PAX in Altbau apartments: What really goes wrong
2025-11-10
Berlin Altbau apartments were built before 1945. They have character — but also features that make a by-the-manual PAX installation impossible.
Why does a PAX stand crooked in an Altbau?
Because the floor does. In a typical Berlin Altbau the floor varies by up to 3 cm over 2 metres. We level it out with shims cut to size under each frame, before the first frame goes up.
A wardrobe placed without that levelling stands visibly crooked: the doors do not close cleanly and the line across several frames is off. We measure, cut and fit — it is part of the fixed price, not an add-on.
Why won't a standard wall plug hold in old plaster?
Old lime plaster has hollow pockets where a standard expansion plug finds nothing to grip. On a 236 cm wardrobe anchored to the wall, that is not a cosmetic issue but a safety one.
So we tap-test the wall before drilling and use cavity fixings or chemical anchors, depending on the build-up, that reach the load-bearing layer behind.
What do you do when the wall is out of plumb?
We set the wardrobe plumb rather than parallel to the wall, so the front you look at every day is true. The wedge-shaped gap left behind is closed with trimmed side panels or cover strips.
Altbau walls are rarely truly perpendicular. Letting the wardrobe follow the wall instead gives you a visibly leaning front and joints that open up towards the ceiling.
In short: an Altbau takes more time, more experience and different tools. We bring all of that — and price it into our fixed quote.
Matching service
IKEA PAX assembly Berlin – get your fixed price