Shower Door Buyer’s Guide
If you’ve decided to redesign your bathroom shower, choosing the right shower door is essential in achieving the overall look and feel you want. A quality shower door, when installed properly, adds beauty and value to your home, helps prevent water damage, operates smoothly and will outlast the test of time. As for shower door styles, there are unlimited options. We’ve created this buying guide to help you select your next shower door enclosure.
Before we go into the various shower door styles, let's first take a look at basic shower anatomy. Identifying which type of shower you have, or would like to have, is key in choosing the right shower door enclosure.
Basic Shower Types
Bathtub Showers
Contain both a shower and tub.
Alcove Walk In Showers
Do not contain a tub. They are built into the walls with the shower door covering one side.
Corner Walk In Showers
Pefect for tighter spaces.
Glass Shower Enclosure Includes a glass shower door and often additional glass panels to cover the shower opening either on one or more sides.
Curbless Walk In Showers
They add a clean, aesthetic appeal and are frequently requested for looks, though they are ideal for persons with limited mobility, special needs or handicaps. Distinguished by their special slope to ensure water drainage, they are also called barrier free showers.
Shower Door Operative Styles
Sliding Shower Doors
Bathtub showers frequently have two sliding shower doors that overlap each other and open on two tracks. That’s why they are sometimes called bypass shower doors, bathtub shower doors or tub enclosures.
Swinging Shower Doors Installed in stand alone showers, pivoting glass doors can swing both directions, though, for smaller shower door openings, built into the wall or corner, the door typically swings outward only. The swinging doors can be joined to other glass panels to form a stunning glass shower enclosure. Swinging doors range in size from 36”– 46”.
Curved Shower Doors
A rounded glass shower doors and panels are a spacious choice particularly for corner showers where glass doors can open into the shower to create more room.
Neo-Angle Shower Doors Designed for a corner stand alone shower, a swinging glass shower door is affixed to two glass panels on each side. Together door and panels make a three-sided glass shower enclosure.
Right Angle Corner Shower Doors
A swinging glass door meets a glass panel at a 90 degree angle in the bathroom corner to form a square glass enclosure.
Steam Shower Doors
Glass door and often times adjoining glass panels cover floor to ceiling so the steam can’t escape the shower, forming a complete glass shower enclosure.
Shower Door Frame Design
Framed Shower Doors
An aluminum framing surrounds a framed glass shower door enclosure and it’s entire surrounding glass structure. Because the frame provides additional support, glass can be thinner than that of a frameless glass shower, making them more economical. The range in glass thickness is usually 3/16” to 1/4”. Framed glass showers are not as popular as frameless glass shower doors, because customer’s often prefer the modern, cleaner look of glass without frames.
Semi-Frameless Shower Doors
A semi-frameless shower enclosure has aluminum surrounding the entire structure of the shower, but has no aluminum around at least two sides of the door area. Aluminum is left on the bottom of semi-frameless shower doors to control water leakage
Frameless Glass Showers
are ideal for modern bathroom styles. They add simple refinement to the shower and look super-clean. In contrast to a framed shower door, a frameless shower door requires thick glass, between 3/8” -1/2”. This helps to sturdy the glass shower structure. Commonly called heavy glass showers or custom glass showers because the glass is thick and heavy and requires super precise measuring and professional installation. U-Channel or Clips can be used to connect a frameless glass shower door to tile or other glass panels. Hinges also allow the door is to swing both inward and outward.
Clear Glass Shower Doors
Clear tempered glass is the most popular for shower door enclosures. Varying sizes include 3/16", 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" thickness. Clear glass can help to show off the tile, marble, granite or masonry work in the shower. For many remodel projects, a clear glass shower is the first step in adding light, brightness, and a modern appeal to the bathroom. Clear glass is perfectly suited for a frameless enclosure to get that extra clean look.
Normally clear glass has a slight green tint to it, but there is a popular option called Starphire, made with low iron glass, that offers a clearer view through the class.
Shower Door Glass Styles
Today’s glass door options range from transparent, virtually invisible, frosted, textures that copy the natural world, and decorative patterns. You also get to pick from any color or get custom sand-blasted designs to meet individual style. Shower glass is tempered so that if the glass breaks it does so in tiny particles rather than shards to prevent injuries. Below are the basic glass style categories.
Frosted Glass Shower Doors
Liked for their element of mystery, frosted glass shower doors appear slightly cloudy and are easier to keep clean than a clear glass shower door. Glass can be frosted or acid-etched with designs in a variety of tinted colors. Satin and Obscure are popular.
Pattern Glass Shower Doors
Some customers enjoy the privacy of patterned glass. There are an unlimited number of options for patterned glass shower doors. Among the most popular are rain and tranquility.
Rain
Tranquility
About Legendary Glass
We custom install glass shower doors, shower and tub enclosures, and would love to come show you all of the options available for your shower.
Our quality standards are founded on strong work ethics and superior installation techniques. We value each customer and consistently deliver beautiful, long lasting results! Give us the opportunity to quote your project and we promise to give you a spectacular price and to care about your home like it’s our own.
Please call 805-409-4567 for a free estimate or reach out with any questions that you may have.
Based in Moorpark we serve customers throughout Ventura County and Los Angeles County including Conejo Valley, Moorpark, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Newbury Park, Westlake Village, Oak Park, Calabasas, Malilbu, Agoura Hills, Granada Hills, Northridge, Beverly Hills, Winnetka, Reseda, Woodland Hills and San Fernando Valley.