A Glass Of Its Own

Planning to get rid of that shower curtain and replace it with a funky glass shower door? Here’s some important and not so important things to consider on your journey to a more stylish bathroom.

The first thing to consider is what you currently have -are you planning a shower door over a bathtub or for a freestanding shower unit? For a bathtub the options are more limited as space is often a restriction and the weight you can sensibly put onto a bathtub. Bathtub showers usually have sliding glass shower doors, rather than swing or bifold doors, so the glass can be thinner than for a swing door. For free standing shower pan the opening size will determine the best arrangement, a bifold door will suit a narrow opening whereas a swing door can be used where there is more space.  You need a rough idea of the size of the opening to start your shower door hunt, but will need to re measure before committing to purchase. Once you have a size you can see whether you can have a fixed panel and a moving one and what arrangement will suit your space and preferences best!  So thought has to go into the physical arrangement of the shower door, then you can get onto the fun stuff!

By now you will have an idea of size and what kind of door you prefer.  Now lets look at the styles of door-frameless or framed. You will need to choose a style that complements your existing bathroom furniture and this is where a frameless glass shower door can be really cool. Framed shower doors have a covering usually aluminum all around the edge of the glass, this helps to support the weight of the glass. Frameless glass doors have no covering making them easier to clean( and we all know that cleaning glass shower doors is a necessary evil), but they are heavier thicker glass to make up for the lack of metal support. Frameless glass shower doors are usually in the swing style and have a less intrusive effect on the bathroom in general and hence a more stylish look.  Having said that; framed shower doors are the most common for a variety of reasons from cost to availability. The frames are usually made form extruded aluminum but can also be found in brass or chrome, the aluminum can be found in a variety of different colors and effects make sure you check what is around and find which suits your budget and style.

What kind of glass do you want? This where you can really show your style. You can have a glass shower door in almost any style of glass – patterned, tinted, perfectly clear, etched, frosted, mirrored, tempered, and stained or you can even choose not to use glass and opt for flexi glass a plastic alternative to glass (which may appeal to those with the not so gentle children in the house!)  You may choose to have a custom glass shower door by having your own design etched onto the glass to make it a completely unique item, just take care not to make it too personal or you may find it is not such a draw card when you come to sell the house!  If safety is an issue for you then you may choose to look at tempered glass which does not shatter when broken – it is far safer to have then regular glass when there are young children in the house. Many people like patterned glass – it doesn’t show the stains as much as plain glass and adds to privacy. If privacy is not an issue then clear glass may suit you. AS for fittings you need to consider what you currently have in the bathroom and try to complement them, both in style and material used.

What size do you need your shower doors to be?  This is an important consideration and will affect the cost of the whole project. Obviously a full shower door will cost more than one over a bathtub, but the type, weight and effect of the glass will also change the cost.  Do not get anything more than budget costs before your bathroom is ready for the shower doors to be installed. This sounds tedious, but you will save a lot of headaches if you wait. The walls may not be perfectly straight – they should be, but in building nothing is perfect! When taking measurements for your shower doors always measure top middle and bottom of any opening and also across the diagonal this will let any manufacturer know whether the opening is square or not. You will want your glass square and may need to look carefully at installation if your opening is not square.

Just to recap consider where the shower door is to go, the opening mechanism, the frame or not, the kind of glass and measure the opening last and carefully – or get a professional to do it for you!

There are many things to consider but with some forethought and attention to detail you can have the perfect bathroom without losing your cool!

Category: Glass Fittings
Tags: cleaning glass shower doors, custom glass shower door, frameless glass shower doors, glass shower door, glass shower doors, shower doors, sliding glass shower doors

Comments Off