How big is your door in your frameless glass shower?

14 years ago

We have a curbed shower built into a 54" x 36" 3 wall alcove. It will have a fixed panel of glass and a door along the 4th side. The opening is 54" wide and I was thinking of having a 30" door. Does this sound too wide? Too narrow? DH thinks it might be too big and unwieldy and would prefer 28" or less. He's a lot bigger than I am so I'm fine with smaller if he is. What do you think would be the right size? This will mainly be a coming in grubby from outside shower for children and grown up boys who have either been working on cars, playing soccer, etc. as well as a doggy shower. I'd love to hear what you think. TIA

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

User
14 years ago
With a 54 inch opening, you may want to consider a bypass door. I've read several complaints regarding the Euro Pivot Doors, as they tend to drip onto the floor. There are lots of frameless bypass doors available that would still give a great updated look & save you the hassle of having to wipe up the floor after every use.
flseadog
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks, lukkiirish, for your response. Maybe I'm not understanding the concept of the frameless bypass. I did a google search and the pictures I saw all had a metal rail across the top and a metal track across the bottom. Is there another term I should be using to search? My idea is that I don't want to have to clean a metal track or have it obstructing my view of my tile when viewed from outside the shower. I just spent a lot of money on the design of the shower and the tile and I don't want to see a metal line running across it. The only way I see of achieving this is having a door that swings rather than one that slides. So I guess I still need to know what is the best size for that.
Related Discussions
How much do frameless glass shower doors cost?
Q
Comments (90)
Ours was 3K, included all parts, glass, labor. The shower is a modified square shape a square with a slice off of one of the corners. Of course, that's where the door is. He really struggled with getting it all to line up. Mostly because the standard door wasn't the same size as the opening for it and there is an additional trim piece of glass beside the door. Looks great in the end, fainted at the price. Good to see that others are familiar with these kind of numbers. He did everything, measure, fabricate, deliver, install. They were very tall pieces of 3/8" tempered glass. It was no picnic for him!
...See More
Please share your experience with frameless shower enclosure?
Q
Comments (2)
For our main bathroom, we saved $$ by buying a readymade frameless shower. I don't know who the manufacturer was but we bought it at Rona. It was easy for my gc to put it in, but we have had problems with it. It is wobbly and the door hinges loosen over time. We have had water leakage leading to our replacing some trim. We put in a made to order shower door in our ensuite and it is so nice. I love it. So you get what you pay for in the end.
...See More
Do Frameless Glass Shower Doors leak onto floor?
Q
Comments (6)
Guess I wasn't clear enough with my question. I've seen the little rubber lip/dam on the bottom of the door, but that can't stop water from dripping on the floor when you squeegee the whole door if the door is open- can it? Do you clean your door while in the shower- or if you clean it while the door is open- does that little dam prevent the water from dripping on the floor?
...See More
How big is your master shower?
Q
Comments (15)
Current shower: 3x4. Enough, but not spacious and not enough space for a stool. My girls' hall shower: 3x5. A good length, but a little wider would feel nicer. Planned shower: 4x5-6. A little wider, space for a moveable stool to be placed at the end. I've been measuring showers in hotels for years now, and I'm thinking this is "the sweet spot" in the question of big enough vs. so big it's cold. We're building for our old age, and I wouldn't go more than 4' because I want to have grab bars on BOTH SIDES of the shower, and beyond 4' they'd be too far apart to reach.
...See More
suero
14 years ago
I have a 60" wide opening with a 34" wide door. That's the minimum size for a handicapped accessible door. It works fine. The hinge is attached to a fixed pane, 13" wide, and there's another 13" glass pane on the other side of the door. The panes are 1/2" thick glass, and the door is 3/8" thick, because a 1/2" thick door of that size would be too heavy.
flseadog
Original Author
14 years ago
Suero, thank you. The glass company I have been talking to doesn't want to attach a glass door to a fixed panel because they feel attaching it to the wall is a sturdier installation. The way you have done this was my original thought but I couldn't find pictures of exactly what I wanted to show the estimator. Some of the pictures I found with this type of installation have shown the fixed panels extending all the way to the ceiling with a shorter door. But I would want all of my glass the same height in order to allow more steam to escape and for a uniform look. Do your fixed panels extend to the ceiling or do they match the height of your door? TIA.
pupwhipped
14 years ago
flseadog, hey it's pupwhipped. I posted the question about the "height" of the frameless shower door in another thread, but I'm also wondering about the width. My alcove is 66" wide. Glass company has suggested a 30" inch door with the rest being a fixed pane. I will have a 24" towel bar on the pane. My bathroom is very small and the 30" door sounds like it would be really big. I'm struggling with that decision. BTW, looks like I will be going with around 76" for the height...that height lines up with a grout line on my subways. My tile guy installed my shower bar this weekend a little higher then where I thought it was gonna be...never, ever fails! It does look nice, though.

pupwhipped
suero
14 years ago
Hi fleasdog,

The fixed panels are the same height as the door. The panel with the hinge is attached, very securely, to the wall studs with two connectors and to the floor with one connector. Silicone fills the space between the wall and panel and between the floor an panel, so that the effect is truly frameless -- no metal channels anywhere.
tylerdurden69
14 years ago
24-26" is good

Here is a link that might be useful: san diego bath remodeling
flseadog
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you, everyone. As I review again my magazine pictures I'm beginning to think that the one's showing the fixed panels going to the ceiling are actually steam showers. One shows what appears to be a transom that is tilted open. Another has the door and both side panels all the way to the ceiling. If these aren't steam showers I can't imagine why the glass would be set up this way.

At this point my preferred set up would be to have each of the panels at 14" wide and the door at 28". This way I could achieve symmetry, make DH happy, and be sure that the door wouldn't be in danger of hitting the controls when it swings in or hitting the towel bar when it swings out.

This discussion will be really helpful when I talk to the glass company again. It's hard for me when I'm dealing with someone who has a lot of experience installing showers to convince them that my ideas are feasible. When are getting to the end of this house building project and I feel so worn down sometimes but you guys are great in lifting my spirits. Thanks again.