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slider vs hinged shower door

13 years ago

Last step of the master bath remodel is to pick a shower door for my small stall shower. It is only 44 inches wide, straight across. In deciding, Im trying to weigh the pros and cons of whether do do a slider or a door.

Slider, smaller opening (would only have 20-22 inches for opening, less expensive. Has a brushed nickel header. For the shower door, I can get a full frameless without a header, which I think is my preference despite the increase in cost. (I could also choose a door with a header). With a door I would be able to have a wider opening, 24 or even 26 inch door with a panel. The only issue is the handle. I would have to open the door against a wall. Will the handle bang into the wall? Will I/ and everyone else who chooses to shower in this bathroom be able to just open it enough to get in without banging the handle or the door against the wall?

Thoughts on which way you would go?

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Comments (5)

sue_b
13 years ago
Here are two past recent thread discussions with shower door tips and discussion of how wide the openings are. for hitting the wall, my vanity cabinet door hits the wall but it hasn't made a mark yet. You'll be gentle I'm sure!

Thread discussion shower door pros and cons
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bath/msg0922245432039.html

and the link below is a different discussion thread

Here is a link that might be useful: Shower door discussion thread about opening & sliders
jacobse
13 years ago
With the right type of hinge, you can limit the door to strictly 90 degrees of movement. Would your door be attached to a wall? If you have 44" of glass, could you have a short glass panel, then the door, and then a longer glass panel? That way, if the door is attached to the short panel, it wouldn't hit the wall because the short panel would move the door a few inches away from the wall.

-- Eric

P.S. I'd go with the door over the slider, no matter what. Worse comes to worse, I'd find some sort of bumper to put on the wall where the handle would hit it.
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Your shower configuration is similar to ours except that we don't have a fixed shower head. We have the slide bar between the door and the control. Since the door swings both ways, we open it out, reach in, direct the hand-held shower head towards the back wall, and turn on the water. That way we don't have to get wet until the water has warmed up. You are not obsessing about this. It is certainly better to decide what works best for you before it's too late.
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bobbymac
13 years ago
We had the same question when we remodelled the bath in our master bedroom. We decided on a door, rather than a slider. We replaced a regular five-foot tub with a shower. We did not want the tracks associated with a slider. We also have the issue of the handle on the shower door and the wall, but configured the handle with a towel-bar on the outside, so that if the door hits the wall, there is a towel on the handle that protects the wall. We are happy with our choice; in fact, I think it all turned out better than expected.
lac1
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for the responses, I thought about putting the door closer to the middle with panels on either side, but I don't have enough space because the door would hit the toilet. As it is, Ill have to open the door pretty wide to navigate past the toilet (thus making me worry about hitting the wall). I really wanted the door, but Im just not sure we have enough room. We will have to open the door almost all the way to get in to the shower. I will look into those hinges though, that may solve my problem.
Bobbymac, do you happen to have a picture of your door? Im intrigued how you configured the handle.
breezygirl
13 years ago
We are about to tear out our old master bath. It has a tiny litte shower stall with a door that swings out to a wall at 90 degrees. The toilet is just to the foward left so we also have to open the door all the way to get in. Sometimes the door handle bangs the wall a bit if my son is playing with it, but the house is almost 40 years old and there is not a dent in the wall amazingly enough. Can you put a small towel rack or hook on that wall? A towel there could cushion the impact.

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