What Should I Consider When Choosing Glass Shower Doors?

lomarespio said:

thanks in advance for any help

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Are you sure they are "glass" doors, and not some type of plastic or lexan ?

Tempered glass is a good choice.

lomarespio said:

Hello everyone.

I’m planning to upgrade my bathroom and am considering installing glass shower doors instead of using a traditional shower curtain. I’m curious about what factors I should consider before making a decision.

Are frameless glass shower doors worth the extra cost compared with framed or semi-frameless options? I’m also wondering about glass thickness, safety, privacy, and how difficult they are to keep clean.

For those who have installed glass shower doors, how has your experience been with durability and maintenance? Are there particular glass coatings or door styles that help reduce water spots and soap buildup?

Any recommendations or installation tips would be appreciated.

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First consideration. Your age and dexterity.

If you're old and suffer arthritis,or have joint issues, or if you're on blood thinners.

Worst case scenario, slip,fall,crash into the door.

I knew an elderly man on blood thinners. He slipped in the shower. He reached for the porcelain soap dish that was part of the shower install. It broke off under his weight as he fell against it.
Had his wife not been home he'd have bled to death.

Any age,being showers ,tubs,are slippery, make glass doors high risk.

lomarespio said:

I’m planning to upgrade my bathroom and am considering installing glass shower doors instead of using a traditional shower curtain. I’m curious about what factors I should consider before making a decision.

Are frameless glass shower doors worth the extra cost compared with framed or semi-frameless options? I’m also wondering about glass thickness, safety, privacy, and how difficult they are to keep clean.

For those who have installed glass shower doors, how has your experience been with durability and maintenance? Are there particular glass coatings or door styles that help reduce water spots and soap buildup

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Anything with Hydrophobic coating should deal with water stains. We have a Frameless in master bath and framed in guest room. The framed is cheaper but harder to keep clean. The frameless one is much easier to clean. Both seem pretty durable. Privacy is dependent on the glass you get so.

Bible_Locket said:

First consideration. Your age and dexterity.

If you're old and suffer arthritis,or have joint issues, or if you're on blood thinners.

Worst case scenario, slip,fall,crash into the door.

I knew an elderly man on blood thinners. He slipped in the shower. He reached for the porcelain soap dish that was part of the shower install. It broke off under his weight as he fell against it.
Had his wife not been home he'd have bled to death.

Any age,being showers ,tubs,are slippery, make glass doors high risk.

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Yes, Dennis Prager, the conservative radio talk show host had a similar incident. He slipped and fell in the bathroom the fall left him paralyzed below the shoulders. His wife happened to hear him fall and got him help right away.

I know this might defeat the purpose, but I've had glass shower doors for many years and I always put up a shower curtain and liner behind them anyway.

Otherwise, I feel like both the glass doors and the complete inside of the shower has to look perfectly spotless all the time.

So I just put up a colorful curtain and always get compliments on it. I've also had other glass-door shower owners see it and say they like the idea for the same reason -- they can have company but not feel their shower has to look perfect if someone uses that bathroom.

I throw the curtain and liner in the washer and dryer about once a month, wipe down the glass regularly, and it's all good to go.

Keep us posted on how yours turns out and how you like it!

lomarespio said:

Hello everyone.

I’m planning to upgrade my bathroom and am considering installing glass shower doors instead of using a traditional shower curtain. I’m curious about what factors I should consider before making a decision.

Are frameless glass shower doors worth the extra cost compared with framed or semi-frameless options? I’m also wondering about glass thickness, safety, privacy, and how difficult they are to keep clean.

For those who have installed glass shower doors, how has your experience been with durability and maintenance? Are there particular glass coatings or door styles that help reduce water spots and soap buildup?

Any recommendations or installation tips would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

Just got one....

They have CHANGED from the crap of decades ago.
Smooth rolling, heavy glass, and any color you desire on trim.

We spent around $700 for a 6' tall door....heavy thing too....get a furniture dolly to move it about.
Bought it at Lowes (big box store)

For clarity,
Dad bought a house closer to me a couple years ago.
It has the standard garden tub shower just about everyone has.
Uninspiring to say the least.....
But also problematic as he gets older....(getting close to 90)
He wanted a simple shower. (Ha!)

$10k later he might have a shower....as soon as the workmen finish. 5k for labor and 5k for materials. We ordered the tile and grout last week....got them and the shower door. They are about 75% done with the tile yesterday is what dad said yesterday. Features take a lot of time to tile due to cutting tile.

Have a glass door for our shower, previously it was a sort of frosted/patterned glass panels that folded behind each other.

The glass door just needs a wipe with squeegee or vinegar solution but it can get pretty manky at the bottom, and the edges would needed replacing after a while - they are plastic and clip on so you can find new ones at the hardware store. I have put fish window clings/stickers on the glass so that we know its there and it looks sort of like an aquarium.

Otherwise had no trouble, we also have a shower dome that keeps the steam in so the shower is warmer and all the water just keeps inside while having a shower. We leave the door ajar when we finish to air it out each day, but its not in the way of anyone cos it's in the corner.

The old folding door one was sometimes problematic cos the panels would get stuck behind each other and it was stainless steel or aluminium edging, the shower tray was also metal. The newer style showers are all white and plasticky. Just need to be careful no water leaks in the edges and damages the walls or floor.

Couldn't have a curtain, those tend to be for showers over tubs. I like the pretty patterns you can get for shower curtains though. And yea you can wash them so they won't get mouldy