, and her carpenter phoned up the other company and said "look, if you can't get your price down, my customer will buy an Ikea kitchen, and I won't fit an Ikea kitchen, so please do something on your price".

I can't remember why he hated them, but he'd certainly had a bad experience before trying to fit them.

I can't imagine it is true - they wouldn't be terribly solid. As far as I know the only problem in this regard is that you used to have to cut the back of the undersink cupboard to size yourself as pipes etc would not be standard.
All the construction PDF's are on their site in any case. Find one of the cupboards you want to buy and open the installation manual. You'll soon see

They have backs, but they are the flimsy 2/4mm fiberboard.
At the top at the back of the unit they have a thin support rail.

Our old kitchen was IKEA, it had backs. I thought it seemed fine, not flimsy, but what do I know?

As I understand it, Ikea kitchens have a back but fit flush to the wall with no built in gap for service pipes.

You can see the units have backs on the website pictures.

All our IKEA units have backs apart from the sink unit which only has a half back to allow for plumbing.

I'm pretty sure the kitchen in our house which was here when we moved in is Ikea.

It looks good but is quite clearly not high quality and has some annoying quirks when you try to use it. The units DO have backs, but the lighting design is bad, and the sink is too small, and they way it's laid out in the space is lazy imo - they've gone for the simplest layout rather than most useful/ergonomic and avoided any corner units.

Thanks for the replies. That has given me something to think about. Good they have backs, although interesting that the general view of Ikea is no so positive as I was expecting. I think I'll still go for Ikea though as we need a lot of units and it is quite cheap but looks stylish - at least on the surface.

I have Ikea units but sourced my own worktops/ sink/taps and oven etc. I also used my own fitter. I'm very happy with it.

I got a custom-made, solid wood doors kitchen fitted for me by a local company for less than a flat-pack ikea kitchen would have cost, unfitted....

as soupdragon says, they have backs which are flush to the wall.

I love our IKEA kitchen, we've had it 2 years now, and it's fantastic.

We used to have an IKEA kitchen, yes, backs are flimsy and flush with the wall.

But -

it was a fab kitchen. It's all in the fitting . If you have good joiner who is prepared to not just put it all together but take care with every shutline and door etc, they look good and last as well as any other kitchen (bar maybe the vair expensive ones).

We did have to add a metal brace to one of the tall units that bowed when the expensivish/heavy oven and microwave were installed .

We've had several IKEA kitchens in the past - they have been great. Good planning and installed properly they can be really good value. To make the best of them use great handles, worktops and appliances and few people would guess the cost.
In my current property I can't have one due to the very restricted configuration - they don't make suitable corner units. I have tried going to both internet & local companies but they are waaaay too expensive so we are sticking with it as it is

We bought some IKEA kitchen cabinets (to use as hall storage rather than for the kitchen) about 4 weeks ago. They all had hardboard-type backs as standard. I think your man might be making things up for his own reasons.

Agree with whoever said it's the planning and installation that matters.

I doubt ours was professionally planned.. or at least not by somebody sufficiently good and it annoys the hell out of me... shadows cast over the sink so you can't see if your washing up is clean or not, not enough power sockets in useful enough places, odd shape/size cupboards (none take cereal packets for example).

Our Ikea kitchen had backs and was fitted brilliantly by my dad. New house now, I miss my kitchen.

Oh, yes, I totally agree: tart it up with good quality handles and worktops and splashback if you budget stretches to that ; that and good fitting and nobody'll ever know the kitchen was done on a budget.

Of course IKEA units have backs.
You build the carcass : the back is 3 mm hardboard, the sides and bottom are 11mm chipboard - like all flat pack kitchens
then you fit into the carcass the bits for whatever you are doing - shelves, drawers, carousels etc etc.

Base units do not have a top : because the worktop forms the top.
They take standard size worktops and appliances.
The base units sit against the back wall : so that the drawers are actually 60cm deep rather than the 50cm that other makers fob you off with
therefore utilities need to run at plinth height
but that is cool as then they can be accessed without having to remove kitchen units.

what's plinth height talkin?

www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/12317/
16 cm