Ventilation of IKEA METOD cabinets on external wall

Hello everyone,

we are in the process of planning a kitchen for our new apartment and are currently puzzled by one point: One side of the kitchen is adjacent to an exterior wall. Since the building is an Art Nouveau building from 1910, ventilation of the cabinets mounted on the exterior walls is especially important to prevent condensation and mold growth in winter. What options do we have with Metod? As far as I can see, Ikea doesn't seem to have anything planned for this... Is the IKEA planning and assembly service (we want to have the kitchen fully installed for time reasons) competent enough to adequately consider and solve this issue if explicitly addressed?

A wider countertop with a ventilation grille at the back would be an option to be able to place the cabinets further away from the wall, but I’m not sure if IKEA could even deliver the countertop wider (custom-made).

Thanks & best regards
Specialist

Unfortunately, I don’t have a ready-made solution in the drawer, just a small suggestion: We had a similar problem in a room here, in which tall Pax cabinets were supposed to stand. I placed the said cabinets with a 5cm gap from the wall and mounted a small fan on each cabinet that runs every few hours for a few minutes and stirs or exchanges the air behind them. Since then, we have had no mold problems in that area. Maybe just a small suggestion... Bye, Micha

Unlike Faktum (and PAX), the backs of METOD cabinets do not rest against the wall. The cabinets are therefore ventilated at the back. I had mounted the cabinets during my first FAKTUM installation exactly as intended, directly on the wall with wall cabinets above the cooktop and sink. Mildew spots formed on the back panels, except on one that did not fully touch the wall due to its unevenness. That alone was enough to prevent mildew from forming there. Afterwards, I always installed the cabinets with a half-centimeter gap to the wall. I would not expect anything from the installation service. They are often employees of shipping companies who can hardly assemble properly.

What??? And then IKEA proudly charges €179 per meter of wardrobe to be assembled??? We also wanted to have it assembled, but now... *ponder*

Not all of them are bad in general, I would just inform myself exactly beforehand who is doing it. It is also possible that the installation of the freestanding fridge into the cabinet is generally rejected.