Good grief, when is this awful idea going to die? Unless someone stands in one, perfect spot and never, never splashes, there is water all over the floor and the surrounding areas. I might be a very careful bather, but the other person is more “enthusiastic”, so there is always a large puddle beyond the floor mat.It’s dangerous to have water on the floor and it requires extra towels to mop up the excess. Who has time for that?

remodeling1840 do you have one like this? Was that your experience? I have heard quite the opposite that water doesn't splash out, obviously the glass would be placed on the side where the shower head is.

I don't have one but I've used them in hotels in Europe and inevitably, water will get on the floor and you can't escape the feeling to stay away from the opening. It's not comfortable. Separately, a friend's sliding door broke (and it had to be taken off). before it was repaired, they learned to not get water on the floor by standing in a certain way, etc but then their college age kids came home for a visit and water everywhere. If you live alone, might be ok but why?

In Europe, there are lots of these and even DH, the enthusiastic bather, hates them. There are never enough towels to clean up the floor and the surrounding areas. Just take a shower in a regular shower enclosure but leave one door open. Then have two or three other people use the shower the same way.

If you think about it, you are only using half your shower! Save half the tile money and build half a shower (30” or 36” wide) and put one door on it. If you have a shower now with a shower curtain, just shower in it with the curtain half open. But, again, I found people would be very careful about splashing when they were trying to prove how wonderful half a shower enclosure would be.. it seems to be a different story when a seriously-dirty-from-yard-work person showers!

Not to jump on the bandwagon, but we recently stayed in a hotel that had this setup. The basin was longer than a standard one and glass panel was flush right, so you got in on the left. The shower head was to the right as well. The set up made the left third of the basin useless and even standing in the area where only the glass panel was, water got everywhere on the floor. My high school aged daughter liked it because it was bigger than our shower at home, but she also made the biggest mess.

Interesting thank you, I'll probably go with sliding door! lol

Yes that's what I like actually. We had two rolling doors at our last house and they would constantly come off the hinge.

Itsourcasa, I've had numerous sliding bypass doors - different brands and price levels- and have never had even one come off the “hinge” (I presume you meant the rollers from the track)

It depends on the size of the shower! There was a thread where people shared the “ideal” size for a doorless shower. As I recall, the sweet spot was around 4’-6” x 6’. I’ve got one about that size with no door. There is a tiny bit of water outside the curb, but nothing that a small bath mat (even a washcloth) wouldn’t take care of. I can share pictures if it helps. I don’t miss having a door at all. I don’t have a glass panel either.

scottie mom I'd love to see a picture, thanks!

bluebird - yes we had to change the rollers a few times.

Like this? We actually hinged ours (with no handle) to make it easier to turn the water on and off. Two teenage girls used this shower/bath and we never had an issue with water outside of the enclosure.

Mid-Century Inspired Remodel · More Info

Edited to add...Kohler is coming out with a very simple digital valve that can be placed anywhere in a shower/tub enclosure, even on the outside. It will make it much easier to manage the shower controls in any type of shower/tub setup.

My mom went from a tub/shower (66x32") to a shower with a curb and she did not want a door so just did a fixed panel. The shower now is about 32.5" wide and 64" long. The fixed panel is 40" long and there's a 24" opening. She went with 1/2" starphire glass. I would not recommend anything less than a 40" long panel personally.

The curb where the opening is does get a little bit of water on the curb but she just squeegees or towels it off with her Pluffle when she is done showering. The curb is also sloped toward the shower. There might be some water droplets that land on her towel bathmat next to the curb, but not many. I've showered in there several times.

When turning on the shower, I get in, make sure the diverter is set to the handheld, make sure the handheld spray is directed away from me and turn on the shower and wait until the temp is warm enough before getting under the fixed head or handheld spray. I don't think I'd be happy if there was only a fixed head and I was standing under cold water spray because of where the controls are.

Personally, if it was my shower, I would have done a door, even though it would mean more squeegeeing and cleaning because apparently I like to "go wild" with the handheld sprayer. Here's what I wrote about it in a similar thread: "However, with the handheld, I feel like I have to be careful what angles I'm spraying at and which way I'm facing and how far back in the shower I'm standing to mind the splash factor. Definitely gets the curb wet and a little bit of water may hit the thick bathmat right in front of the 24" opening. So whenever I shower in there, I feel a little constrained.

It doesn't seem to bother my mom at all; maybe I just go more "crazy" with the handheld than she does?"

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5668283/fixed-glass-panel-for-walk-in-shower

FYI, she picked where she wanted the grab bars located. I would have done them differently but it's her house. I also would not have kept all of her many towel bars and rings and I tried many times to get her to consider getting a new vanity vs. reinstalling the old one but she insisted she wanted to keep the same vanity and granite top.

Photos:

Thanks for the feedback on showers with no doors. I’m not the poster but I am remodeling 2 bathrooms to no door showers and am designing them right now.

It was interesting to hear about the splashing. I’m making the entire bathroom into a wet room. I have no choice about no door as I have to accommodate elderly in laws with walkers and eventually wheel chair.

To Op- sometimes a cheaply made bypass door will lift off the rollers because of the thin glass the manufacturer used. I have seen doors with 1/8” glass. I never recommended anything less than 3/16, but preferred 1/4” or 3/8. For top of the line, I used 1/2”. Be sure you see and feel theses different thicknesses of glass. Physically, the bypass doors stay in the space because of gravity; they hang on the top track. Therefore, any lifting motion will cause them to come off. One solution is a heavier door. You might look at a 3/8” glass frameless bypass unit. The edges of the glass will be polished, the only metal is attached to your walls so you still have the clean look. In addition, this configuration does use any floor space as a swing/ hinge door does. Again, a good glass company with floor displays will be able to offer you options.

tatts it's so sad. I cry myself to sleep every night due to my lack of google search skills. Do you have any tips? You're always so helpful. I want to be more like tatts!!!

"Physically, the bypass doors stay in the space because of gravity; they hang on the top track. Therefore, any lifting motion will cause them to come off."

If they exist, no one should buy a sliding door without components that prevent the door from being lifted up and off the guide rail. Example:

FYI - You need to note that in Kristin Petro's example the tub needs to be taller than the toilet or you would not be able to swing that hinged glass panel out. That makes for a pretty tall tub to have to climb over, which could be a problem for some.

Pay attention to the details and the consequences of your choices, so you get the results you want for your own projects!

Yes, thank you, Chispa. I was actually going to go back and edit in that information but was sidetracked. Our glass door does clear the toilet seat. Otherwise, we would not have been able to hinge it.

Here is an example of a shower we did for a client with glass panels and not doors. The showering area is located far enough from the opening that there isn't much splashing.

Wow! Why didn't I think of that? A different shower head for each day of the work week...plus a tub for the weekends. Don't slip though! Soap's on the floor on Monday, Tuesday and the weekends.

On holidays it's party time in the shower room! No nosy neighbors invited.

I would freeze in that shower!

And my DH would get that tub wet every single time he showered ...

Adding my agreement to Chispa--think about your climate, and your tolerance of drafts. We had a home in MN that had an open shower--so, so, so, so, cold. I finally hung a shower curtain to cover the narrow opening because we weren't going to be there long enough to remodel. Form was lovely; function was awful.

"And my DH would get that tub wet every single time he showered ... "

Don't worry. The maid will come into towel off tub and, if you ask nicely, DH.