When choosing a glass shower enclosure, there are many details to consider before making a decision. Deciding things like how you want your glass shower door to open, and the pattern and style of your shower glass can become overwhelming and leave you wondering if you’re making the right decisions.
Read on to find out how to choose a glass shower enclosure you’re happy with so you can take some of the pressure off yourself.
Framed, Semi-Framed, or Frameless
The first big decision you will make is whether you want a framed, semi-framed, or frameless glass enclosure. Let’s jump in and find out what each offers.
Framed Shower Enclosure
As the name suggests, a framed shower enclosure features a metal frame that surrounds the corners of the four glass panels. It also secures the shower structure to the bathroom wall. Since the frame makes a solid structure, you have the option to use thinner glass, which would make the entire project less expensive. Frames now come in a variety of finishes and styles and are thinner than they used to be.
Semi-Framed Shower Enclosure
This type of enclosure is like a hybrid between framed and frameless. It has a combination of some framed panels and some frameless, for example, a framed door leaving the rest of the panels frameless. Or you could frame the whole top and bottom, leaving all the space inside frameless. Some consider this type of shower enclosure more aesthetically pleasing because the inner walls remain unobstructed from view.
Frameless Shower Enclosure
Frameless shower enclosures are very sleek and modern. Your line of sight remains unobstructed and pieces of hardware hold the glass panels together, which becomes an aesthetic element of the shower. Since there is no frame, the glass door has to take on more responsibility for the structure, which means you would need to use a thicker, heavier glass.
Shower Glass Thickness
Your decision between a framed, semi-framed, and frameless shower enclosure narrows down your options for glass thickness. Experts say that for frameless shower doors, you have two options for thickness: ⅜” or ½”.
Decide if cost or appearance is more important to you. The ⅜” glass door is thinner and less expensive but the ½” glass may be more aesthetically pleasing. Your shower door will have to benefit the structure and be consistent with the rest of the glass panels. So go with thin if you want to save a bit of money but if it’s more important that it’s visually appealing, go with the thicker option.
Type of Door
When choosing how you want your glass shower door to open, your options are sliding door or hinged. Here are some pros and cons of each:
Sliding Door
Pros:
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- Sleek appearance
- Works well in small spaces
- Hang towels on the door handle
Cons:
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- Difficult to clean tracks
- Metal tracks may rust
- The door doesn’t open very wide
Hinged Door
Pros:
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- Easy to clean
- Minimalist appearance
- Door opens wide
Cons:
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- Not great for small spaces
- May leak water when opened
Style and Pattern
There are different styles of glass you can choose for your shower enclosure. You can choose aesthetic components like color, frost, and pattern. Here are some examples:
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- Clear
- Frosted or opaque – you can see through it but it adds a bit of opacity
- Low-iron – removes the usual green tint and makes the glass super clear
- Tinted – tinted glass with colors like blue, gray, and bronze
- Rain – looks like a window covered in rain, provides a bit of privacy, and hides fingerprints and imperfections
- Patterned – a pattern is etched into the glass and there are many to choose from.
- Hammered – creates a unique, somewhat opaque appearance
These are the most important factors you have to consider before building a shower enclosure. Making your decisions in this order can make the entire experience much easier. When the decision-making part is over, you get to enjoy the beautiful and relaxing glass shower enclosure that you designed.
Ready to Remodel?
Bath Planet can help you update your bath in as little as two days.