IKEA ALEX Drawer Unit Assembly in Toronto: Home Office Setup & Caster Install
The ALEX drawer unit is the workhorse of Toronto condo home offices — it pairs with IKEA desk tops, mounts on casters for mobility, and stores everything from files to stationery. Here's how to get the build right.
- Casters attach before the unit is flipped upright — install them while the bottom panel faces up
- The locking casters (usually front pair) should lock when the unit is in final position
- Drawer stops prevent drawers from falling out when fully open — verify they're engaged on every drawer
- When using ALEX as a desk leg, the desk top must be secured to prevent lateral movement
ALEX Model Variants
IKEA makes the ALEX in several widths and heights: the standard 36cm wide unit with 5 drawers (70cm tall), a wider 67cm unit with drawers plus a door cabinet, and a shallow version. The 36cm model is by far the most common in Toronto home offices — it fits under desk tops as a leg replacement, rolls freely on casters, and has enough storage for a typical home worker.
The ALEX 9-drawer model (70cm wide) is less commonly used as a desk pedestal but makes excellent standalone storage in a condo bedroom or home office. Assembly is similar to the 5-drawer but there are more drawers to adjust.
Caster Installation
ALEX casters are included with the unit and install on the underside of the base. The procedure: assemble the full unit, including bottom panel, before adding casters. Flip the assembled unit onto its top panel on a padded surface. The casters snap into pre-molded sockets in the base — they require firm downward pressure to click into place. A mallet or rubber hammer helps seat them without damaging the plastic housing.
ALEX includes two locking casters (with a flip-down brake) and two non-locking casters. Conventional placement is locking casters at the front (user-facing side) so you can lock the unit in position at your desk and release it when you need to roll it out. If all four casters are the same, check the IKEA product page for your specific ALEX model — some newer versions have all-locking casters.
Drawer Stop Adjustment
Each ALEX drawer has a plastic stop mechanism on the inside rear of the drawer box that prevents the drawer from pulling all the way out and falling when opened. These stops engage a tab on the drawer slide track. After assembly, test every drawer: pull it out firmly to the full extension — it should stop before the drawer box disengages from the slide. If a drawer can be pulled free from the unit, the stop is not engaged or is missing.
The stop mechanism on ALEX is a small plastic lever inside the rear of each drawer box. It ships in a "shipping position" (disengaged) and you flip it to the engaged position after installing each drawer. This step is easy to miss because it's not prominently called out in the assembly manual illustration.
Pairing with a Desk Top
When using the ALEX unit as a desk pedestal (replacing one or both legs of a desk top), the desk surface needs to be secured to the top of the ALEX so it doesn't shift laterally when you lean or push. IKEA sells desk-to-pedestal connectors (small metal brackets), but you can also use furniture connector screws through the pre-drilled holes in the ALEX top panel into the underside of the desk top.
Tip: If you're combining an ALEX unit with an IKEA desk top, confirm the desk top height works with the ALEX plus caster height. Standard ALEX + casters = approximately 72cm tall (the standard desk height). Without casters, the unit is about 70cm — slightly low as a desk pedestal.
Need ALEX assembly in Toronto?
$30/hr. An ALEX 5-drawer with casters takes about 50–65 min. Home office packages available.