Hackers Help: PAX Wardrobe Sliding Doors – Added a 3rd closet and now the rails don’t line up

Jules Yap·
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I purchased a Pax Wardrobe unit (2 frames, each: 39 3/8” wide and 93 1/8” H. The total length is 78 3/4″)

I purchased a third unit: 39 3/8” wide and 93 1/8” H and the door and rails to accommodate it.

I cut the sliding door rails to fit the third unit, but the seam between the connected rails is sticking badly and causing the doors to come off the rails. They don’t roll smoothly at all, as the they do in the first two units.

Can you suggest how to correct this problem with a specialized connection piece, or if it is available, a length of rail (top and bottom) that would extend the complete length of the three units, which is: 117 3/4”.

I don’t know the exact name for the type of rails Ikea uses, so I’m not sure what to ask for, or if they come in the 117 3/4’ length.

PAX wardrobe sliding doors

PAX wardrobe sliding doors problem

PAX wardrobe sliding doors

PAX wardrobe sliding doors

PAX wardrobe sliding doors

~ Ron Marsh

Jules Yap
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8 Responses

  1. Your top rail looks slightly lower on the right wardrobe than the left. Try repositioning the wardrobes and using additional screws to bolt them together ensuring they are clamped so dont move at all.
    On the bottom the rail looks slightly twisted. Try manipulating both rails (twisting/ bending in opposing directions) so that they line up better.

    I did the 3 door hack too and managed to get them lining up pretty well. A slight bump when it runs over the join, but we spent ages getting the alignment as close to perfect as possible.

    Goodluck

    Reply

  2. we want to do just this – buy 2 pairs of sluding doors to make 3. a guy at Ikea said he thought there was a utube on how to do just that. have looked but can’t see ine. has anyone seen.

    Reply

  3. Hi,
    From what I see on the Ikea site, the sliding doors are always in pairs, so for 3 PAX units, you need 2 kits (4 doors). I would have made the join in the rails in the middle of the centre unit, to eliminate any mis-alignment between the 2nd & 3rd unit. Probably too late for that.
    In your case, you need to re-attach the 3rd unit to the centre unit, so that the rails have a better chance of alignment.
    Also, as I see a pile of plastic bits under the lower rail, add a chamfer/fillet to the edges where the rails meet.

    Let us know when it’s fixed.

    These sliding door kits are v. good value – hours of fun for 150€! I have just fitted PAX sliding doors to my own woodwork (hack submitted & awaiting approval).

    Dick-san

    Reply

  4. I don’t have any sliding doors at all my pax’s, so it’s just guessing.
    To me it looks like the carcasses aren’t adjusted to the same height. If this is not the reason, there might be some tension. Maybe forced into the rail during cutting.
    If there is enough space behind or underneath, I would use a piece of flat aluminum profil from the hardware store and some small countersunk machinescrews to join and align. Either with threading or bolt and nut.

    Reply

  5. Hello, i had the same problem when i installed my pax (5 sliding doors). the top rails had no gaps, they were perfectly aligned, the bottom ones were a disaster! Like suggested above, try to bend the rail a bit and adjust the screw positions (2nd pic from bottom) to keep the racks aligned. since i had to move forward a bit one of the bottom rails, i’ve also put some extra screws and washers under the bottom rail to act like spacers and keep the rail perfectly vertical. Now the doors runs perfectly, there’s only a sightly leap when the rails join, but never had a problem, and my doors are the heavy metal and glass.

    Reply

  6. The rails are just called PAX sliding rails. They don’t have a separate name like Komplement/any of the other door names since it’s technically apart of the installation process for the PAX frame.

    I think because the collective length options you can choose from to have a sliding door option are usually only 59″ or the 78″ it’s harder to connect three frames that equal more than 78. I’m not sure how you can cut the railing down since the grooves are already in preset spaces for those combo widths. If you get it, more power to you!

    Reply

  7. Uninstall the support at the top that is on the *higher* side. Insert 1 washer in between the bracket and the cabinet and re-attatch using original fasteners. Repeat until the higher side is level with the lower side. Celebrate.

    Reply

  8. It’s hard to tell what exactly I’m looking at in some of these photos, and I don’t have a comparable system of my own, but at a glance it just looks like alignment issues where the rail sections meet. I’d take some tools to the rails where the two pieces meet and try to bend them to mate better, and then supplement with some strategic filler material (JB Weld?) and/or sturdy tape (e.g., aluminum tape) inside the wheel race(s) to smooth the rail transitions.

    Reply

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