Moving: Pax wardrobes - dismantle?

[Budl]

Hi, I'm moving house soon and have several IKEA Pax wardrobes. I'd love not to dismantle them for the move (just take the doors off to make them lighter), but are they stable enough to withstand being hauled down and up staircases without collapsing?

In my opinion yes.

Hmmm, possibly. Weve moved one a few times. Started to get quite wobbly and the backs break easily though

We had to dismantle them to get them down the stairs and rebuilding wasn't great
Best to keep the carcass together imho

Thanks all. That's what I'm thinking - will try to move them whole (minus doors) - not completely sure we can get them up the stairs intact in the new place but fingers crossed!

We dismantled them carefully and rebuilt them. They’re still standing now (would have been bought in 2002 so not sure if there have been changes to how they are built since then).

Yup, we also moved house with ours. Took shelves out, left doors on, taped them shut and unsuccessfully tried to get them downstairs without gouging the walls. They’ve been sitting happily in our new house for 5 years.

Thanks @VenusInfers - did you leave the doors on for extra stability?

@Budl I have dismantled mine for a removal and reassembled, they went back together perfectly. The next time the removal company told me to keep them together including the internal drawers which were the old plastic ones rather than the wooden ones. They literally taped all the way round to keep the door shut and took the whole thing out. Those were singles, we collapsed the doubles due to size. I took clothes off the hanging rails.

The doors don't offer any rigidity as they are only attached at one side and they add weight. Definitely leave at least one shelf in and tape it above and below to secure it in place. You are trying to avoid them going trapezoid.

If you do need to dismantle them it is very easy and the fixings come out easily, the hardest ones are the wooden dowels which need a cloth and a pair of pliers.

When you get the removal company in to quote you can ask them but they should be able to take singles whole at least.

Thanks @FencingWithKippers My main worry is getting the back panel off with all the tiny nails. That sounds like a time-consuming nightmare!

when we moved we used a moving service and they didn't dismantle them. they only took off the mirror dog and wrapped it separately.
they got them into the house through the windows though as they wouldn't have gone up the stairs.

@Budl easy, you do it from the inside. Use a small block of wood, place it against a corner, tap gently to not damage the panel where the pins went in. It helps if someone else is behind the wardrobe to see what's going on. Don't tap it all the way off just enough, all the way round so you can push the panel back on and get a pair of players on each pin to remove it. Hope that makes sense.

@FencingWithKippers that's genius, thank you!! I'd never have thought of that! 🙌

@Budl I used to not tap the panel pins all the way in so I could get a hammer under them to remove them to dismantle as we moved several times with Dh's job so I was always prepared!

Also genius!!!

our back panels are atrached with poster tape and a pin only near the corners.

@greenacrylicpaint and does that hold strong enough for normal use?

In my experience the 50cm units travel well whole, the 100cm less so. The 100cm are also harder to get up and down stairs without causing damage, so are better dismantled. 75cm units are probably borderline! Doors should definitely come off either way - they don’t add any stability, just weight.

I also never put the panel pins all the way in, to make disassembly easier.

I was coming here to say "it depends" - we have several, and the bigger full depth with two sliding doors we have I would not attempt, even after removing the doors. When you detach the bigger ones from the wall they can become very unstable and awkward to move. They are usually made from MDF which is REALLY heavy. I remember buying them and nearly not being able to manhandle some of the individual boxes (sides and doors I presume) into the van (alone). So in your situation I would plan on lots of helpers for lifting power, with the option to dismantle if necessary.