Attaching Ikea Pax to Wall

[Jessroe]

Hi all - hoping you can help with this dilemma! Apologies for the basic questions, Youtube made it look easy which is never the case when you live in an old house

We decided to make our Ikea Pax look built in - we removed the carpet, and skirting board, checked that the floor is level and then we built a base to sit on top which is also level.

We put the frame onto the base, the first one secures to the wall perfectly, the middle one is the same. We then went to secure the final one to the wall, and once aligned with the middle wardrobe, there is a large gap between the top of the wardrobe and the wall. We removed the base in case that was causing issues but its the same problem without it which leads me to think our wall is not very straight. Ive attached a picture of the end wardrobe (ignore the fact its on the light switch as it needs to be pushed over!) but as you can see its flush on the bottom and the gap is getting larger as you get higher.

Have we done something wrong with our build, or is it just the walls? It is a 1930s property.

If it is the wall, is the best thing to do to attach a baton behind, and then cover the side of the wardrobe with something to get that built in look?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Is this looking at the side of the end of the run of wardrobes? A picture from further away would help. Walls in any building be it old or new are seldom perfectly vertical, pack it out where necessary and cover the gap with a beading or fill the gap. It's fairly predictable if only you'd checked it with a level beforehand.

 

[Jessroe]

sorry the picture is taken the furthest i can get as im back against the wall!

stupid question - how do you check if a wall is straight vertically? (you can tell this is my first DIY experience and its not going well!)

 

[Deleted member 174758]

stupid question - how do you check if a wall is straight vertically?

Piece of wood at the top of the wall (e.g. an offcut of 2 x 2in softwood, but even a bean can would suffice) with a string tied round it that has a weight on the end, such as a steel nut or a tool. Measure distance from wall to string at top (a) and bottom (b). The distance at a and b should be the same if the wall is plumb. As old as the Egyptians