What thickness glass for my steam shower frameless glass surround?
Jennifer
5 years ago
I'm getting quotes for my steam shower glass surround...glass needs to extend to sloped & tall ceiling. At tallest point - glass will be 10.5ft tall (see sketch of glass) and photo. 3/8" was quoted...but both installers asked me if I wanted 3/8" or 1/2". What would you use? I'm concerned about 3/8" not being strong enough for this height shower?
Any other tips you would give me at this stage of the project?
Thank you!!
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User
5 years ago
PROCreative Tile Eastern CT
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRelated Discussions
Frameless Glass shower or Use Channel? (Steam and normal)
Comments (11)I'm not an expert in transoms or steam shower design, but I'm surprised nobody has yet said why they were invented, get installed, and are used. 1/ Steam machines make steam. More and more of it. Without new steam, the experience of a steam shower can be less and less enjoyable. New steam is needed. It actually puts pressure on the walls, and in 24hour commercial steam showers this is a big thing. But, even at home, where does all the water vapor go? It doesn't all become liquid (condensation) and go into the drain. 2/ :: Plan where it will go, otherwise it will go places you don't want it to go. A transom is a safety valve putting your excess steam into the bathroom, from where the fan exhausts it. 3/ :: Otherwise steam seeps into everything. Wall-ceiling junctions. Light fixtures. Into the attic insulation. Water vapor can penetrate anything, because it has time on its side, and the world's best solvent: H2O molecules. The opposite approach is "If you only use the steam shower for a short time and not often, who cares?" Anyone want to defend that point of view? I think there is no point building something that you "really ought not to let run". Some future user might want long steam showers, or frequent steam showers. Without a transom, you are guaranteeing that your escape route for water vapor will be confused, since it's unplanned, uncoordinated and unwanted, and your result will eventually lead to problems. As far as I know. Anyone reading this thread so far would be well advised to look more into it instead of concluding that transoms are just for fun. Many homeowners don't care much about codes or practices and will allow anyone to build anything for them. After that, it may or may not work as expected, and ultimately the homeowner may or may not be satisfied. This applied to all fields of construction. My writing this out is not to say that anyone here has been intending to do the wrong thing deliberately. Hth...See MoreBest type of shower? (Frameless glass, glass block, etc)
Comments (7)You could go frameless with a glass that isn't totally clear (some texture) so you don't have to be a slave to the sqeege. Honestly....how much money do you have to spend? I prefer a 3/4" thick frameless glass shower. It's rich and heavy and feels like the quality it is. But it's expensive. A glass block wall...well you get more areas for mold with that, but they're nice (and I'm not ashamed to say if necessary I use some x14) and I'll probably do that in our rental because it's far less than the frameless glass. So both are nice...but it's all about budget....See MoreFrameless shower glass
Comments (5)we have 1/2"x 44"x 80" panel siliconed to a narrow return; door is hinged to the wall (similar set up as in the link that pharoah posted. No clips at the junction of the 2 pieces, which I think I would have preferred. The large panel is set to the curb and wall, but the return wall is just set to the curb, and the "free" end of the large panel. It's beautiful. I must say that watching them install it, and now looking at it, it makes me nervous, but they are very reputable, got multiple references for this company, and the guy was so meticulous, watching him work made me smile. We have bumped it a bit just to make sure it's ok, while still warrantied, so to speak. g_hgray- the setup you mention I believe leaves a bit of a "lever arm" with the outside corner just sitting out there, which would make me even more nervous than I am about my set-up. Can you see if that is a reasonable install, if a good company would do the same?...See MoreNeed help w/ frameless glass shower enclosure
Comments (1)I have a framless shower door with steam. I had a chanel carved into the stone frame around the door. I bet you won't pass inspection. This doesn't sound kosher. Did you discuss ahead of time how this was to be done? What material is around the glass? What's to keep the glass from moving if someone leans on it, silicone? I'll bet the contractor tries to tell you that it just fine. If you find out if it's against building codes, then you could have an inteligent argument with him. Ill tell you some of the problems that I had with my installation. The stone I used is "Rosa Verona". It's a particularly soft stone. The company that installled the stone said that it broke during delvery 2 times before they were able to install it. It finally worked out ok. I went with a glass company in the area that is the oldest and has the highest prices in the area. They came to measure when I had the three sides up (the groved stone). The tile setter purposly left the top, untiled. They inisted that all sides be done before they measure. My tile setter scrached his head, but they were very experienced and wouldn't be questioned. When they came back after the top was tiled, they realized that they had no way of getting the glass in. I finaly had to have someone carve out the tile on the top in order to insert the glass. It would have been SO much easier to just tile up to the glass on the top after it was slipped into the groves on the sides....See MoreJennifer
5 years agoJennifer
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoTalked to my tile installer and he was able to provide this to me. This is a residential steam shower and not a continuous use shower (which is what you need the DS for). See below for KERDI info.
I’m a structural engineer and ran a calculation on a 10.5 ft 1/2” panel and it worked fine. The 3/8” was not working - BUT we were very conservative with our assumption (assumed spanned full height and will actually be supported on 4 sides). Looking for others who have done something this tall...trying to avoid a much deeper structural analysis to prove it will work and get installed feed-back. What did you use?
Thanks!
- PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago 
millworkman
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJennifer
5 years ago- PRO
Creative Tile Eastern CT
5 years ago 
Julie Hagman
4 years ago
Michelle Doutrich
3 years agoSK
3 years ago
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