IKEA PAX fitting cost: what changes the price

Two costs, not one

A PAX wardrobe has two separate costs. The first is IKEA's: frames, doors, hinges and interiors, sold separately. You usually order them yourself and have them delivered. The second is the fitting, which is ours. The fitting price does not include the IKEA units.

Add the two together when you compare quotes, or when you weigh PAX against bespoke. The IKEA basket alone is not the cost of a wardrobe that looks built in.

What the fitting price covers

Plain assembly builds the units and leaves the gaps. If that is all you need, see flat-pack assembly. A fitted-look price covers more:

• Building the frames where they stand, levelling them on their feet and fixing each one to the wall.
• Filler panels or a box-out above the frames, closing the gap to the ceiling.
• Trims at the sides, scribed to the wall so no gap shows.
• Hanging the doors, setting up the interiors, fitting handles and sealing the gaps.

The size of the run

More frames and a longer run mean more to level, fix and trim, and more doors to hang. Frames come in 201 cm and 236 cm heights. Most ceilings are higher than either, so the shorter frame leaves more gap to close above it.

The shape of the room

Walls are rarely straight or square, so each trim is scribed to its wall: we mark the wall's line onto the trim and cut to it. Alcoves, chimney breasts and corners mean more of that work, and a corner run must be planned so the doors clear each other.

Sloping ceilings are the hard case. PAX frames are rectangular and a roof line is not, so we look at those rooms one by one and say if PAX is the wrong system. For those rooms, see loft and alcove wardrobes.

Doors: hinged, sliding or mirrored

Hinged doors are hung once the frames are level and fixed, then adjusted until the gaps between them are even. Sliding doors run in a track, so the frames must be level and square before they go on. The work differs, so say which you want when you ask for a price.

A mirrored door hangs like any other, but a mirror is easier to break and harder to carry. Tell us if you want them.

The gap above the frames

A filler panel across the top closes the gap. A box-out does the same with a timber frame covered in board, which is more to build. Either is scribed to the ceiling, because ceilings are not straight.

IKEA's UK page for the 236 cm frame gives a minimum ceiling height of 237 cm to build it upright, and 240 cm if you want sliding doors. If your ceiling is close to those figures, measure it in several places before you order.

Work around the wardrobe

Tell us about each of these at the start:

• An old wardrobe that has to come out first.
• Internal lighting. A new socket or wiring is work for a registered electrician, and the power has to be planned before the box-out is closed.
• Painting. Fillers and box-outs are left ready to paint. If you want them painted, or the room decorated, see painting and decorating.

A delivery that matches the design

A missing frame, door or hinge can stop the job part-way. We check your design against the ceiling, skirting, sockets and door swings, and can write the shopping list so nothing is missing on delivery day. Check the boxes against it when they arrive, before the fitting date.

How to compare quotes

Two quotes for the same wardrobe can cover different amounts of work, and a low figure that leaves out the filler and side trims prices a wardrobe that still looks flat-pack. Ask each fitter these, and get the answers in writing:

• Does the price include the filler or box-out above the frames and the trims at the sides?
• Are the doors, handles and interiors fitted, or only the frames?
• Are sealing and painting included?
• What happens if a wall is out of square on fitting day?
• What does the quote leave out?

What to send for a price

Send these on WhatsApp. The more you send, the closer the first price is to the final one. For a full run of wardrobes we visit to measure first, at no charge and with no obligation.

• Photos of the wall, wide and close-up, showing the skirting, sockets and radiators
• Ceiling height measured in several places, and the wall width at floor and ceiling
• Your IKEA planner link or shopping list, if you have one
• Hinged, sliding or mirrored doors
• Whether an old wardrobe has to come out first
• Whether you want lighting inside
• Your postcode

If you are still deciding

To do the fitting yourself, how to make PAX look built in sets out the steps in the order we work. To weigh PAX against a made-to-measure wardrobe, read PAX or bespoke. IKEA PAX wardrobe fitting shows how a job runs.