Ikea Pax wardrobe - attaching side panels

Hello,

my Pax cabinet stands in the middle of a wall and there is a gap of about 10 cm to the wall on the sides. I want to attach a panel at these spots.

I can easily get and cut the wooden panel. But how do you attach it to the cabinet (or otherwise)?

I was thinking about drilling two holes at the spots where cabinets are normally screwed together. Then attach a batten on the outside and on the batten the panel. However, the holes are quite far forward at the front, so it gets quite tight.

How did you do it?

Regards

Basically as you described, only first screw the slat to the panel and then screw the slat to the body through the holes. That’s also how you do it with insert strips in the kitchen.
If anyone is wondering here why the other order: if you first screw the slat to the cabinet, then the panel has to be screwed on from the front and the screws will be visible.

Wouldn't it be more practical to have 20 cm on one side and mount a foldable panel there, so that the space can be used for an ironing board, ladder, or similar?

that would have been my idea too, thank you Ikea-expert.

Basically as you described, just first screw the slat to the panel and then screw the slat through the holes to the cabinet. That’s also how you do it with spacer strips in the kitchen. Anyone wondering here why the other order: if you screw the slat to the cabinet first, then the panel inevitably has to be screwed on from the front and you can see the screws.

But to attach the screws from behind, you need a thicker panel. However, there is probably no space for this because the holes of the cabinet are so far forward. The roof batten itself also needs space and if the panel is then, say, 18 mm thick, it sticks out in front.

It would also be nice if you could somehow clamp the panels, but I don’t know any suitable components for that. You would have to be able to attach something between the wall and the cabinet that has rubber pads on the left and right so the cabinet is not damaged, and that you can then adjust in width so that it clamps in place. Then you would have to somehow hang the panel there. But as said, the concrete components are missing for that...

Wouldn't it be more practical to have 20 cm on one side and mount a foldable panel there, so that the space can be used for an ironing board, ladder, or similar?

One side is out because there is a TV connection there that I still want to be able to access (by removing the panel). The other side is also out because it is an exterior wall. I don’t want to put the cabinet directly against it. But I also find it visually nicer if the cabinet stands in the middle.

According to the assembly instructions of the cabinet, the corpus should have at least 5cm space on the side to the wall, so placing it in the middle is probably the best solution.
And besides, in my opinion, it also looks nicer.

This is how I would do it: Have 2 pieces of back panel cut to size in the right color at the hardware store, maybe you will have to adjust them a bit if the walls are not completely straight.
Back panels are about 3mm thick, and they are untreated on the back side.
Then get two square timbers and glue them onto the back panel. This will reinforce the whole construction and prevent it from bending later on.
For fixing, simply drill holes through the corpus walls to the outside, where the floor brackets are inserted; 3 holes per side should be enough.
Then measure the height and depth of the holes from the front edge of the corpus and mark the corresponding spots on the square timbers of the covers, and pre-drill the holes.
Now you can screw the whole thing together and it’s done.

I hope this was described somewhat understandably.
If not, I can make a drawing...

Kind regards, Stefan

To be able to attach the screws from the back, however, you need a thicker cover panel. But there probably isn’t space for this because the holes in the cabinet are so far forward. The roof batten itself also needs space, and if the cover panel is, say, 18 mm thick, it will protrude at the front.

I don’t see the problem.
Here is a picture of a fitting panel made from a 16 mm thick plinth panel, which is attached to the side of the carcass through the grid holes. The holes in the Faktum cabinets also have the 28 mm spacing.

It would also be nice if the panels could somehow be clamped, but I don’t know of any suitable components for that. You would have to be able to attach something between the wall and the cabinet that has rubber pads on the left and right so the cabinet won’t be damaged, and that can then be adjusted in width so it is clamped. Then you would have to somehow hook the panel onto that. But as I said, the concrete components for that are missing...

You could also simply clamp the strip by gluing window sealing tape (I-profile) on the side of the panel. The profile compensates for uneven walls and ensures a sufficiently firm hold, provided you have somehow mounted a support so that it cannot be pushed through backwards.