The IKEA KALLAX and EXPEDIT shelves - Same But Different.

SAT, MAY 01, 2021, 05:20 PM UTC

The IKEA EXPEDIT shelving system was one of IKEA's best selling items of all times, and was celebrated by homeowners over the world for its cube system that was both practical and at the same time esthetically pleasing. It came as no surprise that the EXPEDIT fan crowd were hugely disappointed when IKEA announced its retirement in 2014. However, the mourning was short-lived as IKEA short thereafter introduced its replacement, the KALLAX system, that was almost identical to EXPEDIT. KALLAX is said to be the new name for EXPEDIT, but it has a few important changes.

KALLAX or EXPEDIT

screws 2 x 2 KALLAX shelf (IKEA Code 602.758.12). KALLAX is designed to reduce the amount of wood required to manufacture the shelves while still being strong enough to support even the largest vinyl collection. The most notable change is the thickness of the sides. If the thickness of all the sides of your shelve measures approximately 1-1/2", then you have a KALLAX shelve. You can also try to locate the IKEA sticker somewhere on the furniture that should have the name printed on it too.

Hardware Differences

screws KALLAX screw to the left, EXPEDIT screw to the right. Test test test. The difference in thickness require KALLAX to use different hardware than EXPEDIT. Both the screws and the wooden dowels of the two systems are different and incompatible with each-other. The EXPEDIT screws are longer to be able to hold the thicker sides, their part numbers are 104232 or 104325 depending on shelve color. The KALLAX screws are about 3/4" shorter and their part numbers are 104321 / 104323. The wooden dowels for the two shelve systems differ both in length and diameter. KALLAX use part number 101339 dowels, and EXPEDIT uses part 101352. You can purchase these screws and Dowels from Amazon.com using hte links below:
ReplacementScrews Shelf Screws for IKEA Part 104321/104322 (KALLAX Shelf Screws)
ReplacementScrews Shelf Screws for IKEA Part 104323/104325 (EXPEDIT Shelf Screws)
ReplacementScrews Wooden Dowel Pins for IKEA Part 101339 (KALLAX Shelves)

Replacement Hardware

screws Complete assembly hardware kit for KALLAX shelves. Luckily, us at ReplacementScrews carry most of the replacement parts for both KALLAX and EXPEDIT. As always, before you purchase - make sure you are getting the correct hardware by following the above instructions to identify the type of shelf you have. If you're only missing a few pieces, use the above mentioned links to order replacement parts from Amazon.com. If you lost all the hardware for your shelf unit, we also sell the complete hardware kits for your KALLAX shelves which is more economical than purchasing separate parts:
ReplacementScrews Hardware Kit for IKEA KALLAX 2 x 2 Shelf Unit 602.758.12
ReplacementScrews Hardware Kit for IKEA KALLAX 2 x 4 Shelf Unit 202.758.85
ReplacementScrews Hardware Kit for IKEA KALLAX 3 x 3 Shelf Unit 404.156.01
ReplacementScrews Hardware Kit for IKEA KALLAX 3 x 4 Shelf Unit 104.099.32
ReplacementScrews Hardware Kit for IKEA KALLAX 4 x 4 Shelf Unit 003.601.44
ReplacementScrews Hardware Kit for IKEA KALLAX 5 x 5 Shelf Unit 703.015.42

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