IKEA PAX Wardrobe Installation — Assembled, Anchored, Built In
The PAX boxes are stacked in the garage and the wall is not straight. We assemble it, anchor it, and trim it so it looks like it was built there.
JMB Builders does IKEA PAX wardrobe installation across the Twin Cities metro. You buy the frames, doors and interior fittings; we assemble them, level them on the floor, anchor every frame to the wall studs, hang and adjust the doors, then trim them in with filler panels, a base and crown so the run reads as a built-in closet. Priced per project, quoted from your photos and your IKEA order within one business day.
- Priced per project, labor only
- Frames anchored to studs, not drywall
- Filler panels, base and crown for a built-in look
- Quote from photos in 1 business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
IKEA PAX is a good closet system for the money, and it is a bad afternoon. The frames are big, the floor is never level, the wall is never plumb, and the instructions assume both. Doors that will not line up and a frame that leans into the room are the two things people call us about. Done right, the frames are shimmed level as a unit, screwed to each other, and anchored into studs so a kid can climb the shelves and nothing moves.
The built-in look is the second half. A row of PAX frames has a gap at each end wall, a gap at the ceiling, and a toe space at the floor. We close them with painted filler panels scribed to the wall, a base that matches your baseboard, and crown or a flat head casing at the ceiling. From the room it reads as a closet the house came with. The doors stay IKEA doors, or you skip them and we hang our own painted doors on the frames.
We install what you ordered. Send the order confirmation with the room photos and we check the frame count, heights and depth against the wall before you unpack anything.
What you supply
- The PAX frames, doors, hinges, interior fittings and any IKEA lighting, delivered and in the room or the garage
- Your IKEA order confirmation so we can check frame sizes against the wall before assembly
- Photos of the wall from across the room, the ceiling line and the floor along the wall, with the wall width and ceiling height
- Painting is quoted as a separate line — or leave the fillers and crown primed and caulked and paint them yourself
What JMB supplies
- Assembly of every frame, shelf, drawer and door, with the frames screwed to each other as one unit
- Shims and a level base so the frames stand plumb on an uneven floor and the doors line up
- Anchoring into wall studs with the right fasteners, or blocking added where the studs miss
- Door hanging and adjustment so gaps are even and every door closes on its own
- Filler panels in MDF or plywood, scribed to the end walls and the ceiling, primed and ready for paint
- A base to match your baseboard and crown or a head casing at the ceiling, filled and caulked
- Cutting frames or fillers around a baseboard heater, an outlet or a soffit when the wall has one
- Photos of the finished closet in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos within one business day. What moves the number:
- How many frames, and whether they are the tall or the short height
- Doors: hinged, sliding, or no doors (frames left open or fitted with our painted doors)
- Drawers and interior fittings, which take most of the assembly time
- Fillers on one end, both ends and the ceiling, and crown vs. a flat head casing
- How far off level the floor is and how far out of plumb the wall is
- Baseboard, a heater or a soffit that has to be worked around or removed and returned
- Delivered to the room vs. carried up from the garage
Send the IKEA order confirmation and three photos of the wall. We check the frame layout against the wall width and ceiling height before you open a box.
How long it takes
Two or three frames with hinged doors and basic shelving: one day. A full wall of frames with drawers, fillers and crown: two to three days, plus painting after.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized quote within one business day. We only come out to measure first when the job needs a tape measure — no pressure, no games.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Frames assembled and anchored only
You do not want the trim, you want it standing straight and bolted to the wall. We assemble, level, join the frames, anchor them and adjust the doors. The cheapest version of the job.
Full built-in look
Frames plus scribed filler panels at both ends, a filler at the ceiling with crown or a head casing, and a base that matches the room. Exposed end panels get a painted skin so no white melamine shows.
PAX in a reach-in closet
Frames set inside an existing closet, with the closet door removed or kept. Often the closet is a hair too shallow or too narrow for a frame; we tell you from the photos what fits and what to order.
Our doors on PAX frames
The frames are IKEA, the doors are ours: painted shaker or flat doors on standard cabinet hinges to match the other doors in the house. Same drawers and shelves inside.
IKEA PAX Wardrobe Installation — Assembled, Anchored, Built In: questions, answered
Do you assemble and install IKEA PAX wardrobes I already bought?
Yes. That is the whole service. You order the frames, doors, drawers and fittings from IKEA and get them to the house; we assemble them, level them, screw the frames together, anchor them to the studs and adjust the doors. Send the order confirmation with the photos and we check that what you ordered fits the wall before you unpack anything.
Can you make IKEA PAX look like a built-in closet?
Yes, and it is the reason most people call. A run of frames leaves a gap at each end wall, a gap at the ceiling and a toe space at the floor. We close them with filler panels scribed to the wall, a base that matches your baseboard and crown or a flat head casing at the top. Exposed end panels get a painted skin. It goes in primed and caulked; painting is quoted as a separate line, or paint it yourself.
What if my floor is not level or my wall is not straight?
Almost no floor or wall is. We shim the frames level as a group so the doors line up across the whole run, then scribe the fillers to the wall and ceiling so the gap disappears. A frame set on an unlevel floor without shims is why PAX doors rub and drawers roll open on their own.
Does PAX have to be anchored to the wall?
Yes. IKEA supplies wall anchors and says to use them, and a tall frame full of clothes can tip if a child climbs it. We anchor into the studs, not the drywall, and add blocking where the studs do not land behind a frame. On a plaster or concrete wall we use the right anchor for it.
Will PAX fit inside my existing closet?
Sometimes. PAX frames come in two depths and two heights, and a reach-in closet is often just shy of the deeper frame or the taller height. Measure the inside width, depth and height and send them with a photo of the closet opening. We tell you which frames fit, whether the closet door has to come off to get them in, and what to order.
Can you add lights inside the wardrobe?
Plug-in LED strips or IKEA's own lighting, yes; we run the cord, mount the strip and hide the driver in the toe space. Anything hardwired into the wall, including a new outlet behind the frames, is done by a licensed electrician before we set the frames.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners and for the builders and dealers we sub for. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough. You hear back within one business day. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed September 26, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All built-ins pages
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