Asked on Nov 30, 2018

How difficult would it be to shorten an IKEA Kallax cube unit?

It’s one row of cubes too wide for my space. Because I would be using it to store glass pieces (pretty heavy), the long boards would need to be shortened rather than the individual shelf pieces.

  4 answers
  • Zard Pocleeb Zard Pocleeb on Nov 30, 2018

    Can you post a picture?

  • Lynn Sorrell Lynn Sorrell on Nov 30, 2018

    you want to shorten it from side?? just cut it off, it's particle board covered in plastic veneer.you'll need to tape it well so you don't damage veneer and mark boards with cut so they don't splinter. The more teeth on saw blade the less chipping you could use jig saw,hand saw. Then you'll need to recover raw edges with matching plastic veneer. if you can peel back veneer on edges you could just use that,before cutting with saw score the veneer with razor blade so veneer is longer than cut off point of actual board. Hope that makes sense.

  • Seth Seth on Nov 30, 2018

    Sheryl,

    Do you have the original assembly instructions? If not, go to the IKEA website and download them. You can remove the pieces you need to to shorten it by one cube and reassemble it with the finished end piece. All the dowels should be in the right position. The problem is the ends of the top and bottom pieces, which need to be cut as you mentioned. You may not have success trying to peel the veneer back and reusing it to cover the cut ends as Lynn suggested, but it's certainly worth a try. If it does not work, another option to using veneer to cover the cut edges would be to buy some wooden trim to cover them. Use it on the the other end as well so both ends match. Try to match the paint color as best as you can. In addition to Lynn's suggestion of covering your cut line with tape, score it on all four sides with a utility knife. It will also help to get a clean edge.

  • Mogie Mogie on Dec 05, 2018

    Call Ikea's customer service number here is their contact info:


    Phone: 1.888.888.4532

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    Sunday-Saturday: 9:00am – 8:00pm (EST)


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